Moldova: Internal Flight Alternatives

 

1.   INTRODUCTION

Moldova's first year of independence was marked by continuing internal strife. The cease-fire agreement of mid-July 1992 brought an end to a four-month period of armed conflict which had been confined to a relatively small area along the Dniester River. Nevertheless, thousands had fled their homes as a result of the fighting, seeking protection in other regions of the republic, Ukraine or elsewhere. Due to the relatively limited geographic scope of the armed conflict, questions relating to internal flight alternatives have become important to the determination of refugee claims from Moldova.

The issue of internal flight alternatives is a complex one, involving an examination of a number of demographic, political and socio-cultural characteristics of the country in question. This report will outline the most important of these characteristics in order to provide a context in which the general question of internal flight alternatives can be examined.

1.1               Geographic and Demographic Factors

(The most recent census taken in Moldova was the Soviet census of 1989, which was conducted throughout the entire Soviet Union. Unless otherwise stated, the information provided in this section was taken from the 1989 census.)

With an area of approximately 33,000 km2, about three-fifths the size of Nova Scotia, Moldova is the second smallest of the former-Soviet republics (Europa 1992 1992, 2762; The Hammond Atlas 1986, 169). It is divided into 40 raions (districts) and ten cities and towns of republican status. The population of the country is approximately 4.3 million, of which ethnic Moldovans make up 64.5 per cent, Ukrainians 13.8 per cent and Russians 13 per cent. As well there are about 153,000 Gagauz and 88,000 Bulgarians in Moldova, the majority of whom are located in the southern raions of Comrat, Ciadir-Lunga, Basarabeasca, Vulcanesti and Taraclia. Accounting for over 40 per cent of its population, the latter raion also has the highest percentage of ethnic Bulgarians in the country (Moldova July 1992, 34; Moldova 23 Mar. 1993). Moldovans are the predominant ethnic group in rural regions throughout the republic, where they were "instrumental in preserving the language and the national identity" of Moldova during the period of Soviet rule (IHF Dec. 1991, 2).

The Dniester River bisects Moldova into two regions, the "left bank" (east of the river) and the "right bank" (west of the river). The left bank consists of five raions and three cities of republican status. The Grigoriopol and Ribnita raions are located entirely to the east of the Dniester River, while portions of the Dubasari, Slobozia and Camenca raions are west of it. The republican status towns and cities in the left bank are Tiraspol, Dubasari and Ribnita. For the purposes of this paper, the term "left bank" will refer to the above-mentioned raions and cities in their entirety. While Bendery is technically in the right bank of the river, it is considered a de facto part of the "Dniester Moldovan Republic" (DMR).

At its nearest point, the left bank is less than 20 kilometres from the Moldovan capital of Chisinau (see map). The population of the left bank and Bendery is just over 684,000. Ethnic Moldovans, at 41.1 per cent of the population, are the largest single ethnic group in the region, but the combined ethnic Russian (30.8 per cent) and ethnic Ukrainian (28.5 per cent) populations constitute a Slavic majority of nearly 60 percent (Moldova July 1992, 3).

Ethnic Ukrainians and Russians form significant minorities in major urban centres in the right bank. For example, their combined population accounts for some 40 per cent of Chisinau's approximately 800,000 residents. Of the populations of the other republican status cities and towns in the right bank (Balti, Cahul, Orhei, Soroca and Ungheni), they account for between 17.8 per cent and 49 per cent. Moldovans form majorities in four of the six republican status municipalities in the right bank, these being Chisinau, Orhei, Soroca and Ungheni. Excluding the Gagauz region, Moldovans also form majorities in all right-bank raions. Ethnic Ukrainians form minorities of between 22.4 per cent and 33.5 per cent in five of the northwestern right-bank raions (Moldova 23 Mar. 1993).

2.             MOVEMENTS FOR SELF-DETERMINATION

(For more information about the events referred to in this section, please refer to the April 1993 DIRB Question and Answer Series Chronology entitled Moldova: Chronology of Events, June 1940 - February 1993)

2.1          The "Dniester Moldovan Republic"

In reaction to what they perceived as discrimination directed against them by the Moldovan government, ethnic Ukrainians and Russians proclaimed the "Dniester Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic" in September 1990. The region's leaders have since dropped any reference to the now-defunct Soviet Union, thus the region is now known as simply the Dniester Moldovan Republic (DMR) (Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 86; IHRLG Jan. 1993, 2; Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 13). The DMR declared its independence from Moldova in September 1991, only days after the latter proclaimed its independence from the Soviet Union (Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 86; RFE/RL 17 Jan. 1992, 9).

