{"id":8065,"date":"2016-12-21T19:04:43","date_gmt":"2016-12-21T18:04:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/en\/?p=8065"},"modified":"2021-11-26T10:51:27","modified_gmt":"2021-11-26T09:51:27","slug":"moldova-state-of-affairs-at-the-end-of-2016-declaration-signed-by-civil-society-activists","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/be\/moldova-state-of-affairs-at-the-end-of-2016-declaration-signed-by-civil-society-activists\/","title":{"rendered":"Moldova state of affairs at the end of 2016, declaration signed by civil society activists"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling fusion-equal-height-columns\" style=\"--awb-background-position:left top;--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-padding-top:20px;--awb-padding-bottom:20px;--awb-border-sizes-top:0px;--awb-border-sizes-bottom:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-first\" style=\"--awb-padding-top:5%;--awb-padding-right:5%;--awb-padding-bottom:5%;--awb-padding-left:5%;--awb-bg-color:#f4f4f4;--awb-bg-color-hover:#f4f4f4;--awb-bg-size:cover;width:48%; margin-right: 4%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\"><div class=\"fusion-title title fusion-title-1 fusion-sep-none fusion-title-text fusion-title-size-one\" style=\"--awb-margin-top-small:10px;--awb-margin-right-small:0px;--awb-margin-bottom-small:10px;--awb-margin-left-small:0px;\"><h1 class=\"fusion-title-heading title-heading-left\" style=\"margin:0;\"><h2 class=\"entry-title\">Moldova state of affairs at the end of 2016, declaration signed by civil society\u00a0activists<\/h2><\/h1><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><div align=\"justify\">\n<p><strong>Federica MOGHERINI,\u00a0High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Johannes Hahn,\u00a0Commissioner for European Neighbourhood Policy &amp; Enlargement Negotiations<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"kno-ecr-pt kno-fb-ctx\"><strong>Miroslav Laj\u010d\u00e1k, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Slovakia<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"kno-ecr-pt kno-fb-ctx\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"kno-ecr-pt kno-fb-ctx\"><strong>COPY:<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"kno-ecr-pt kno-fb-ctx\">\n<p><strong>Donald TUSK, President of the European Council<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Jean-Claude JUNCKER, President of the European Commission<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Martin SCHULZ, President of the European Parliament<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Pedro AGRAMUNT, President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Thorbj\u00f8rn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_4tdt _ua1\">\n<div class=\"_ua2\">\n<div class=\"_4tdv\">\n<div class=\"_5wd4 _1nc7 _5ysy direction_ltr\">\n<div class=\"_h8t\">\n<div class=\"_5wd9\">\n<div class=\"_5wde _n4o\">\n<div class=\"_5w1r _3_om _5wdf\">\n<div class=\"_4gx_\">\n<div class=\"_d97\"><strong>Heads of the diplomatic missions, accredited in Chisinau<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"_d97\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Friends of Moldova,<\/p>\n<p>Few days ago, Publika TV, one of TV channels owned by the only Moldovan oligarch Vladimir Plahotniuc, has initiated an attack on Pirkka Tapiola, the Head of EU Delegation in Moldova. Launched just days after the EU Delegation has released a \u201dLocal statement on Human Rights\u201d, condemning authorities\u2019 antidemocratic practices of persecution of opposition, lawyers and human rights defenders.<\/p>\n<p><iframe style=\"border: none; overflow: hidden;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3D1590039351012013%26id%3D255840324431929&amp;width=500\" width=\"500\" height=\"302\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>This attack is a direct consequence of the degradation of democracy in Moldova and we would like to condemn this attack and express our disapproval of such practices, which are seen all\u00a0too often in the local politically controlled media.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-8063\" src=\"http:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/qwED-586x319.png\" alt=\"qwed-586x319\" width=\"586\" height=\"319\" srcset=\"https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/qwED-586x319-200x109.png 200w, https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/qwED-586x319-367x200.png 367w, https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/qwED-586x319-400x218.png 400w, https:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/qwED-586x319.png 586w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 586px) 100vw, 586px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Through this message we would like to first-handedly address Your excellences and to express our deep concern regarding the direction our country is being taken to in the last period. These elections only aggravated the so-called \u201cstability\u201d acclaimed by the authorities. The same period coincides with the last touches in the construction of a captured state \u2013 a creature of Vlad Plahotniuc, de facto ruler of the country with an unconstitutional title of \u201ccoordinator of parliamentary majority\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>We believe the elections that took place on November 13 seriously exacerbated the situation, and the actions undertaken by the authorities immediately after these elections speak for themselves. The rapid appointment of the new Prosecutor General, in conditions of lack of transparency and public scrutiny has the intention to keep this institution under Plahotniuc\u2019s personal control. We do not believe this Prosecutor General will curb high-level corruption.