Gagauzia People’s Assembly Withdraws from Negotiation Process with Chisinau

The deputies of the People’s Assembly have suspended the activity of their representatives in the joint working group of the Parliament and the PAG. The co-chairman from Comrat, Serghei Cimpoeș, said the week before he “had no longer wanted to participate in the meeting with the Prime Minister”. “It’s really hard. It is hard when you resist, you say, ‘that’s white’. And they look at you and say: ‘No, it’s black’. We have no allies today,” Serghei Cimpoeș said. He says that there is “no trust” between the parties, but at the same time, he believes that a platform for discussions should remain. Demian Caraseni suggested suspending the activity of Comrat representatives in the joint working group, as “sitting and just smiling at each other” is not a solution to the problems. And Ivan Caraja will vote in favor of suspending the working group activities. “There’s no sense. I am going to vote for it. I think we need to put it on hold. We are not closing the doors. Nevertheless, when we vote, I think that European structures will pay attention and come to us to find out what the situation is. If we are treated like this, what is the point of going there and humiliating ourselves? We are not second-class people,” Caraja said. PAG vice-speaker Tarnavschi notes that Comrat and Chisinau have many platforms for dialogue and “there is no need for a demarche”. “The Speaker represents the People’s Assembly in Parliament. The members of the Executive Committee have the right by law to participate in the meetings of the boards of various ministries. Besides, the Bașkan of Gagauzia - it is an example for the EU countries – is a member of the Moldovan Government. In addition, we have a dialogue platform with the Parliament. Still, the first three platforms are all closed. Of course, this is bad and violates the law. However, we are speaking factually. There is only one window and one door open. If we close this channel of communication, how will we solve the citizens’ problem?”, Tarnavschi said. Many deputies in opposition to the PAG leadership suggested that those members of the working group who did not want to participate in it should leave, noting that others would replace them. However, this opinion was not heard. As a result, 17 MPs voted against 11 in favor of suspending the working group activities.