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2004 USG Repors
Supporting Human Rights and Democracy: The U.S. Record 2004 - 2005
Moldova
The Moldovan Constitution provides for a multiparty representative
government with power divided among a president, cabinet, parliament
and judiciary. In 1992, a separatist regime, supported by Russian
military forces, declared a "Transdniester Moldovan Republic" in the
region between the Dniester River and Ukraine. The Government of
Moldova does not control this region. Unless otherwise stated, all
references that follow are to the rest of the country.
Generally free and fair parliamentary elections in 2001 resulted in
an overwhelming parliamentary majority for the Communist Party.
Authorities in the separatist Transnistria region interfered with the
ability of residents there to vote in this and other national
elections. During the past four years, progress on democratic reforms
has slowly deteriorated. In 2004, the Government continued to use its
resources to influence the media to present pro-government views and to
discredit and deny access to the political opposition. Some progress
was made when the Government transformed the state broadcasting
company, Teleradio Moldova (TRM), into a public institution.
Journalists and opposition political parties protested this process
because it was not conducted transparently. United States officials met
repeatedly with authorities to urge that these problems be addressed
constructively. The Ambassador and the EU issued a public statement
calling on the Government to meet Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and Council of Europe standards for
freedom of the media.
The Government generally respected the human rights of its citizens;
however, there were problems in some areas. Some law enforcement
personnel reportedly tortured and beat some persons, particularly
persons in police custody and Roma. Security forces were widely
believed to monitor political figures, use unauthorized wiretaps, and
at times conduct illegal searches. Widespread corruption persisted, and
judges were reportedly subject to outside influence and corruption.
There were some limits on workers' rights, and a few religious groups
continued to encounter difficulties in obtaining official registration.
Trafficking in persons (TIP) remained a very serious problem.
The democratization and human rights record of the
separatist-controlled Transnistria region remained very poor. The
Transnistrian authorities reportedly continued to use torture and
arbitrary arrest and detention. Two members of the so-called "Ilascu
group," convicted of killing two Transnistrian officials during the
1991-92 civil war, remained in prison despite a 2004 European Court of
Human Rights ruling calling for their release. In June, an alleged
witness to the mistreatment of the "Ilascu group" during their
imprisonment disappeared under unclear circumstances. Transnistrian
authorities harassed and intimidated opposition figures and the
independent media, and restricted freedom of association and of
religion. Transnistrian discrimination against Romanian-speakers
culminated in a crisis in the summer and fall of 2004 when
Transnistrian authorities closed several Latin-script schools. The
Government responded by restricting Transnistrian trade. The situation
was defused in September, when the OSCE negotiated a formula to allow
the schools to register and re-open for one year; however, tensions
remain high.
The United States worked through the OSCE and directly with the
parties to push for a resolution to the conflict in Transnistria that
is just, equitable and respects the sovereignty, independence and
territorial integrity of the Republic of Moldova. These efforts
included Embassy discussions with government officials in Chisinau, a
visit by the U.S. Special Negotiator for Eurasian Conflicts to Chisinau
and Tiraspol in October, and extensive efforts by the U.S. Mission to
the OSCE to focus European attention on the unacceptable behavior of
the Transnistrian regime. In addition, the United States, in concert
with the EU, extended the existing visa ban on senior Transnistrian
officials to individuals involved in closing the Latin-script schools.
The U.S. strategy for promoting human rights and democracy in
Moldova focuses on strengthening the rule of law, good governance,
independent media and civil society, promoting free and fair elections
and combating TIP. The United States consistently stressed in meetings
and demarches that the Government needs to take concrete steps to
promote democracy and human rights if it is to enjoy deeper bilateral
relations and improve membership prospects in Euro-Atlantic
institutions.
