STATEMENT: RIGHTS – no scrap

The Promo-LEX Association regrets the statement of the Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilita regarding the alleged interest of the Republic of Moldova in resuming the import of scrap metal for the Metallurgical Plant in Rabnita in order to avoid addressing the issues and serious cases of human rights violations in the Transnistrian region.

During the press conference on January 26, 2021 Natalia Gavrilita confirmed that the Government of the Republic of Moldova has requested the European Commission to review the decision on suspending the export of scrap metal to the Metallurgical Plant in Rabnita.

The Prime Minister mentioned that she acted in the best interests of investors who intend to operate on the right bank of the Dniester River, although she did not exemplify the extent to which the import of scrap metal into the Transnistrian region will develop the metallurgical branch in the territory controlled by the constitutional authorities.

This confusing answer raises doubts and concerns about the transparency of the decisions taken and possibly the existence of a parallel negotiation process, when it comes to fuelling the economic system on the left bank of the Dniester River. Or, it is obvious that the profits of the plant in the town. Ribnita is largely broken down by a regime that continues to violate seriously and blatantly the fundamental human rights and freedoms.

We are concerned that, in spite of our insistence and our many warnings and efforts, the constitutional authorities of the Republic of Moldova continue to fail to notify the European institutions and partners of the Republic of Moldova, to the same extent that steps are taken to guarantee the economic activity of some institutions from the left bank of the Dniester River.

The Government of the Republic of Moldova did not make the resumption of the import of scrap metal dependent on minimum guarantees of respect for human rights in the Transnistrian region. We will reiterate that in the region, citizens of the Republic of Moldova are detained illegally and without any grounds, to which the defenders or their relatives do not have access. We will mention the case of the young Adrian Glijin who has been in illegal detention for more than a year, the fate of political detainees and people who criticized the de facto administration. The intention of the illegal administration to restrict the access of the owners to the agricultural lands located in Dubasari district was left without any reaction. Dozens of ECHR rulings on thousands of victims awaiting compensation set by the European Court of Human Rights are also ignored. It is also not clear why the Government of the Republic of Moldova, having the necessary leverage to grant certain economic facilities to the structures on the left bank of the Dniester River, does not condition by solving systemic problems of violation of the right to education, free movement and guaranteeing other civil and political rights.

In this context, the Promo-LEX Association:

• Points out that issues related to the promotion and observance of human rights in the Transnistrian region must become the basis of any kind of negotiations, implicitly the political process of solving the Transnistrian equation.
• Reiterates the importance of consulting and involving in this complex process the representatives of the civil society, especially of the organizations that monitor the human rights situation in the territory on the left bank of the Dniester River and defend the victims of abuses.
• Calls on the Prime Minister, as well as the new Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration, to make consistent and persistent efforts aimed at solving efficiently and effectively problems and phenomena of human rights violations in the Transnistrian region.