MOLDOVA: NEVER ENDING ROAD TO A NEVER ACHIEVED DEMOCRACY
Igor Kotler, President and Executive Director of the Museum of Human Rights, Freedom, and Tolerance, Visiting Senior Research Fellow and Head of the US-Russia-Former Soviet Union Dialogue Project at the Center for the Study of Genocide and Human Rights at the Rutgers University (USA).Today he presents the article about the situation in Republic of Moldova, post-soviet State solving the serious Problems of creation of the new Democratic Nation.
Moldova is a small country, situated in Southeastern Europe, between Ukraine and Romania. The population was 4,400,000 as of 2002, of which 65 percent are Moldovans, 14 percent are Ukrainians, 13 percent are Russians and other groups such as Jews, Bulgarians, Roma and Gagauz. The predominant religion is Eastern Orthodox (98 percent) and the rest is Jewish (1.5 percent) and others. The most commonly spoken languages are Moldovan (Romanian), Russian and Gagauz. There was a decline of the population, which was standing at 3,630,000 in 2013, and 3,438,000 in 2018.
Neo-Communists dominated and continue to dominate all spheres of the Moldovian society and to enjoy wide support among the population. The mistreatment, including harassment, physical abuse and persecution is widespread, while highly corrupt police staffed by a large number of neo-Communists and their sympathizers are unable and unwilling to control violent supporters of Moldovan neo-Communists. Moreover, police and other law enforcement agencies, including the security service (SIS), which are indispensable repressive instruments in the hands of the Moldovan government and subject to the high levels of corruption, heavy handedly persecute opposition activities and minorities by using excessive force, physical abuse, intimidation and torture. The political turmoil, which Moldova has been experiencing for the last years, has led to more intolerance and prejudice in society.