The conflict between the DMR and central authorities in Chisinau turned violent as early as November 1990. However, it was not until March 1992 that fighting became serious, and in mid-June it escalated into what one report described as a "raging war" over control of the right-bank city of Bendery (Helsinki Commission Aug. 1992, 14; "Memorial" Human Rights Center 11 Sept. 1992, 7-14). A cease-fire administered by a trilateral peacekeeping force of troops drawn from Russia, Moldova and the DMR came into effect in mid-July and has generally held since then (Country Reports 1992 1993, 847; Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 4-5, 7).

There are a number of reports that elements of Russia's 14th Army stationed in the left bank and Bendery have participated in the armed conflict (RFE/RL 11 Sept. 1992, 44-46; Country Reports 1992 1993, 847; "Memorial" Human Rights Center 11 Sept. 1992, 3, 9). According to one report, however, only about 1,000 of the 14th Army's estimated 10,000 troops actually took part in the fighting around Bendery (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 21-22). Since the autumn of 1991 the 14th Army has also reportedly been supplying DMR forces with equipment such as armoured personnel carriers, rocket launchers and T-64 tanks. According to Vladimir Socor of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, such supplies were "calibrated to keep the left-bank forces constantly a few steps ahead of the official Moldovan forces" (RFE/RL 11 Sept. 1992, 42-44).

While the DMR remains unrecognized by any state in the United Nations, having put working government structures in place, it clearly exercises control over most of its proclaimed territory (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, vi; Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 87). The territory of the DMR generally covers the left bank, Bendery and the right-bank portion of Slobozia raion. According to a representative for Moldova's Permanent Mission to the U.N., the Moldovan parliament has declared this area "territory occupied by separatist forces" with the assistance of the Russian 14th Army, which it describes as an "occupational army" (Moldova 7 May 1993).

While recent reports state that Moldovan and DMR officials share control of Bendery, information from the Permanent Mission to the UN indicates that within the municipality of Bendery, the former control only the suburb of Varnita (Basapress 1 Mar 1993; Izvestiia 3 Feb. 1993; BHHRG Mar. 1993, 19; Moldova 7 May 1993). In February 1993 eight villages in the left bank were reportedly still under the jurisdiction of the Moldovan police (BHHRG Mar. 1993, 16).

In early 1993 work toward a political settlement of the conflict remained stalled over the central issue of the Dniester region's eventual status within Moldova. The DMR's goal, as adopted by a vote of its Supreme Soviet, is to restructure Moldova into a confederation, something that would, according to an official DMR proposal, amount to the partition of Moldova into two de facto states (BHHRG Mar. 1993, 23, 26-28; Izvestiia 11 Jan. 1993).

2.2   The Gagauz Region

The Gagauz are a Christian Turkish minority who moved into Bessarabia after Russia's annexation of the region in 1812 (IHF Dec. 1991, 1). The independence of the Gagauz region was proclaimed in August 1990 at a "Congress of Deputies of All Levels" in the regional capital of Comrat. The declaration, which covered the Comrat, Ciadir-Lunga, Basarabeasca, Vulcanesti and Taraclia raions and part of Cahul raion, symbolized the growing opposition among Gagauz activists to Moldova's language legislation (Radio Liberty 7 Sept. 1990, 9-11; RFE/RL 14 Aug. 1992, 13).

Elections to a Gagauz Supreme Soviet in late October 1990 almost resulted in violence, as "busloads" of unarmed Moldovans attempted to enter the region to prevent the vote. The Moldovan government declared a state of emergency and Soviet interior ministry troops were dispatched to the region, thus maintaining the peace (RFE/RL 14 Aug. 1992, 13).

The Gagauz leadership has since split into a hard-line group led by Stefan Topal and Mikhail Kendegelian, and a moderate faction led by Constantin Taushanji and Leonid Dobrov (Ibid., 12). In May 1991 Taushanji and Dobrov announced a proposal to create a Gagauz homeland within Moldova, a proposal President Mircea Snegur has since publicly supported (Ibid., 14-15).

Throughout 1992 the moderates appeared to gain ground. In February Dobrov was elected mayor of the Gagauz capital of Comrat (Ibid., 12, 16). While Topal is still president of the self-proclaimed Gagauz republic and Kendegelian is still speaker of the "Gagauz Supreme Soviet," by the end of 1992 the "government" of the region had rescinded its declaration of independence and was reportedly seeking "local autonomy within a federal framework" (Country Reports 1992 1993, 854; Basapress 10 Apr. 1993; Interfax 25 Mar. 1993).