In 2004, the United States placed a special emphasis on promoting
free and fair 2005 parliamentary elections. The Ambassador and other
U.S. representatives frequently engaged high-level government officials
and the Central Election Commission (CEC), emphasizing the importance
of ensuring free and fair elections and pressing for electoral reforms
that would minimize the shortcomings that marred the 2003 local
elections. The United States supported the formation and activities of
an association of non-governmental organizations (NGOs), "Coalition for
Free and Fair Elections," to implement electoral monitoring and voter
education programs. The United States funded training for lawyers,
judges and advocates on election law and procedures for adjudication of
election disputes. The United States supported seminars for political
parties and representatives of both independent and state-controlled
media organizations to discuss election-related issues and the role of
the news media in free and fair elections. Along these lines, the
United States provided support for a program to monitor the objectivity
and content of news from all major Moldovan TV, radio stations and
newspapers during the campaign period.
The International Visitors Program (IVP) sponsored two
elections-related study trips to the U.S: one for members of the CEC to
study the electoral process, and another for members of the media and
NGOs to study the role of civil society in elections. The United States
also provided grants to NGOs for projects focused on promoting open and
balanced public discussion and debate and for local Get-Out-the-Vote
activities.
Several initiatives were undertaken to strengthen civil society.
United States-sponsored programs helped to train Moldovan political
parties to organize effective party structures, build successful
coalitions, recruit and mobilize new members at the local party level
and reach out to citizens. The United States supported programs to
increase citizens' knowledge of transparent government processes and to
promote constructive dialogue between citizens and their local
government. These efforts fostered participation and leadership skills
at the grassroots level.
The IVP arranged a trip to the United States for representatives of
government information and public relations offices to enhance their
understanding of freedom of information and transparency in government.
To improve local governance, another IVP was arranged for mayors to
study how local public administration functions in the United States
and how to better collaborate with different levels of government,
state institutions and NGOs in the area of public administration. The
United States continued a local government reform program in 2004,
working with more than 50 communities to improve fiscal management,
increase transparency and citizen participation in community
decision-making, and improve strategic planning.
Working with EU representatives, the United States promoted freedom
of assembly when they successfully urged the Government to end efforts
to lift the parliamentary immunity of opposition lawmakers in
connection with their organization of peaceful protests. Government
influence on the media was of particular concern, and the United States
promoted media freedom in several ways. In 2004, the United States
supported a media-monitoring project implemented by a respected
consortium of independent NGOs to systematically assess the content of
news reports of Moldova's sole nationwide public TV and radio
broadcaster TRM. The United States consistently raised the issue of
media freedom with high-level Moldovan officials and used the
monitoring results to press them to take immediate steps to improve the
objectivity, quality, and opposition's access to public media. United
States officials also met with Moldovan authorities to raise concerns
about licensing procedures hindering independent media and the
non-transparent transformation of TRM into a public institution. The
United States provided many media outlets and media-related NGOs with
financial support to implement projects that promote freedom of speech
and access to a full range of opinions. The United States supported the
publishing of an independent newspaper in Gagauzia, the expansion of
Vocea Basarabiei radio station's signal to Edinet, Soroca and Balti,
and the implementation of locally-sponsored trainings for journalists
covering social issues. The United States assisted two radio stations
in buying the necessary equipment to broadcast in the separatist region
of Transnistria, where independent media is restricted. These two
stations now cover the entire Transnistrian region.
The United States brought media experts to Moldova to participate in
conferences and seminars designed to improve the skills of Moldovan
media professionals and students. The United States also continued to
support a three-year partnership between Moldova State University's
Department of Communications, the Independent Journalism Center and
Missouri School of Journalism to improve journalism education in
Moldova.
The United States supported several efforts to promote the rule of
law and combat corruption in Moldova. The United States engaged the
Government, including the Moldovan President, on the need to address
the problem of corruption seriously and to halt politically motivated
corruption investigations of opposition political figures. The Resident
Legal Advisor (RLA) worked with the Government to combat corruption and
to increase the effectiveness of law enforcement assistance programs.