<\/p>\n<p>The initiative to subordinate the Information and Security Service to the Plahotniuc-controlled Parliament majority is another example of opportunistic move to maintain the grip on the institutions, that are supposed to act in the national interest.<\/p>\n<p>The heads of the above mentioned authorities, and many others, are not loyal to the people of Moldova, they are loyal to the person that has appointed them. They are not obeying the Law, they are obeying his direct orders, often in full disregard of the Law. Moreover, he also has control of those who make the Law.<\/p>\n<p>The country\u2019s fragile democracy, its values and institutions, are being crushed on a daily basis and the grip on power is being tightened day by day. While there are many to be held accountable, there is one person that is in top of this list \u2013 Vlad Plahotniuc.<\/p>\n<p>More than an year has passed, since Filip\u2019s government (totally controlled by Plahotniuc) was established. Established by illegal, night time and non-transparent procedure. The government, who\u2019s popular support today is about 7%. This government has failed to deliver, has failed to restore people\u2019s trust, has failed to show real reforms, real justice and anticorruption fight, while holding full control of the country.<\/p>\n<p>Year by year, we, the country lose time, while the\u00a0oligarch and his accomplices get richer. It is true that this government has unblocked external financing (which would not have been blocked if not for their corrupt practices from before, including the \u201ctheft of the century\u201d, which is not investigated so far), but their biggest success remains the time, gained for their \u201ccoordinator\u201d \u2013 Plahotniuc.<\/p>\n<p>It was obvious that once the \u201dvertical of power\u201d was constructed, the next logical step would be silencing the voice of the opposition. This process cannot happen without curbing the basic freedoms, such as the freedom of speech and the freedom of expression. People who criticize this government are being \u201deliminated\u201d from the public space. We see weekly media attacks from Plahotniuc\u2019s media holding, bloggers and internet trolls aimed at publicly destroying anyone with an opposing, inconvenient opinion. They intimidate and discourage people to speak freely and hamper public opinion from taking its natural shape responding to corruption this government is breeding.<\/p>\n<p>It is unacceptable that, while Plahotniuc\u2019s mass media treats free speech as a license to lie, the state institutions subordinated to him are doing everything in their power to impede any opposing opinion, creating all the conditions for the free media to die slowly.<\/p>\n<p>There are NGO\u2019s that were some time ago credible and active, are now under Plahotniuc\u2019s thumb and are often justifying the abuses committed by the present authorities, or simply staying quiet about them, which is the same thing. With consistent steps, permanent abuse of power and violation of the laws which should govern the institutions, he has succeeded to destroy, bribe or corrupt most of the civil society, which is inexistent and paralyzed at the moment.<\/p>\n<p>It is our understanding that Plahotniuc\u2019s ultimate goal, while silencing any opposition voices, is to create the perception that there is \u201cno alternative to the present authorities\u201d\u2013 an argument that has been and will be brought to you in official meetings. With his financial and administrative capacity, Plahotniuc can destroy any signs of opposition for decades to come. All he needs from the international community is their neutrality and acquiescence, and all he needs from the people inside the country is silence.<\/p>\n<p>The list of people who are suffering from this state of affairs is already long. People are being threatened, discredited, blackmailed, and persecuted in order to be reduced to silence. The situation has worsened to such an extent that even the representatives of diplomatic corpse become the targets of these attacks. Intimidation of an EU representative to Moldova goes beyond all possible \u201cred lines\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>If that is how Plahotniuc\u2019s mass media speaks about an EU diplomat, one can only imagine the \u201dtreatment\u201d a local critical voice can see from the same propaganda machine. If we do not act now, things can only get worse.<\/p>\n<p>We believe, Mr Tapiola\u2019s impartial attitude towards the authorities, who have discredited Europe, is an important factor for restoring the confidence of our society in true European values.