Munteanu: PSRM's Linguistic Fancies Do not Contribute to the National Unity

DA Platform Vice-Chairman Igor Munteanu sharply criticizes the socialist initiative regarding the Russian language status. In a post on the social media, Munteanu mentions that this "bill reflects the linguistic fancies of the socialists", stiri.md reports. “Cheap populism, doomed to shameful defeat. I  was outraged to learn about the PSRM's intentions to raise again Shornikov's tattered flag, who recently demanded a return to Soviet bilingualism, which could only lead to new conflicts that the PSRM would ultimately like to use in its electoral arsenal. It seems obvious that the PSRM wants to plunge us into a new cultural and linguistic war, hoping in this way to return the attention of its Kremlin sponsors, at the cost of violating the norms and constitutional order that have created over the past three decades a state building model based on the national majority which forms the state," Munteanu writes. Below are some of his points. “Firstly, the Constitutional Court rightly recognized the September 1, 1989 law on the functioning of the languages ​​spoken in MSSR as obsolete, primarily because it perpetuated the outdated reality that regulates the functioning of languages ​​in a Soviet republic, and not in an independent state. Secondly, the obligation to use Russian as the language of communication between the peoples of the USSR, which collapsed on December 26, is no longer justified, since it is an outdated practice. Thirdly, communication between people is the result of a common understanding that cannot be imperatively dictated by the state or on behalf of the state, the only official language of which is Romanian, the language spoken by the overwhelming majority of Moldovan citizens. At the moment, the political, economic and cultural integration of the Republic of Moldova into the European Community takes place through Romanian, one of the official languages ​​of the European Union. This happens along with other languages: English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Polish, etc. This makes it much easier for citizens to connect to any programs and funds available in the EU member states. The fourth argument, making the PSRM's actions useless and absurd, is based on the fact that there is no state in the post-Soviet space that would be able to develop and integrate into the European Union based on a language model with the dominating Russian language. The Baltic states have maintained their cohesion and national unity, guided by the model of intelligent integration of minorities. And our neighbors, Ukraine and Georgia, have taken broad steps towards expanding and deepening the languages ​​of international circulation as a means for stronger integration into the world economy," Munteanu wrote. He stressed that "any state striving for European integration should provide national minorities with the right to preserve their culture, language, national-cultural diversity and historical memory, but this policy, consistent with European and international conventions and acquisitions, should not seek to replace or oppose these languages ​​to the status of the official (state) language - the only language that can ensure unity and cohesion within the majority (titular) nation, most of which ensured the state structure in the Republic of Moldova. " Munteanu classifies the resumed discussions about Russian as the second state language in the Republic of Moldova as follows: "This is a trivial political entertainment in the style of the most common provocations, comparable to the incitement carried out during the times of Shornikov or Senik, who enthusiastically served the Soviet chauvinism." “In the end, they became involved in propaganda of the separatist regime, as Russian imperialism representatives do today. The electoral stake of the PSRM projects is obvious, and this makes their approach even more grotesque, populist and hostile to national interests. As a result, we have a live demonstration of cheap populist sabotage, under the PSRM brand, whose servants demonstrate political egoism and disguised service to the interests of Russia - an active geopolitical player involved in mobilizing local influence, systematic interference in the country's political and economic processes. It is a state that works through proxies who can easily betray national interests and challenge the country's constitutional order. Thus, labeling this betrayal with a diagnosis, I believe that it becomes clear that the PSRM's linguistic fancies do not contribute to the national unity, and they need to be fought with the help of citizens' response,” Munteanu concluded.