With the exception of two incidents, the situation throughout the Gagauz region has remained relatively calm in 1993. In late January 1993 the municipal headquarters of Vulcanesti was occupied by armed Gagauz militants (BHHRG Mar. 1993, 13; Izvestiia 26 Jan. 1993; Rompres 27 Jan. 1993), and on 25 March a man died while in detention at a Moldovan police station in Comrat (Interfax 25 Mar. 1993). Shortly thereafter a Gagauz crowd attacked the police station, reportedly burning it to the ground, but later that day Kendegelian denied that the "Gagauz Guard" had been involved in the attack (Ibid.).

3.               MIGRATION ISSUES

It is difficult to know exactly how many people were displaced from the zone of conflict in 1992. Two 1993 reports are careful to state that about 100,000 people fled their homes as a result of the fighting that began in mid-June, but that many of those displaced did not register with authorities when they arrived (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 6-7; Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 86). As well, it remains unclear how many returned to the Dniester region after the cease-fire agreement.

Those who fled the fighting in the DMR to areas of the right bank are of particular interest to the study of internal flight alternatives. By August 1992 about 50,000 displaced persons from the Dniester region were officially registered in the right bank (Nezavisimaia Gazeta 23 July 1992; Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 7; BBC Summary 15 Aug. 1992). The majority of these were ethnic Moldovans, but a reported 4,000 ethnic Russians, 3,700 Ukrainians, 520 Gagauz, 500 Bulgarians and 38 Jews had also fled to the right bank (Nezavisimaia Gazeta 23 July 1992).

Reports since October 1992 suggest that substantial numbers of displaced persons have returned to the Dniester region, but that between 2,300 and 4,000 remain in the right bank. In October 1992, 1,099 of these individuals reportedly gave "political motivations" as their reason for not returning (Danielyan 5 May 1993, 2; Holos Ukrayiny 8 Oct. 1992; Socor 4 June 1993). Vladimir Socor states that the majority of the approximately 2,500 displaced persons in the right bank in early June 1993 feared returning to the left bank for political reasons. He adds that with the exception of ethnic Russian policemen who had fought on the side of the Moldovan government in 1992, almost all are ethnic Moldovans. Socor also stated that he is unaware of any cases of ethnic Russians or Ukrainians leaving the right bank to settle in the DMR, except for "committed communists" who went to Tiraspol after the events of August 1991 to take up political positions within the DMR government (Socor 4 June 1993).

On 30 July 1992 the Ukrainian interior ministry reportedly stated that there were about 36,000 "refugees" from Moldova in Ukraine, but by mid-August 1992 the Ukrainian Ministry of Education was putting the number at 53,000; the latter ministry was using the summer recess to house refugees in schools (BBC Summary 1 Aug. 1992; Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 7).

3.1 Propiska and Internal Movement

The residence permit system (propiska) is still in effect in Moldova (Subtelny 2 Apr. 1993, 17; Danielyan 5 May 1993, 2; Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 91). According to Yelena Danielyan, a freelance journalist based in Boston who has travelled to Moldova on a number of occasions, most recently in July 1992, the Ministry of Internal Affairs issues a propiska stamp which appears in the internal passport of the holder. Anyone moving from one part of Moldova to another must state their reasons for moving and must obtain "written permission" from the owner of the apartment in which he or she will stay, as well as from all other adult relatives living in the apartment. She indicates that displaced persons from the Dniester region can obtain a residence permit when they stay with relatives, in dormitories or in government-supplied accommodation in hotels. DMR authorities are currently implementing their own propiska system (Danielyan 5 May 1993, 2).

Danielyan indicates that in practice the residence permit system is not enforced and has become increasingly irrelevant in the right bank (Ibid., 3). Orest Subtelny, a professor of history at York University, adds that he has heard reports that one can obtain a propiska in Moldova for a relatively small bribe. Nevertheless, there are still significant problems associated with finding an apartment or other residence in a country where housing is in short supply (2 Apr. 1993, 17). Vladimir Socor similarly indicates that there is a chronic housing shortage in the right bank (4 June 1993).

On the broader issue of internal movement, Country Reports 1992 states that "there are no closed areas or restrictions on travel in Moldova" (1993, 852). According to other reports, however, there are considerable restrictions on movement between areas controlled by the DMR and the rest of the country. Persons with residence permits issued by Moldovan or Ukrainian authorities who move between these regions are "subjected to detailed questioning" by DMR border guards, and those unable to provide a sufficient explanation for travelling to the right bank have been turned back (Danielyan 5 May 1993, 3; Socor 4 June 1993).

