OUTSKIRTS OF EU: LATIN-SCRIPT STUDENTS FACE PERSECUTION IN BREAK-AWAY REPUBLIC OF TRANSNISTRIA - June 7, 2008
 

A dark classroom sits abandoned on the Nistru’s left bank. Desks once occupied by students taking notes in Romanian are empty since authorities cut the school’s water, gas and electricity supply. About 30 men, some wearing Cossack military uniforms and carrying whips, enter the school chasing students and teachers out. Roughly 600 students graduate from Stefan cel Mare Lyceum in Grigoriopol that year, 2002, but those behind them will not begin a new term in September.

The problem of Latin-script education in Transnistria has existed ever since the break-away territory declared its independence from Moldova following the 1992 War. Since the conflict began, ethnic Moldovan parents have faced difficult choices when it comes to educating their children. The de facto Transnistrian government in Tiraspol imposes Cyrillic-only, mainly Russophone curricula (A.H: Soviet policy, adopted by Transnistrian regime, was to treat “Moldovan” - basically Romanian -as distinct from Romanian, the main difference being that Moldovan is written in the Cyrillic alphabet and Romanian is written in the Latin alphabet. The Republic of Moldova reverted to Latin script in 1989 whereas Transnistria continues to promote Cyrillic usage).

According to Eleonora Cercavschi, Director of the Stefan cel Mare Lyceum, the Transnistrian curriculum is outdated compared with that of Moldova. For example, students in Transnistria begin computer and foreign language classes in the 10th and 5th grades respectively; this is far later than the majority of Moldovan students who begin studying these subjects in 7th and 2nd grades. Transnistrian schools limit the scope of studies teaching only Russian literature and geography, deemphasizing or ignoring Western culture. Schools in the region also suffer from a lack of qualified teachers and other personnel as Transnistria has suffered, even more so than the rest of Moldova, a serious “brain drain”.

Still, Russian schools in Transnistria seem luxurious compared to their poor cousins, the Moldovan schools. Russian school buildings are kept in good repair, receive new textbooks from Russia, and have graduates who are eligible, if well-connected, to receive Russian university scholarships from Moscow. In comparison, Moldovan school buildings in Transnistria are either closed or sadly neglected, textbooks are old and in Cyrillic – products of a failed Soviet attempt to make Romanian speakers read and write using the Russian alphabet, and graduates have little hope of attending university for lack of financial and educational ability.

“The situation is hopeless,” Cercavschi said. If an ethnic Moldovan parent enrolls a child in better equipped Russian schools the child’s future is not guaranteed. “Until recently, Transnistrian graduates could study at Moldovan universities in Chisinau even though the Russian system only goes through the 11th grade. Now you must complete the 12th grade to enroll in a Moldovan university.” According to Ms. Cercavschi, students who manage to qualify for these universities often fail classes once enrolled because of the immense gap between Moldovan and Transnistrian education systems.

The alternative for these parents is to send a child by bus to one of the Latin-script schools nominally under the control of Chisinau, Moldova’s capital. In total, there are eight Latin-script schools in the region – five lyceums, two secondary schools and one orphanage. The situation differs among schools but Stefan cel Mare’s experience is emblematic of the dilemma. These students commute 30 minutes each way from Grigoriopol to Dorotcaia, a village under Chisinau’s control, in the afternoons after the students with whom they share the facility have finished lessons. Despite separatist authorities’ continuous harassment of parents, students and teachers, there are 173 children enrolled at the Stefan cel Mare school. But Cercavschi estimates she would have 500 students if the school were allowed to continue in Grigoriopol. Although there are no official statistics, anecdotal evidence shows declining enrollment is due, in part, to the practice of parents with relatives in Chisinau sending their children there to study.

 
Another obstacle that these students face is the lack of learning materials. Transnistrian authorities often block delivery of books and furniture from Chisinau intended for the students’ use. These items eventually reach the school if the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) intervenes, which it sometimes does, a fact that it downplays for fear of exacerbating the situation. It also occasionally helps negotiate utility disputes as Moldovan schools have had difficulty with this issue since Transnistrian utilities insist on being paid in rubles while Moldovan school accounts are in lei. Although the OSCE has been working independently on the education issue in Transnistria since 1994, according to Claus Neukirch, Public Affairs Officer for the OSCE Mission to Moldova, education is now tied to the entire negotiation process surrounding Transnistria’s separatist agenda.

In 2004, after the education crisis in Transnistria when separatist militia seized Moldovan school buildings, there were working-level meetings between the two sides aimed at resolving the issue. However, these and all other negotiations ceased after Moldova introduced new customs regulations in 2006. Viewed by Transnistrian authorities as tantamount to an economic blockade, they have linked all disputes with Moldova to the resolution of their objection to these regulations.

That’s why there has been virtually no news on Latin-alphabet education and other regional issues since 2005 because the so-called “5+2 process” stalled (A.H: the “5+2 process” refers to negotiations intended to help Moldova and Transnistria reach a settlement regarding the region’s autonomous status. The parties include the OSCE, the Russian Federation and Ukraine as mediators. The European Union and United States are observers at the negotiations). According to Neukirch, there is some hope that negotiations will resume this year as the Voronin Administration is eager to score a breakthrough in the talks ahead of Moldova’s 2009 parliamentary elections. An informal meeting between the parties took place at an unrelated 2007 conference in Odessa, Ukraine. According to Neukirch, the parties agreed to begin pre-talk discussions but Transnistrian leader Vladimir Smirnoff conditioned resumption of the 5+2 process on a private meeting between himself and Voronin, a condition which the OSCE regards as “unhelpful.”

There are some “non-official” actors who are trying to alleviate the plight of ethnic Moldovans living in Transnistria. Non-governmental organization Promo-LEX is one such actor. The organization is petitioning the European Court of Human Rights on behalf of three Latin-script schools in Transnistria – Evrica Lyceum in Rîbnita, Stefan cel Mare and Alexandru cel Bun in Tighina (Bender). The case is pending before the court. Based on the reasoning in the landmark Ilascu case, the petition seeks to hold the Moldovan and Russian governments liable, as they perpetuate the dispute, for the harm the Transnistrian regime has caused these schools.

Although the situation does indeed appear hopeless, Cercavschi notes with visible pride that 99 percent of her students enroll and graduate Moldovan and Romanian universities. “Our numbers are small but we have only the best, brightest and most dedicated students who want to learn at our school,” she said. There is hope wherever the thirst for knowledge cannot be extinguished by oppressive and inept regimes.

Amanda Howe

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Author of the article holds B.A. degree in International Studies and Political Studies from the Southern Methodist University and J.D. degree from the American University Washington College of Law. She has been working as Legislative Analyst for several years and has been involved in work of non-governmental organizations in Moldova.
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