Freedom report: Democracy in danger in Moldova, transition stagnating

Moldova's President Voronin is "further consolidating his power over most aspects of Moldovan society" says Freedom House

CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) - Freedom House, a Washington, D.C., based group, says that progress in Moldova is "quite unsatisfactory." That is the conclusion of this year's just-issued report describing the lack of freedom in Moldova.

The organization, which has close ties to the United States government and is predominantly funded by the United States, describes itself as "a catalyst for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law." It has criticism of Moldova in all three of these areas.

Moldova’s transition is stagnating. Moldova has lost ground since 2001, when the Party of Moldovan Communists (PCM) came into power. That is the conclusion of the Freedom House Organization's annual report: “Nations in Transit,” BBC reports.

The document was launched on Thursday, 14 June 2007, and covers what the organization sees as a crisis of democracy in Central European countries.

Democracy getting weaker in Moldova

Transdniestria shows more plurality than Moldova. The opposition party Renewal is in control of Parliament. Together with an independent and increasingly critical Constitutional Court, Parliament performs an important role in a system with built-in checks and balances on the power of incumbent president Igor Smirnov. Communists are not represented in parliament and the Communist candidate for the presidency was supported by just 8% of voters in the last election.

Meanwhile, democracy is failing in Moldova: The Communist Party is in firm control of the country. Freedom House points out that opposition forces remain weak and divided. This is leading to dominance by Communist Party leader Vladimir Voronin, despite the fact that only around 30% of the voters supported his party in Moldova's just-concluded local elections. Voronin is in control of parliament, the presidency and government institutions.

There are trends of a dictatorship-in-the-making: According to the group in Washington, D.C., the Communist leader Vladimir Voronin is "further consolidating his power over most aspects of Moldovan society." This is partly due to government crackdowns on freedom of expression. While a relatively free media exists in 'de facto' independent Transdniestria, in Moldova the report says that "the media fell heavily under political influence."

Stagnant reforms and problems with corruption

Reforms are "stagnant" and corruption problems persist, says Freedom House. Less modest, opposition parties say that it is worse than ever. Political analysts seem to agree: Igor Munteanu, a former presidential advisor in Moldova, has described how "unofficial taxation" generates corruption and has turned Moldova into an institutionalized kleptocracy. President Voronin's son, the suddenly-wealthy Oleg Voronin, has been described as the richest man in Moldova.

Two other international reports have been issued in the past week which are even more critical of Moldova.

A government report made by the U.S. State Department about human trafficking uncovers official involvement by senior government figures in Moldova's human trafficking and sex slave trade.

Equally damaging is the 2007 country report by Amnesty International: It pointed to widespread pattern of human rights abuses in Moldova, including torture, attacks on freedom of expression, and prosecution of opposition politicians. By comparison, the group had only one single criticism of Transdniestria over an issue which was, however, successfully resolved by local authorities earlier this month.

See also:
» Son of Moldova's president defends his riches: "I don't steal other companies"
» Official involvement in Moldova's human trafficking and sex slave trade
» U.S. refuses to call Moldova's elections free or fair
» Amnesty International warns of Moldova human rights abuses