4.     THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION IN THE RIGHT BANK

The majority of human rights abuses in Moldova in 1992 took place in the DMR. The most serious violations occurred in association with the armed conflict of March to mid-July and its aftermath, and have been documented by reports from a variety of governmental and non-governmental organizations including Helsinki Watch, the International Human Rights Law Group, the British Helsinki Human Rights Group and the U.S. Department of State. Nevertheless, since 1989 some ethnic Russians in Moldova and the Russian media have accused the Moldovan government of widespread discrimination against Russian-speakers and of failing to protect minorities from violence perpetrated by Moldovan nationalists (RFE/RL 27 Nov. 1992, 7). This is exemplified by a report from the Kishinev "Memorial" Society, a group affiliated with the Interfront movement in Moldova. Both groups drew their support mainly from ethnic Russians in the republic and are now defunct. Most members of the Kishinev "Memorial" Society moved to Tiraspol after the failed coup of August 1991. (For further information please see the Vladimir Socor interview of 22 June 1993, DIRB Response to Information Request MDA13195 of 17 February 1993, and Yelena Danielyan's 15 July 1993 presentation on Moldova to the Immigration and Refugee Board.)

A number of recent reports indicate that the Dniester conflict is more political and ideological than ethnic in character (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 3; BHHRG Mar. 1993, 8; CSCE 16 Sept. 1992, 14; Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 86; RFE/RL 26 Feb. 1993, 17). For instance, the DMR leadership largely supported the 1991 coup attempt in Moscow and is now seen as wanting "a return to the old Soviet structures" (Country Reports 1992 1993, 847; BHHRG Mar. 1993, 8). Nevertheless, demographic factors, the prominence of the language issue and the formulation of laws concerning the use of language add a potential ethnic component to the issue.

4.1   The Legislative Framework

On 31 August and 1 September 1989, Moldova's parliament, at that time still called the Supreme Soviet, passed a set of five language laws which made Moldovan the state language and replaced Cyrillic with Latin as the official script (Country Reports 1992 1993, 853; Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 15).

A controversial aspect of these laws has been Article 7 of the Law On the Functioning of Languages of the Territory of the Moldavian SSR, which states that public sector workers who "associate with citizens in their official work capacity" must be sufficiently fluent in Moldovan and Russian, while public employees working in the Gagauz region must know Moldovan, Russian and Gagauz (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 15-16; Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 88; Ibid. Aug. 1992, 18). The law sets 1 January 1994 as the date by which all government workers must be certified for fluency, but does not indicate what level of fluency will be required; it states only that language skills must be at a "level of communication sufficient to execute professional duties" (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 15-16; Country Reports 1992 1993, 853). The law also includes a provision that minorities may use their native language in order to "satisfy their national-cultural necessities" (Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 88).

A law on the rights of national minorities was still at draft stage as of March 1993. The Law on the Rights of National Minorities of the Republic of Moldova reportedly set out what could provide the basis for special status for the left-bank raions, stating that they are "distinct in the peculiarities of their history [and] the national composition of the population," and that they "comprise one of the historically defined language zones" of Moldova (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, vi).

Two parliamentary bodies, the Commission on Minority Rights and Nationality Affairs and the Commission on Local Self-Government, have been established. According to one report, in 1992 the Commission on Minority Rights received 868 letters of complaint and met with approximately 900 people on minority-rights issues. Complaints involved a number of issues such as someone wanting to place a child in a particular kindergarten, claims to land and dismissal from employment. In its annual report for 1992 the Commission on Minority Rights indicated that local officials still sympathetic to the former communist system had hindered its work. Both commissions were involved in examining the Gagauz "homeland" proposal (see section 2.2) but delayed looking at the plan for one year before finally rejecting it outright (RFE/RL 14 Aug. 1992, 15; BHHRG Mar. 1993, 15).

In July 1991 Moldova committed itself to "adhering" to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and to ratifying the associated Covenants on Civil and Political Rights and on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. On 26 February 1992 it signed the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) (IHRLG Jan. 1993, 3; CSCE 16 Sept. 1992, 3).

4.2     The Language Laws in Practice

The Moldovan language is essentially Romanian, differing from "Moldavian" only in that it uses the Latin rather than the Cyrillic alphabet (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, v; IHF Dec. 1991, 2) Most ethnic Moldovans speak Moldovan and Russian, while Moldova's Ukrainian, Russian and Gagauz minorities generally speak Russian as their first language (Country Reports 1992 1993, 853; IHF Dec. 1991, 1; BHHRG Mar. 1993, 13).

