Declaration of the Moldovan Parliament on captive state

DECLARATION
on the recognition of the captive nature of the Republic of Moldova

Chisinau, 8 June 2019

The Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, in its capacity of the supreme legislative body of the people and the sole legislative authority of the country, pursuant to Article 60 of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, confirmed in this role as a result of the parliamentary elections of 24 February 2019, finds with concern that the country’s state and law enforcement institutions have been captured. All the citizens of our country are suffocated by endemic corruption, by theft and illegal privatisation of public property, by the total control over the judicial system exercised by the oligarchy, and numerous attacks on citizens’ rights and freedoms. We, the Members of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, are obliged to stop the country from derailing into dictatorship, by building the rule of law and restoring democracy in the Republic of Moldova, as enshrined in the Constitution.

In view of the major importance of the statement made by the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, on 11 August 2015, on the captured state, the selective application of justice and the existence of serious backslides in the political process in the Republic of Moldova;

recalling the Resolutions of the European Parliament of 9 July and 4 November 2018, which accused the Chisinau government of:

• capture of the state, manifested through the decisions to annul the results of the free and democratic elections in the City of Chisinau;
• harassment of opposition parties;
• blocking the investigation of the one billion-dollar heist and the recovery of losses incurred by the population;
• arrest, harassment and mediatic lynching of opposition members and sympathisers;
• using special services as a political police force and applying ill-treatment to opponents of the regime,

we, the elected Members of the new Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, consider that building the rule of law is an absolute priority and that only in this way can we stop the Republic of Moldova sliding down into DICTATORSHIP. Only by releasing the state from captivity will we be able to launch policies aimed at resolving the socio-economic challenges facing our citizens. Only by rebuilding the trust of citizens in the functioning of the state will we be able to stop the massive exodus of people, that has become an existential threat to the Republic of Moldova. Only in this way can we ensure justice and a good life for all citizens, here, at home.

We find the existence of a serious social, economic and political crisis, exacerbated by widespread corruption and aggravated by the usurpation of state power, which constitutes the most serious crime against the people of the Republic of Moldova, according to the provisions of Article 2 (2) of the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova.

In these circumstances, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova:

1. Denounces the current oligarchic regime, led by the leader of the Democratic Party, Vladimir Plahotniuc, who is guilty of illegal and unconstitutional control over the Prosecutor General’s Office, the judiciary, the National Anticorruption Centre, the National Integrity Authority, the Central Electoral Commission, the Security and Intelligence Service, the National Bank of Moldova and other authorities which should operate autonomously, independently of political factors, and be democratically monitored;
2. Finds that the Democratic Party under the leadership of Vladimir Plahotniuc constantly acts as a party of totalitarian regime, illegally abusing public funds to promote its own projects, institutions, positions, and repressive levers of control in order to intimidate and eliminate political opponents and to apply political corruption through various mechanisms of blackmail and bribery;
3. Condemns endemic corruption — the main threat to the freedom, security, and well-being of the Republic of Moldova and its citizens;
4. Finds that there is an extremely serious situation in the areas of justice, safeguarding and protection of human rights and attests to a profound deterioration in basic standards of civil rights and liberties, including degrading treatment, torture and abusive deportation of political asylum seekers.

As a result of this state of affairs, the Republic of Moldova has become one of the poorest and most vulnerable countries in Europe, with a worrying rate of depopulation.

This state of affairs can be changed.

Being aware of the gravity of the situation and guided by our responsibility towards the people, we, the Members of the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, commit to fighting consistently to restore the supremacy of the law and to respect the fundamental rights of the country’s citizens.

To this regard, we express a vote of no confidence to the leadership of the Constitutional Court and the following state structures, which have become submissive instruments of the oligarchic regime, and we consider it absolutely imperative to:

• dismiss the Prosecutor General and identify an independent prosecutor, preferably from the European area, whom to appoint as Prosecutor General;
• dismiss the leadership of the Security and Intelligence Service;
• dismiss the members of the Central Electoral Commission;
• dismiss the leadership of the National Anticorruption Centre;
• dismiss the members of the Audiovisual Council;
  dismiss the leadership of the National Integrity Authority;
• dismiss the leadership of the Supreme Court of Justice, as well as other law enforcement and regulatory institutions;
• set up Parliamentary Commissions of Inquiry regarding:

1. the investigation of the one billion-dollar heist, obliging the National Bank of Moldova to present the Kroll 2 report;
2. the consequences of implementing the law on capital amnesty (Law no 180/2018 regarding voluntary declaration and fiscal stimulation);
3. investigation of money laundering operations (“Laundromat”).

Under these circumstances, we commit to urgently adopt a package of legislative norms necessary to liberate the aforementioned institutions, as well as to annul the mixed electoral system and return to the proportional voting system, improved in line with the recommendations of the Venice Commission.

Being aware of the seriousness of the consequences of corruption for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, we commit to adopt “The Magnitsky Act”, with a view to aligning ourselves with the efforts of the international community to prevent and punish financial crimes and eliminate international money laundering schemes.

Now is the time to urgently and fundamentally change the state of affairs, to return the Republic of Moldova to her own citizens and to prove to our people that we are in the service of the country and her people!

[ link to the original Declaration, in Romanian ]