Doc. 9593

14 October 2002

Flagrant violations of human rights in the eastern districts of the Republic of Moldova

Motion for a resolution

presented by Mr Ilascu and others

1.       After the war of aggression in 1992 against the Republic of Moldova, planned and conducted by the Russian Federation, a separatist enclave - under the name of Transnistria - appeared "de facto" in the eastern districts of this country. The constitutional national authorities from Kishinev have no control over this region.

2.       The coming into power of a hard line regime with the substantial help of the 14^th Russian Army caused flagrant violations of human rights in the region. Local population, mostly the one of Romanian origin counting 40% of the total population, is subject every day to social, economic, political, cultural and psychological national-communist pressure.

3.       The Romanians living in the separatist enclave do not have the fundamental right to education in their mother tongue. Any attempt of studying within private schools is subject to arrests, torture and sentences to separatist prisons. The separatist security forces closed the only school where Romanian was taught - in Grigoriopol - and the school principal was sentenced to prison.

4.       For over ten years (since 2 June 1992) the terrorist regime in Tiraspol, economically, financially, militarily and politically backed by the Russian Federation, keeps illegally in prison three political prisoners, Romanian and Moldovan citizens: Andrei Ivantoc, Alexandru Lesco and Tudor Petrov-Popa.

5.       The Assembly calls on:

      a. the Russian Federation and the Republic of Moldova to free immediately and without any precondition the political prisoners Andrei Ivantoc, Alexandru Lesco and Tudor Petrov-Popa;

      b. the Russian Federation to immediately stop any economic, financial, military and political help provided to the non-constitutional separatist regime in Tiraspol;

      c. the Russian Federation controlling de facto the territory from the left side of Dniestr, to stop the process of flagrant violations of human rights, especially with regard to the Romanian minority of the region;

      d. to the Republic of Moldova to intensify its efforts in order to solve the Transnistrian conflict by changing the "warrants" and the "peacemaking forces" with neutral warrants and peacemakers from the international community;

      e. the legal authorities of the Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation to sue all individuals guilty of serious violations of human rights in the region of Transnistria according to international laws.

Signed¹:

Ilascu, Romania, NR

Berceanu, Romania, SOC

Bušić, Croatia, EPP

Coifan, Romania, LDR

Ionescu, Romania, NR

Kalkan, Turkey, EDG

Landsbergis, Lithuania, EDG

Olteanu, Romania, SOC

De Puig, Spain, SOC

Seyidov, Azerbaïdjan, EDG

Tevdoradze, Georgia, EDG

¹ .       SOC: Socialist Group

      EPP: Group of the European People’s Party

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      LDR : Liberal, Democratic and Reformers’ Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group