Assessments of Moldova's language laws vary. One report points out that because ethnic Moldovans are generally bilingual, the law represents a "substantial burden" for Russian-speakers and its impact will therefore be contingent on how certain provisions are implemented (Country Reports 1992 1993, 853). Two other reports, however, state that the laws are "nondiscriminatory" and "broadly acceptable" to non-Moldovans (RFE/RL 27 Nov. 1992, 6), and that they are "fairer" than legislation proposed in former-Soviet republics such as Latvia (BHHRG Mar. 1993, 9).

Two autumn 1992 reports indicated that implementation of the language law was proceeding slowly and that no official test for language proficiency existed (Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press 28 Oct. 1992; BBC Summary 2 Sept. 1992). In March 1993 Helsinki Watch recommended that the Moldovan government address uncertainties surrounding the law by establishing "broadly legal guidelines defining minimum language proficiency" for the types of jobs mentioned earlier (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993). According to Danielyan, certification for language proficiency as per Article 7 of the Law On the Functioning of Languages had not begun as of early May 1993, and she indicates that the 1 January 1994 implementation deadline likely will be extended (Danielyan 5 May 1993, 3).

Despite fears among minorities in Moldova that the government has embarked on a policy of "Romanianization," several recent reports indicate that the use of Russian continues to be pervasive throughout the country and in most sectors of Moldovan society. One report notes that in December 1991, all police arrest forms in one Chisinau police station and all traffic signs in the city were in Russian only (IHF Dec. 1991, 4). Russian continued to be the dominant language throughout Moldova in 1992, including in Chisinau and in most other cities. Although much of the country's official business was conducted in Russian, one report notes a decline in the use of Russian in the "political, cultural and commercial sphere," coupled with an increased use of Moldovan in those same areas (Country Reports 1992 1993, 853). According to a March 1993 report, high-level ethnic Moldovan officials, including the current defence minister, prefer to speak Russian (BHHRG Mar. 1993, 12).

While the government is reportedly providing Moldovan language instruction free of charge, in 1992 Russian-speakers criticized the government for not adequately funding this programme. Izvestia reported that the programme was being improperly administered because the government had "farmed out the courses to cooperatives and individuals of dubious character who are using them as a way to make money." On the other hand, ethnic Moldovans have indicated that few Russian-speakers have made a "perceivable effort" to attend language classes (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 17; Country Reports 1992 1993, 853; Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press 28 Oct. 1992).

4.3      Economic Discrimination

As stated in the Law on the Functioning of Languages, the fluency of all public sector employees in Moldovan, Russian and possibly Gagauz must be certified by the end of 1993. It remains unclear what will happen to those who do not meet the required level of fluency. And although the law applies only to "state functionaries," the Helsinki Commission, a branch of the U.S. Congress that monitors compliance with the documents of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, emphasizes that the scope of the law is actually very broad, since few activities in Moldova fall outside the public sector (Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 88).

Some Russian-speakers have alleged that the government has already begun firing employees, either because they do not have sufficient command of Moldovan or simply on grounds of ethnicity (Country Reports 1992 1993, 853; Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 50). The aforementioned report by the Kishinev "Memorial" Society refers to "sweeping purges of the state apparatus" that began in May 1990 (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 50; BHHRG Mar. 1993, 11). Orest Subtelny recently stated that he has heard of no large-scale firings on ethnic grounds, while Yelena Danielyan has investigated such reports and found either that allegations of discrimination could not be substantiated or that those making the allegations recounted the same isolated incidents previously described by others (Subtelny 2 Apr. 1993, 9-10; Danielyan 5 May 1993, 4).

While there have been layoffs, the Moldovan government asserts that ethnic Russians historically have been over-represented in many institutions in the country, and now that economic conditions are forcing the scaling-down or closure of many enterprises, ethnic Russians are being disproportionately affected (Country Reports 1992 1993, 853).

4.4          Cultural Rights

A major issue of concern for minorities in Moldova is native-language education. The government is opening schools that teach in Ukrainian, Gagauz and Bulgarian. With regard to the Gagauz, one report states that the government is providing for education in that language at all levels, even though Gagauz has not been spoken "in its pure form" for 200 years (BHHRG Mar. 1993, 13; Helsinki Commission Aug. 1992, 18; Country Reports 1992 1993, 852, 854).

