Tiraspol, 24 May. /Novosti Pridnestrovya/. On May 29, the Constitutional Court of Moldova will consider a request by Liberal MPs to repeal laws regulating the status of the Russian language as a language of interethnic communication, Gagauz TV cites Moldavskie Vedomosti daily as writing.
In an interview with Russia’s NG, President Vadim Krasnoselsky noted that Pridnestrovie would respond to the decision of the Constitutional Court of Moldova: "We will discuss its decision and define our steps."
"We are becoming convinced our choice is right - to live separately from Moldova and to seek recognition of our independence," said the president.
Pridnestrovie will negotiate with Chisinau, but only as with a neighbouring state; any association is out of the question, Vadim Krasnoselsky explained.
The authors of the request to the Constitutional Court do not like the status of the Russian language as a means of interethnic communication. In their opinion, this does not allow Moldova to get rid of the Soviet legacy in the form of "Russification" and "denationalization" of peoples. Therefore, it is necessary to deprive citizens of the right to use the Russian language in communication with public authorities, enterprises, institutions, courts, any organizations, and also receive a response in the language of the appeal.
Also, the Liberals want to abolish a regulation in compliance with which laws and all other important public information should be translated into Russian. Including a provision on the mandatory translation of all official documents and laws that come into force into Russian when published in "Official Monitor."
The authors of the appeal also seek to abolish a provision on state guarantees of education in Russian. This will result in closing Russian schools and kindergartens.
Their motivation for applying to the Constitutional Court is the following: the law on languages was adopted in other historical realities when the Soviet Union still existed. In addition, the current status of the Russian language "allows it to compete with the state language, which runs counter to the Constitution." The Liberals say that the Russians constitute only 4% of the population.
If the court rules in favour of the Liberals, it will stir up a huge part of Moldovan society. According to the 2004 census, the Russian language in Moldova was native or a second choice to almost 59% of the citizens, which is even more than in 1989 when the language law was adopted.
On 7 December 2017, the Moldovan parliament adopted in two readings draft amendments to the Code on Television and Radio, which prohibit Russian news and analytical programs on television and radio. Now it refers to the replacement of the entire entertainment content produced by Russian TV companies. New provisions of the Education Code have been introduced in 2018, assigning the status of a foreign language to Russian. Under such circumstances, Moldovan journalists believe, the positive decision of the Constitutional Court is likely to be perceived by Moldovan society as "an item in a comprehensive program for the expulsion of the Russian language from the Republic of Moldova".