<\/p>\n<p>We would like to vehemently condemn this attempt to discredit an EU diplomat for standing by the obvious thing \u2013 charity made from stolen money is not a real charity.<\/p>\n<p>This case is an illustration of what corrupt mass media can do to anyone, if they will continue to act in the atmosphere of total impunity. Under these conditions, no real opposition will ever grow.<\/p>\n<p>We call upon your excellences to support our message for the sake of democracy in which we strongly believe. For the sake of protection of fundamental human rights and freedoms: freedom of speech, freedom of association and others \u2013 all being under great threat in Moldova today.<\/p>\n<p>We call upon the EU institutions to condition the assistance and to demand the implementation of real reform that will liberate the state institutions from the illegal grip under which they are at the moment.<\/p>\n<p>Our voice is growing stronger and we will not remain silent. But your voices need also to be heard in Moldova. Blunt, firm and uncompromising positions taken by our European partners on what is happening in our country are critically important for the Moldovan democracy, and for the European future of Moldova.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Signatories (to\u00a0be updated):<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Dumitru Alaiba \u2013 civic activist<\/p>\n<p>Arcadie Barbaro\u0219ie \u2013\u00a0Executive Director, Institute for Public Policies<\/p>\n<p>Igor Bo\u021ban \u2013 Executive Director, Association for Participatory Democracy<\/p>\n<p>Lilia Carasciuc \u2013 Program Director, Transparency International Moldova<\/p>\n<p>Polina Ceastuhina \u2013 civic activist<\/p>\n<p>\u0218tefan Gligor \u2013 lawyer<\/p>\n<p>Nadejda Hriptievschi \u2013 Program Director, Legal Resources Centre of Moldova<\/p>\n<p>Alexandru Machedon \u2013 businessman<\/p>\n<p>Natalia Morari \u2013 journalist<\/p>\n<p>Oazu Nantoi \u2013 Program Director, Institute for Public Policies<\/p>\n<p>Pa\u0219a Parfeni \u2013 artist<\/p>\n<p>Valeriu Pa\u0219a \u2013 civic activist<\/p>\n<p>Mihail Sirkeli \u2013 executive director Piligrim-Demo, Gagauzia<\/p>\n<p>Angela Stafii \u2013 consultant<\/p>\n<p>Alexei Tulbure Executive Director at Helsinki Citizens\u2019 Assembly (HCA), former ambassador to UN<\/p>\n<p>Sergiu Tofilat \u2013 civic activist<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_2 1_2 fusion-one-half fusion-column-last\" style=\"--awb-padding-top:5%;--awb-padding-right:5%;--awb-padding-bottom:5%;--awb-padding-left:5%;--awb-bg-color:#f4f4f4;--awb-bg-color-hover:#f4f4f4;--awb-bg-size:cover;width:48%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\"><div class=\"fusion-image-element in-legacy-container\" style=\"--awb-caption-title-font-family:var(--h2_typography-font-family);--awb-caption-title-font-weight:var(--h2_typography-font-weight);--awb-caption-title-font-style:var(--h2_typography-font-style);--awb-caption-title-size:var(--h2_typography-font-size);--awb-caption-title-transform:var(--h2_typography-text-transform);--awb-caption-title-line-height:var(--h2_typography-line-height);--awb-caption-title-letter-spacing:var(--h2_typography-letter-spacing);\"><span class=\" fusion-imageframe imageframe-none imageframe-1 hover-type-none\"><a href=\"http:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rotari15622569_10158020035070061_26265613282921687_n.jpg\" class=\"fusion-lightbox\" data-rel=\"iLightbox[736fb391f33de2a7a8d]\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/humanrights-online.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/rotari15622569_10158020035070061_26265613282921687_n.jpg\" alt class=\"img-responsive\"\/><\/a><\/span><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;margin-top:20px;width:100%;\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\"><p>Moldova, photo of the year 2016<br \/>\nby Igor Rotari.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 hundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-overflow:visible;--awb-margin-top:30px;--awb-margin-bottom:30px;--awb-background-color:rgba(255,255,255,0);--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-2 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-one-full fusion-column-first fusion-column-last fusion-column-no-min-height\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-margin-bottom:0px;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-flex-column-wrapper-legacy\"><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-separator fusion-full-width-sep\" style=\"margin-left: auto;margin-right: auto;width:100%;\"><div class=\"fusion-separator-border sep-single sep-solid\" style=\"--awb-height:20px;--awb-amount:20px;--awb-sep-color:#f4f4f4;border-color:#f4f4f4;border-top-width:1px;\"><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-sep-clear\"><\/div><div class=\"fusion-clearfix\"><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":8062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"slim_seo":{"title":"Moldova state of affairs at the end of 2016, declaration signed by civil society activists - Menschenrechte Osteuropa - News &amp; 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