Weekly Roundup: Marches in Gagauzia
February 4, 2024
Marches in Gagauzia Commemorate “Illegal” Referendums
On February 2nd a large march was held in Comrat, the capital of the autonomous region of Gagauzia, commemorating the 10th anniversary of 2 referendums held in 2014 on the future of the autonomy. The first referendum asked residents if they wanted to join the EU or the Russian led “Customs Union” with 97% of respondents opting for the Customs Union. The second referendum was in support of Gagauzia seeking independence if “Moldova loses its independence” which passed with 98% of the vote. These referendums were later ruled illegal in court.
The march was organized by a member of Bashkan Hutsel’s team and organizers refused to answer journalists questions about who paid for the event. Before the march an order leaked from the General Education Department of Gagauzia compelling all 44 schools in the autonomy to bring their staff and 12th grade classes to the event. Busses were provided for organized transport of people to the event.
Journalists speaking to people in the crowd found many people who stated that they were "forced to come" to the event. Most people talked to did not want journalists to use their names and some people holding balloons with the colors of the autonomy asked that photos not show their faces. Others stated that they came to the event by choice. Asked what the event was about people gave varying answers but largely supported a closer relationship with Russia, rejection of NATO and hostility to the possibility of Moldova joining Romania. Others complained that Shor had promised them cheap gas but that the central government had somehow interfered with this.
Speaking at the event Bashkan Hustel stated:
“In the referendums that took place ten years ago, the people of Gagauzia gave a clear and unambiguous answer: we see our future as part of the independent and neutral Republic of Moldova, and we stand for the Eurasian integration of our country.”
Other Political and Foreign Affairs News
Here’s a rapid fire roundup of the other key political and Foreign Affairs stories of the week:
97.5% of Transnistrian residents now have Moldovan citizenship. In the last 5 years more than 35,000 people obtained Moldovan citizenship, of those 24,500 were from Transnistria. Of the 366,532 residents registered in the region 357,534 are citizens of Moldova.
President Sandu created a commission to create a new national defense strategy for Moldova. The commission is tasked with drafting the strategy in the next 5 months. Its basis will be the new national security strategy adopted last year.
Opposition parties consolidate around common presidential candidates. The parties Platfoma DA, League of Cities and Communities and Party of Change have agreed to support a common presidential candidate and form an electoral block in the 2025 parliamentary elections. These parties are united in a pro-EU, anti-corruption and anti-PAS political stance. The Socialists also stated that they are in talks with the MAN party about a common candidate. They stated that the goal would to nominate a non-political uniting figure and noted that Igor Dodon would fit the bill well. How nominating the leader of their party and former president indicted in multiple corruption cases fit that criteria is unclear.
The Bureau of Statistics will conduct a national population and housing census between April 8 and July 7 this year. Moldova holds a census every 10 years and will be supported by 2 million euros in EU funding to digitize the process.
The “Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration” will become simply the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” European integration work will move to the Office for European Integration which will be part of the State Chancellery. This does not mean the creation of a new ministry and continues the reorganization that began when Minister Popescu resigned last month.
Parliament passes cash restriction measures in the first reading. The new law would require property transactions valued at over 100 average salaries (1.3 million lei or ~$77k dollars) and vehicle sales valued at over 50 average salaries to be made by bank transfer. These ceilings will reduce to 75 and 25 average salaries respectively in 2026 and further reduce in 2027. The goal of the bill is to make it increasingly challenging to spend money earned illegally or through corrupt actions.
The Ministry of Culture has proposed a pedestrian street in the city center. The proposal follows the discovery of a layer of old cobblestones beneath August 31st street between Pushkin and Bodoni. The proposed changes involve keeping the cobblestones while also having through bike lanes. It also envisions a general rehabilitation of the surrounding areas as public pedestrian space.
Irina Vlah has continued to lean into Russian talking points on defense and geopolitics. The chairwoman of “Platform Moldova” gave an interview questioning why Moldova would be increasing its defense budget now in the face of serious social issues. She explained that Ukraine and Georgia both faced consequences when they moved towards NATO and that Moldova should instead pursue strengthened neutrality. Since making her 180 degree turn from a heavily pro-Russian politician to a nominally pro-EU one, Vlah has not changed her talking points on many key issues.
Moldova has refused asylum claims by 6 LGBTQ+ Russian citizens in separate cases. Each case was filed on the basis of systemic discrimination in Russia as well as fears of being drafted to fight in Ukraine. Explaining the decision the Bureau of Migration stated that “mere membership of a social group is not a basis [for claiming asylum]” and that “some individuals have specific obligations to defend their country and their avoidance of military service in Russia does not pose a risk of prosecution.” LGBTQ+ rights group Genderdoc-M said that it was "deeply shocked" by these refusals.
The Israeli Ambassador to Moldova gave an interview in which he called the situation with Ilan Shor a “legal” and not a diplomatic matter. The ambassador noted that Ilan Shor lives freely in Israel because "He has not committed any crimes against the State of Israel."
The Romanian far right is openly talking about annexing parts of Ukraine (and all of Moldova). Claudiu Tarziu, member of the Romanian Senate, former co-President of the political party AUR and chairman of the National Council of Leaders of AUR, gave a speech in Iasi calling for the “reintegration” of historically Romanian lands. These included all of Moldova as well as substantial sections of Ukraine. These statements follow recent statements by far right Hungarian leader Mi Hazank in which he states that Hungary should “reintegrate” Transcarpathia if Ukraine looses the war. In his speech Tarziu stated that pursuing this goal would be worth the loss of NATO membership and that Romania could cooperate with Russia on this project. Also this week, Moldova has renewed a 5 year ban on AUR President George Simion entering the country. Simion is banned from Moldova and Ukraine due to his many statements about annexing all or part of the nations. These statements mirror Russian messaging at the beginning of the full scale invasion calling for Ukraine to essentially be partitioned between neighboring countries (excluding Moldova which would itself be partitioned).
Transparency International released the corruption perception index - Moldova ranks 76 out of 180 countries. The country has gone up 15 places since last year and 44 positions since 2019. Currently Moldova is tied with China, Bahrain, Cuba, Hungary, North Macedonia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Romania ranked 63rd, Ukraine 104th, and Russia 141st.
Economics and Infrastructure News
Here’s a rapid fire roundup of the other key economic and infrastructure stories of the week:
Transnistrian companies begin paying taxes. Between January 1st and January 24th Transnistrian companies paid 8.2 million lei under the new tax regime. Complaints continue to roll in, but the companies are paying. This highlights how critical EU market access is to Transnistrian firms and their lack of bargaining power with Chisinau on the issue.
The Director of Railway of Moldova Oleg Tofilat resigned. Explaining his decision Tofilat stated that as the director of the public company he did not have enough powers to independently run the company as many decisions are taken by the government. The railroad continues to be in crisis with employees having just received their October paychecks in January. Tofilat called for the state to subsidize the railroad’s budget by 20% and noted that in a situation where the CEO and (effective) board of directors disagree, the CEO should resign.
Moldova applies to join the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). The new director of the National Bank, Anca Dragu, applied for Moldova to enter this system in order to reduce financial transfer times and fees. Currently, transferring 60,000 euros between Moldova and the EU incurs around 500 euros in fees. If Moldova joins SEPA this will reduce to around 4 euros.