Alexei Catan, head of the Evrica NGO and Lyceum in Rybnitsa, located in Transnistria, was introduced by Vlad Spanu as one of the “true heroes,” someone who has stayed put in Transnistria and fought for reintegration with
Catan 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
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
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
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 on Moldovan citizens only, which is “humiliating”; and Moldovan citizens are searched at these border crossings.
The town of
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 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. He 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 do everything possible to bring