Two reports, one from a Russian television station in 1992 and the other from an ethnic Russian group in Moldova in 1991, refer to the closure of Russian-language and mixed-language schools in Moldova (BBC Summary 31 July 1992; BHHRG Mar. 1993, 15). In October 1991 a delegation of Dniester Ukrainians visiting Kiev told officials there that there was only one Ukrainian "school" operating in all of Moldova. On 26 March 1992, however, the Moldovan government reportedly announced that "a number" of Ukrainian-language schools and kindergartens would be opened for the 1992-93 school year (BBC Summary 5 Oct. 1991; CJR News Brief 31 Mar. 1992, 5).

With respect to universities, the situation is unclear. In December 1992 a Russian media source reported on a law passed that month which allegedly "scraps former legal guarantees for receiving higher education in the Russian language" (Russian Press Digest 24 Dec. 1992). By mid-1991 a decision had been taken to open the republic's first Gagauz university, in Komrat (BBC Summary 23 July 1991), but it remains unclear whether the December 1992 law affects this decision.

However, some steps are being taken to expand other cultural opportunities for the Gagauz. In 1992 the speaker of the Moldovan parliament requested assistance from Turkey in providing educational and cultural materials for the Gagauz, and the Gagauz community itself expanded ties with Turkey to include educational exchanges, high-level political contacts and meetings with businessmen (Country Reports 1992 1993, 854; Helsinki Commission Aug. 1992, 16; Ibid. Jan. 1993, 87).

Russian sources have reported on "decree no. 86," signed in April 1991, which provides for the removal from "the republic's library stocks" of books by Russian authors (Russian Press Digest 8 June 1991, 5; Ibid. 31 May 1991). However, more recent reports indicate that access to Russian-language electronic and print media, theatres, movies and other cultural materials is widespread, especially in Chisinau (BHHRG Mar. 1993, 12; Country Reports 1992 1993, 853).

4.5             Ethnic and Political Violence

Instances of ethnic and political violence in the Dniester region have been documented, especially in 1992 (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993; "Memorial" Human Rights Center 11 Sept. 1992). The extent to which such incidents take place in the right bank, however, is of particular importance in examining the issue of internal flight alternatives in Moldova.

4.5.1        Incidents in the Right Bank

A number of violent incidents of an ethnic and/or political character reportedly took place in the right bank in 1990 and 1991. Most occurred in Chisinau and often involved attacks on Russian-speaking deputies of the Moldovan parliament (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 17-18; RFE/RL 29 Mar. 1991, 12; Ibid. 4 Jan. 1991, 59). According to Helsinki Watch, due to difficulties in registering such attacks "there is reason to believe that hate crimes [in the right bank] are more widespread" than just the two attacks described in its report (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 49).

There have been few reports of politically or ethnically motivated attacks in the right bank that have resulted in death. In May 1990 assailants beat to death Dimitrii Matiushin, an ethnic Russian, in Chisinau. According to a "self-identified eyewitness," one of the assailants uttered anti-Russian remarks during the attack (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 49).

Although Moldova officially boycotted the All-Union referendum of March 1991, a large number of Russians, Ukrainians and Gagauz participated anyway. Before and during the vote there were violent incidents in Chisinau. On 5 March three parliamentary deputies from Bendery were reportedly assaulted at the entrance of the Supreme Soviet building. Another deputy alleged that there were "perhaps hundreds" of politically motivated attacks on people who advocated continued union with the USSR during the referendum, which took place from 14-17 March (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 17-18). Further, according to a Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty report, protesters blocked a number of polling stations. In Chisinau, they attacked three stations, assaulting organizers and voters there (RFE/RL 29 Mar. 1991, 12).

Violence in the right bank in the aftermath of the failed coup of late August 1991 appears to have been minimal. During a "victory rally" in Chisinau on 22 August, President Snegur, the prime minister and the speaker of parliament urged those in attendance to refrain from retaliating against those who supported the coup (RFE/RL 30 Aug. 1991, 61).

Just prior to the Moldovan presidential elections of December 1991, Gheorghe Malarchuk, one of the candidates, dropped out of the race claiming that his supporters had been threatened by local government officials sympathetic to incumbent President Snegur, who was subsequently re-elected (Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 94). Although violent incidents occurred in the left bank around the time of the elections, according to the International Helsinki Federation, there was no anti-Russian backlash in the right bank as a result (IHF Dec. 1991, 10).

Despite the armed conflict in the Dniester region, in 1992 there were only scattered reports among currently available sources of so-called "hate crimes" involving violence against minorities in Chisinau and other right-bank areas. One incident involved Vatalii Balin, who was severely beaten in Chisinau in June 1992, apparently due solely to his ethnicity (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 50).