The RLA's anti-corruption initiatives included a series of training
seminars and roundtables designed to improve criminal procedure and
prosecutor-investigator teamwork, and collaboration with the Government
and Council of Europe experts in drafting the new National
Anti-Corruption Strategy and Plan. The RLA also provided technical
assistance to the Center for Combating Economic Crime and Corruption to
help design internal reforms that would reduce inefficiency and
minimize opportunities for corruption.
The RLA successfully pushed for amendments to the law on operative
investigations that permit investigators to work undercover and expands
their investigative authority in other ways. Similarly, the RLA
sponsored a legislative roundtable that resulted in a high-level
working group to re-examine the country's weak plea-bargaining law in
order to give prosecutors new tools to combat corruption.
Other rule of law programs assisted Moldovan legal institutions,
judges, bar associations, students and lawyers to strengthen the
quality and awareness of legal education and legal reforms. The
U.S.-funded Criminal Law program conducted training for judges on human
rights and for the defense bar on advocacy skills.
The United States funded an Expanded International Military
Education and Training program for the Moldovan military designed to
improve respect for human rights and civilian control over the armed
forces. This included the hosting of two seminars on "Planning for
Peacekeeping Operations" at the ministerial and inter-ministerial
levels and a number of Moldovan officers at various training courses in
the United States, entitled "Military and Peacekeeping Operations in
Accordance with Rule of Law," "Judge Advocate General," "Defense
Restructuring" and "Civil-Military Relations." The United States also
supported the participation of 17 mid-to-senior level military,
civilian and law enforcement officials in Marshall Center courses
focusing on democracy, civil-military relations, and national and
trans-national security issues.
In July, during a visit to Moldova, Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld
stressed to President Voronin the importance of continued military
education and training as well as participation in Partnership for
Peace activities in enhancing respect for human rights, peace and
security throughout the region. The United States uses a vetting
procedure in accordance with the Leahy Amendment to ensure that it does
not train individuals who committed or were responsible for human
rights violations.
In an effort to highlight U.S. concern for religious freedom, U.S.
Embassy officials met with the local leaders of several religious
groups in 2004. The United States raised concerns and delivered the
Government a diplomatic note about some religious groups' persistent
registration difficulties with the State Service on Religions. The U.S.
Embassy also raised concerns about some religious groups being impeded
from constructing houses of worship.
The Ambassador and other U.S. officials repeatedly emphasized the
importance of combating TIP. At the U.S.-Moldova Joint Economic Task
Force meeting in June, the RLA made a presentation to several Moldovan
Government ministers and high-level officials on trafficking efforts,
in which she pressed for continued cooperation and increased efforts by
the Government to combat trafficking. The RLA provided technical
assistance for judges, prosecutors and investigators to address TIP,
including training that emphasized education, sensitivity and skills
development, and provided legislative drafting assistance. The RLA
instituted and maintained an ongoing monitoring plan of all aspects of
criminal investigation and prosecution in order to pinpoint areas where
assistance could best be provided and to assess Moldova's record in
obtaining convictions and appropriate sentences.
In 2004, the United States began a number of programs through
President Bush's $50 million Anti-Trafficking Initiative to deal
comprehensively with all aspects of trafficking. The United States
assisted Moldovan law enforcement with training and facilitated
trans-border anti-trafficking cooperation with neighboring countries.
It began implementing programs to address the economic roots of
trafficking by improving access for young women and girls to legitimate
employment opportunities. These programs offered career counseling,
skills training and job placement as well as other forms of assistance
to potential and actual victims of trafficking. The United States
continued to support the work of the Center for the Prevention of
Trafficking in Women in providing legal assistance and counseling,
legal representation, and help in replacing identity papers and other
lost documents for victims. The United States supported the
International Labor Organization's International Program for the
Elimination of Child Labor to prevent the trafficking of children for
sexual and labor exploitation. The United States also provided funding
for a nationwide trafficking information campaign implemented by the
International Organization for Migration and targeted at potential
trafficking victims. One key product was the film "Lilya 4-ever," which
documented the recruitment and abuse of victims and was shown in
cinemas and schools throughout the country free of charge.