Alexei Catan: Civil society and NGOs in Transnistria need support

May 03, 2007

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Alexei Catan, head of the Evrica NGO and Lyceum in Rybnitsa (Râbniţa), located in Transnistria, was a speaker at a conference in Washington, DC on April 26. The event titled “Frozen Conflicts in the ex-Soviet Union. Two-track Approach: Democratization and Multinational Peacekeeping Operations. The Case of Moldova” was held at Georgetown University and it was organized by the Institute for the Study of Diplomacy and the Center for Russian, East European and Eurasian Studies of Georgetown University and the Moldova Foundation.

Catan was introduced by Vlad Spanu, president of the Moldova Foundation, as one of the "true heroes," someone who has stayed put in Transnistria and fought for reintegration with Moldova.

Below is the summary of Mr. Catan statements.

Catan, a native of Moldova’s Transnistrian region, started his remarks by noting that he represents around 700 parents as well as all of the schools located in Transnistria which still follow the right-bank Moldovan curriculum. This includes seven lyceums which on matters of curriculum answer to Chisinau and teach in Romanian using the Latin alphabet.

Since 1989, Catan said, he has taught only using the Latin alphabet, but in 2004 the pressure against doing so in Transnistria reached its apogee. First in Tiraspol, and then in Rybnitsa, the Transnistrian militia destroyed classrooms in Romanian-language schools. Seven parents and one teacher were arrested, tried, and jailed.

The conditions of their imprisonment were difficult to imagine in the 21st century: 20 to 25 people in an 18-square-meter cell, who had to take turns sleeping and were allowed only two visits per day to a toilet, having to use a bucket in their cell the rest of the time. They were fed only once a day and were not even given enough spoons to eat what they were fed.

While Catan never had any dealings with the Soviet authorities, he imagines this might be what treatment at their hands was like. It was a difficult shock for intellectuals who had never had to deal with this type of treatment.

Why did Catan and his colleagues endure this? Because they are citizens of the Republic of Moldova and support the integration of the country; and are willing to do anything possible to make it happen.

Transnistrian statistics say that 40% of the population of the region is ethnically Moldovan. However, these people have no access to any kind of media in their own language and are not represented in the government. The only language used in Transnistria is Russian, in spite of the existence of three so-called constitutional languages.

Romanian-speakers do not have the chance to teach their children as they want, and those children are unable to continue their studies in Romanian if they have grown up using only the Cyrillic alphabet. If students want and are able to continue their education in Romanian, they have to go to Chisinau. Graduates of Chisinau universities generally do not want to return to Transnistria and have a difficult time if they decide to do so – diplomas issued in Chisinau are not recognized by the Transnistrian authorities. This is being done specifically to promote Russification and to push the Moldovans out of the region. Moldovans must defend themselves somehow against this policy.

Although the Moldovans in Transnistria are frequently criticized by Chisinau for not doing enough, they vote in Moldovan elections and do as much as possible. The majority of residents of Transnistria are citizens of the Republic of Moldova. Possibly due to pressure from Russia, there has been a recent trend of people renouncing their Moldovan citizenship and taking Russian citizenship. Russia has opened illegal consular offices in Transnistria and quickly grants Russian citizenship to people there without the proper, legally required documentation. Eventually, there will be more Russian citizens in Transnistria than Moldovan citizens, and the situation will be similar to what has happened in Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In addition, residents of Transnistria who are Moldovan citizens are unable to vote in local elections, own businesses, or enjoy other rights unless they accept Transnistrian "citizenship." Catan stressed that this was a huge infringement on the rights of ethnic Moldovans in Transnistria. Since 1990, they have had to travel outside of the region in order to vote in Moldovan elections; the Transnistrian de facto government has established customs and migration posts on all roads crossing the border between Moldova and Transnistria; these posts impose an entry/exit tax of 8 lei (about $0.75) [average salary in Moldova is $129 a month] on Moldovan citizens only, which is "humiliating"; and Moldovan citizens are searched at these border crossings.

The town of Rezina is two kilometers from Rybnitsa, and lots of people from Rezina work in Rybnitsa. Every time they cross the border, they have to pay this tax. Also, without Transnistrian "citizenship," people who work in Transnistria are required to pay income tax to the Transnistrian de facto government at a rate of 35%.

All of this takes place under the supervision of the Russian peacekeeping forces, whose only mission is to preserve the status quo. It is said that there has been no shooting in the region since 1992 thanks to the Russian peacekeepers, but this is no great achievement, because the people on the right bank and the left bank of the Dniester/Nistru are one people and have no reason to shoot each other. A change to the makeup of the peacekeeping forces would change public opinion so that Transnistrians would realize that the Russian peacekeepers are not doing a good job.

Catan expressed a desire to see the peacekeeping force internationalized but acknowledged that it would of course depend on "higher powers." He noted that he had experienced the inefficiency of the Russian peacekeeping forces in 2004. They were called twice to help when the Romanian-language educators and parents of schoolchildren were besieged in their school, but they did not resolve the situation.

Catan then spoke about democratization. His point of view is that the Smirnov regime cannot be democratized. It needs to be replaced and "thrown onto the trash heap of history." He then made a few statements on behalf of the members of Transnistrian civil society organizations as their representative. In the West, some people believe that democratization can happen through the development of a civil society. Catan does not believe this is possible in Transnistria, but he still believes that civil society development should be promoted.

Even Transnistrian officials have understood the need to create the impression that civil society is being developed. Unfortunately, the NGOs which exist in Transnistria cannot say a word against the authorities. Last winter, Catan was looking for a representative of a Transnistrian NGO to represent a point of view on a TV show. He was unable to find anyone willing to appear on the air and was told that some of the people he called were visited by the local security services the next day.

People are afraid – even those who want to speak out are fearful of doing so. More support from international organizations is needed for civil society and NGOs in Transnistria that believe in and support integration of the country. In closing, Catan called on everyone present to bring Moldova under the influence of the West.

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The full summary of the event can be viewed here:
http://foundation.moldova.org/pagini/eng/965

Moldova Foundation