Moldova marks 20 years of independence

CHISINAU, August 27 (Itar-Tass) -- Moldova on Saturday is marking two
decades of independence. On the occasion of the anniversary Chisinau will
see a military parade. The extensive program of festivities, which will
begin with the laying of flowers at the monument to the founder of the
Moldovan statehood - Stephen the Great, includes concerts, exhibitions and
other events. This year the government announced a five-day holiday from
Saturday to Wednesday, merging the weekend, Independence Day, which is on
Saturday, and the native language holiday, which is celebrated on August
31.
Throughout the short history of Moldova the military parade in honor
of Independence Day will be held only a third time, and for a good reason.
Polls conducted on the eve of the holiday showed the people's mixed
attitude to the holiday. Many of them believe that over the twenty years
of independence they have lost more than gained: Moldova has become one of
Europe's poorest countries, its economy collapsed and unemployment has
expelled from the country almost half of the working population. In
addition, the anniversary, being celebrated amid a protracted political
crisis that erupted in the spring of 2009, when parliamentary elections
resulted in riots, arsons and looting of the parliament building and the
president's residence. The fire destroyed the original of the Declaration
of Independence, which had to be restored. Since then the parliament has
been unable to elect a president. The situation has failed to be changed
even after a series of pre-term elections, though it re-arranged the
balance of political power somewhat. Whereas before the presidential
candidates were supported by the Communist deputies, and the
liberal-democratic opposition boycotted them, now they have changed
places, but with the same net effect.
Ambiguous are comments on the anniversary offered by leading Moldovan
politicians.
"Twenty years ago, Moldova gained freedom, its citizens do what they
think is necessary for their personal benefit, and they travel around the
world without restrictions. As for the bad sides of independence, I
personally do not find any. Of course, there are shortcomings, they are
typical of all former Soviet republics. But it is a natural process of
democracy," said the first Moldovan president, Mircea Snegur.
"Our trouble is Moldova had no tradition of statehood. Other countries
gained independence after decades of internal struggle, but in our country
this process coincided with the collapse of the Soviet Union, of which
large numbers of people are nostalgic. Yes, there are difficulties -
economic difficulties, uncertainty, and lack of political stability. But
all these are soluble problems," says the second president, Peter
Luchinsky.
"While the authorities have been actively preparing for the
anniversary, one should recognize a very depressing and tragic fact - all
these years were a time of fierce debate between the supporters of
Moldovan independence and those who have seen and continue to see our
country inside neighboring Romania. It is this controversy and this
struggle that remains the major agenda of our development," said Vladimir
Voronin, who was the third president from 2001 to 2009.