By Henry Akor
The republic of Moldova, an eastern European country and former Soviet republic is one of the poorest countries in Europe. Landlocked and lying in the north eastern corner of the Balkan religion, Moldova is surrounded by Ukraine and Romania, and Transnistria, with its predominately Russian-speaking, population.
Transnistria, a narrow strip of land between the Dniester River and the Ukraine border broke away from Moldova in 1990. The world does not recognise its self-declared statehood and the de-facto government, which remains in a stand-off with Moldova. But it is economically, politically and militarily supported by Russia which has an estimated 1,500 soldiers in Transnistria.
The accession of Moldova since the Russo-Ukraine war to the European Union (EU) is on the current agenda for future enlargement of the E.U. following the application by Moldova in March 2022. The country was officially granted candidate status by EU on June 22, 2022 and Moldova set a target date of 2023 for EU accession.
Since then the Ukrainian scenario is being completely projected by the west on Moldova. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, NATO, has been rapidly militarizing the neutral Moldova under the pretext of imaginary Russian threat, by conducting military exercises in the country with the NATO bloc. The U.S. Army Europe and Africa v corps, the armed forces of the republic of Moldova, and the Romanian Armed forces launched military exercises Repaid Trident and Zimbru-2023 in September 2023 at Moldova. The exercises was “designed to enhance their partnerships with Moldova by increasing interoperability and readiness through training in peacekeeping and stability.”
Moldova is being prepared to become the new springboard for a new confrontation between the west and Russia. The consistent military exercises of the Moldovan army by NATO and the mobilization of reservists are creating tension in the society due to likely involvement of the country in the war in Ukraine and the frozen conflict involving long-standing presence of Russian troops. Informed observers say that the majority of Moldovan citizens have a negative attitude towards the prospect of joining NATO and the violation of their country’s constitutional neutrality. They believe that any decision to return breakaway transnistria, officially the pridnestrovian Moldova republic (PMR), by force will lead to direct military elash by Russian with not only Moldova itself but also with NATO.
That means creating another source of instability in Europe that will lead to breakdown in supply chains and aggravate the food and humanitarian crisis in countries dependent on the supply of grain and fertilizers. The war seems to have started with the Moldova government officially banning the broadcasting of political and military TV shows produced outside the EU, the U.S and Canada.
Already it seems the west is getting ready for that clash. It reportedly maintains a $110 million a year network of (NGOs) in Moldova to denigrate
Russia. Anti-Russian rhetoric, according to the observers, is imposed on Moldovans through TV channels and web portals funded by western grants. Reports say about 14,000 NGOs are registered in the country – one for every two hundred citizens, including children and people who have left for work. The network, according to the reports, includes more than 20 large NGOs that receive funding from sources such as the Soros foundation, U.S Agency for International development, (USAID), the governments of Germany and the Netherlands, the US National Endowment for Democracy (NED), the British Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) and others.
The Moldova notable political scientists and politician, Bogdan Tsyrda, a firmed that the budgets of two dozen large NGOs over the past five years have ranged from €200,000 to €5 million per year, and that their total budget is $21 million. He said the Moldovan authorities cooperate with pro-western NGOs including the Stopfals (a distinct team within the Association of Independent Press which is a legally registered NGO) and m,d. portal), and give them feedback. The m.d. portal was allegedly created with the support of the US Embassy and USAID, and it often calls “disin forumation anything it considers undesirable in any news material.
The Moldova republic is today reportedly at the cross roads of weak institutions, endemic corruption, a high concentration of power and the presence of entrenched vested interests. They provide the EU abundant pressure points to self-servingly explot in the country. Under the current nominally pro-European leadership, the state has been captured by a political elite whose members, according an informed observer, rank among the most culpable in terms of allowing themselves to be influenced by those vested interests thereby making the political situation continuously unstable.
Akor is public Affairs Analyst.