By August 1992 one group, Unitatia-Edinstvo, stated that it had registered 30-40 cases of ethnically and politically motivated attacks during the previous three years, but it remains unclear how many of these attacks actually took place in 1992 (Ibid., 49). One of two political movements growing out of the right wing of the Moldovan Communist Party, Unitatia-Edinstvo has been active in Chisinau and other cities in representing the rights of Russian-speakers in the right bank (Ibid., 49; RFE/RL 5 Apr. 1991, 17). In late April 1992 the group's headquarters burned down; it had reportedly been "attacked" several times before, and one of the movement's leaders believed this latest occurrence was a politically motivated arson (TASS 29 Apr. 1992).

4.5.2         The CDPF and the "Volunteers"

The Christian Democratic Popular Front (CDPF), known until mid-February 1992 as the Moldovan Popular Front, was formed in 1988 and officially registered as a "political movement" in October 1989. It advocates the reunification of Moldova with Romania, but public opinion polls conducted in September 1992 and January 1993 indicate that only a small proportion of the population supports such a union (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 11; IHRLG Jan. 1993, 3; RFE/RL 26 Feb. 1993, 16; Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 85).

Reports differ on the the status of "volunteers" in Moldova. According to the Kishinev "Memorial" Society, the "volunteer movement" was begun in October 1990 "under the aegis" of the Moldovan Popular Front, specifically in response to the Gagauz referendum on sovereignty to be held later that month. Members of the movement reportedly "committed a number of acts of violence and barbarism" in that region and in Cahul raion around the time of the referendum (RFE/RL 14 Aug. 1992, 13).

In December 1990 the Supreme Soviet stated that the "volunteer detachments" had been disbanded (IHF Dec. 1991, 7). However, in 1990 and 1991 "strangers" reportedly assaulted Moldovan students for refusing to enrol in the "volunteer" movement. In the early days of the August 1991 coup attempt the government assembled approximately 100,000 people from throughout the country to guard key government buildings and installations in Chisinau, but no weapons were issued (RFE/RL 20 Sept. 1991, 19). According to one report, "volunteers" were active during the fighting in Bendery and the left bank in June and July 1992. They proved "most difficult to manage" and reportedly tortured captured troops who were fighting on the side of the DMR ("Memorial" Human Rights Center 11 Sept. 1992, 18-19).

In September 1992 there were "volunteers," reportedly under the authority of the Moldovan Army, who were responsible for supplying their own weapons (Ibid., 7). In late January 1993 two "groups of paramilitary volunteers" said to be affiliated to the CDPF issued statements hinting that there could be violence if an expected referendum on Moldovan independence took place (RFE/RL 26 Feb. 1993, 19). Thus far such a referendum has not been formalized by parliament. Recent reports by Helsinki Watch and the U.S. Department of State do not indicate whether the "volunteers" are an organized or armed movement (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993; Country Reports 1992 1993).

Of the reports consulted for this paper, only that of the Kishinev "Memorial" Society links the Popular Front directly to acts of political and ethnic violence in the right bank through the volunteer movement (IHF Dec. 1991, 7).

In addition to speculation about the CDPF being a possible sponsor of political violence, events of 1992 and early 1993 have raised the possibility that party members themselves could be victims of political harassment and/or violence. Since 1989 the CDPF's prominence in Moldovan politics has steadily eroded, and in 1992 it lost its hold on government. Its power further declined in late January 1993 when the speaker of parliament and three deputies, all CDPF members, were forced from office (RFE/RL 26 Feb. 1993, 18-19). According to one recent report the party's newspaper, Tsara, has been raided a number of times and some CDPF members have lost their jobs, although it is unclear if these were high-level political appointments where one would expect to see a change in personnel after a change in government (Subtelny 2 Apr. 1993, 21).

4.5.3               Response by Police and Other Official Bodies

The Kishinev "Memorial" Society has alleged that in late 1990 and 1991 the Moldovan police ignored attacks directed at minorities. It states that sometimes police refused to respond during attacks or violent incidents, and that they did not adequately investigate complaints or prosecute those accused (RFE/RL 29 Mar. 1991, 12-13; Ibid. 4 Jan. 1991, 59).

Nevertheless, while registered attacks have been investigated, Helsinki Watch is critical of the Moldovan government for the fact that as of March 1993 no cases had been resolved in court. With respect to the Matiushin killing, three men had been under investigation since April 1991 but had yet to be brought to trial. Police categorized the attack on Vitalii Balin as "hooliganism" and informed the victim that he could sue his assailants (Helsinki Watch Mar. 1993, 8-9, 49-50). According to an April 1992 TASS report, up until that time a number of attacks against the Unitatia-Edinstvo office in Chisinau had not been adequately investigated by "republican authorities" (29 Apr. 1992). While this may point to ethnic bias on the part of certain police officials, Yelena Danielyan emphasizes that there is considerable evidence of slow police response to complaints in general. She has no information to indicate that police response varies according to the ethnicity of the complainant (5 May 1993, 8).

