Comrat demands resumption of flights to Moscow and cancellation of elections in the Republic of Moldova. Government: "We do not accept illegal practices"
The participants in the congress of deputies and authorities of all levels in Comrat, convened today, adopted a resolution in which they demanded, among other things, the resumption of Chisinau-Moscow flights, although this is impossible because the airspace of Ukraine cannot be crossed due to the war provoked by the Russian Federation. They advocate for an address to the Venice Commission to annul the results of the presidential elections and the referendum on the country's accession to the European Union. Also, under the resolution, a request will be sent to the USA to examine how the Law on the special status of the Gagauzian Autonomous Region is being respected. The government in Chisinau rejects the accusations of non-respect for the region's autonomy and regards the congress's requests as an attempt at destabilization.
"The central authorities recognize and respect the autonomy of the region, but this does not mean that they must accept illegal practices or attempts at destabilization. Statements about the lack of recognition of autonomy are absolutely unfounded, and the decision on reopening flights is one of the competencies of the central authorities and must be analyzed in the national and security context," said Government spokesman Daniel Vodă.
The President of the People's Assembly of the Gagauz Autonomous Region, Dmitri Constantinov, claims that government funding is not distributed fairly, being directed mainly to Comrat, Ceadir-Lunga and Vulcanesti, the authorities in Chisinau reject the claims. Prime Minister Dorin Recean said in a TV show that, on the contrary, the Government has allocated hundreds of millions of lei for the development of infrastructure in the region, although the region does not contribute to the formation of this budget.
On the other hand, the bashcan of Comrat mayor, Evghenia Guțul, who represents the interests of the fugitive oligarch, Ilan Șor and is under criminal investigation in the case of illegal financing of the Party, declared unconstitutional, complained today that she has not yet been included in the Government and stated that Chisinau would intentionally provoke a revolt in the region, reiterating the importance of the partnership with Russia. The authorities in Chisinau explain that the refusal to include the bashcan in the Government is not a political decision, but one based on respect for the law. The prime minister explained the decision in public "that there is evidence that the elections in UTAG were rigged, and before this situation is settled, the infiltration of people with foreign interests into the government cannot be allowed."
Journalist for the regional portal Nokta, Mihail Sirkeli, believes that the decisions taken at the congress do not reflect the real wishes of the population in the region. He states that the people leading the event do not have significant electoral support, as they were elected with a very small number of votes, which does not give them legitimacy to speak on behalf of the entire region. Sirkeli believes that they are just favored figures in the Shor network, enjoying key political positions, but without significant people's support. He also states that the Comrat event was orchestrated by Moscow.
“The event was organized by the Kremlin to scare Chisinau, to demonstrate that Moscow has the capacity and potential to destabilize the Republic of Moldova. But it is not representative. The addressee of these requests is Moscow and Ilan Shor, to demonstrate that they maintain solidarity with Moscow and can do everything to create difficult days for Chisinau, nothing else,” Mihail Sirkeli told Teleradio-Moldova.
Sirkeli also noted that the presence of the congress participants was organized artificially, with people transported by buses from nearby towns.
"We saw the stations full of people, which is unusual for a Saturday, and I don't think they came because they wanted to participate. People were coordinated and brought there," the journalist said.
The adopted resolution also contains demands such as stopping the process of annulling Gagauz laws in the courts, organizing a referendum on the future of the autonomy, and refusing to participate in the parliamentary elections if enough polling stations are not opened in the CIS countries.
We would like to point out that the congress was not attended by representatives of the central authorities or diplomatic missions. Some Gagauz deputies and mayors of the cities of the autonomy were also absent.
The decisions of the Congress of Deputies of all levels of the Gagauz autonomy do not have legal force, as there is no normative act issued by Comrat to regulate the activity of this body. In 2019, a draft law was proposed in this regard, but it was not approved.
