Experts: The law on separatism should have been voted on 30 years ago
The law, which provides punishments of up to five years in prison for actions carried out in order to separate a part of the territory of the Republic of Moldova, is a necessary one, according to the national experts who discussed the subject in a public debate. According to them, most states have penalties for subversive actions, and the Republic of Moldova should have voted for it 30 years ago. The law does not have retroactive effect, so only those who will be involved in or instigate subversive actions from now on will be targeted.
The Republic of Moldova is a unitary state, and the Chisinau authorities must find legal levers for their message to reach the citizens on the left side of the Nistru, explained Promo-lex expert Alexandru Postică, referring to fears that more citizens could be sanctioned from the Transnistrian region. "A massive propaganda is being produced among the population on the left of the Nistru regarding the unfriendly actions of those from Chisinau. Here we have a problem, which is not necessarily related to this criminal norm. We are generally talking about how accessible Chisinau's opinion is to the population," Postică said.
The Republic of Moldova cannot rely on Russia in the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict, as long as the Russian Federation advocates for the restoration of the borders of the Soviet Union, argues political scientist Anatol Țăranu.
"It is nonsense that the Russian Federation, which was a participant in the 1992 war and which by the force of its own arms consolidated the separatist regime in Transnistria, today appears as an international mediator, as a peacemaker in the security zone of the Transnistrian conflict. If the Republic of Moldova does not radically change its policy approach regarding the political settlement in Transnistria by diminishing the role of Moscow, we will have no chance of success in the political settlement of this dispute", declared Țăranu.
On Thursday the deputies made changes to the Criminal Code, to combat the risks and threats, generated by the subversive informational actions of foreign special services in relation to the Republic of Moldova.
We remind you that in December, Tiraspol requested explanations from Chisinau regarding the draft law that provides for criminal penalties for separatism. The separatist administration claimed that the amendments drafted by Chisinau to the Penal Code "could have a destructive effect on the entire negotiation process." A similar message was sent by the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.
Chisinau claims that one of the objectives of the legislative initiative is to combat subversive informational activities. The President of the Legal Commission in the Parliament, Olesea Stamate, also referred to the so-called Ministry of Security in the Transnistrian region, which allegedly engaged in such activities.