5.              FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

Serious ethnic and political conflict within Moldova has thus far been confined to a relatively small portion of the country. While the right bank (excluding Bendery) has seen little political violence since 1989, the question of internal flight alternatives in Moldova also depends on the general state of civil and political rights west of the Dniester River.

In this regard a number of recent reports are relatively positive about the situation in the right bank. In November 1992 Vladimir Socor wrote about a "national consensus" built around independence, "observance of civil and political rights irrespective of ethnic status," and negotiated arrangements for autonomy for the Dniester and Gagauz regions (RFE/RL 27 Nov. 1992, 6). The Helsinki Commission later stated that in 1992 Moldova was making "tentative headway toward forging a new state and joining the community of democratic European states" (Jan. 1993, 94). In March 1993 Helsinki Watch noted the "generally harmonious relations within Moldova's heterogenous society" (Mar. 1993, 3). At the same time the British Helsinki Human Rights Group indicated that "it has never been our view that the Republic of Moldova was discriminating unfairly against its ethnic minorities" (Mar. 1993, 21).

However, both Helsinki Watch and the Helsinki Commission are careful to qualify their assessments. According to Helsinki Watch there is still a "lack of faith among some in the government's ability to protect the rights of non-Moldovan residents" (Mar. 1993, 1). The lack of a political settlement in the Dniester and Gagauz regions and continued deployment of the 14th Army in the left bank and Bendery also have the potential to significantly destabilize human rights in Moldova (Ibid., 2; Helsinki Commission Jan. 1993, 95; BHHRG Mar. 1993, 24-25). Among the issues likely to play an important role in determining the character of Moldova's human rights situation in the coming months, therefore, are negotiations on the status of the Dniester region, negotiations on the withdrawal of Russia's 14th Army and the adoption of a new Moldovan constitution.

With regard to the Dniester region, direct negotiations between representatives of the Moldovan and DMR governments appear to remain at the preliminary stage. The inaugural meeting of "working commissions" from Chisinau and Tiraspol took place in mid-January 1993 (ITAR-TASS 13 Jan. 1993). By this time the Moldovan government had tabled a proposal that would provide wide-ranging economic powers to the left bank, where current language laws would not apply until the year 2005 (BHHRG Mar. 1993, 23, 30-31; Izvestiia 11 Jan. 1993; Rompres 11 Feb. 1993).

DMR leaders have countered with a plan to turn Moldova into a confederation of "two separate and independent states" that would exercise most of the internal and external powers of sovereign states (BHHRG Mar. 1993, 23; Izvestiia 11 Jan. 1993). No progress was made on key issues during "secret talks" held 17 March 1993 between Moldova's prime minister, the speaker of the Moldovan parliament and the president of the DMR (Basapress 22 Mar. 1993).

Talks between Moldova and Russia on the status of the 14th Army in Moldova are further along than those concerning the Dniester conflict, but in April 1993 a breakthrough on the key question of withdrawal appeared as distant as ever (Neue Züricher Zeitung 15 Jan. 1993; Interfax 11 Jan. 1993; Ibid. 7 Apr. 1993). The commander of the 14th Army, General Alexander Lebed, has emphasized the problems associated with removal of the 14th Army from Moldova, and in April the Russian side stated that withdrawal should be contingent upon resolution of the Dniester conflict (Interfax 9 Apr. 1993).

At the beginning of the year there was considerable speculation that Moldova would hold a referendum to confirm its status as an independent country, thereby putting to rest fears among minority groups that it would soon reunite with Romania (Izvestiia 18 Feb. 1993; BHHRG Mar. 1993, 7; RFE/RL 26 Feb. 1993, 18-19; Subtelny 2 Apr. 1993, 11). In mid-March parliament approved publication of a draft constitution for "nationwide discussion" (Mayak Radio Network 13 Mar. 1993; Interfax 19 Mar. 1993;). Parliament was to resume sitting in May, at which time it would deal with any proposed amendments. According to one report, parliamentary observers expect that an amended draft will be submitted to a referendum sometime thereafter (Ibid. 15 Apr. 1993). Given that the current draft constitution defines Moldova as an independent state, such a referendum will likely be seen as a vote on independence (Izvestiia 18 Feb. 1993).

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