Introductory remarks by:
Rodger Potocki
Senior Director for Europe, NED
Ambassador Igor Munteanu (watch remarks)
Moldovan Embassy in the USA
Lawrence Silverman (watch remarks)
Director, Office of Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus Affairs, Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, U.S. Department of State
Panel 1: The First 100 Days of the New Moldovan Government
Moderator
Amb John Todd Stewart
Panelists
Arcadie Barbarosie (watch remarks)
Executive Director, Institute of Public Policy (Moldova)
Viorel Girbu (watch remarks)
Adviser to President, Academy of Sciences of Moldova
Watch the full video of Panel 1
Panel 2: Human Rights Violations in Transnistria
Moderator
Rodger Potocki
Senior Director for Europe, NED
Panelists
Ion Manole (watch remarks)
Executive Director, Promo-Lex Association (Moldova)
Natalia Mozer (watch remarks)
Founder, Civic Movement “Mothers for Human Rights” (Moldova)
Watch the full video of Panel 2
The November 2010 victory of a pro-democratic, pro-European coalition gave new impetus to the breakthrough the country made in 2009, when Europe’s last governing Communist Party was defeated at the polls. The repeat parliamentary elections in July 2009 were one of the few success stories in the post-communist region that year.
However, the improved political situation in Moldova stands in contrast to the deteriorating human rights situation in the country’s breakaway region of Transnistria. In response to a new EU initiative to resolve this “frozen conflict,” the authoritarian government in Tiraspol has cracked down on civil society.
During his March 11th visit to Moldova, Vice President Joe Biden emphasized the United States’ support for democratic reforms, strengthening Moldova’s institutions and civil society, and combating corruption. Biden, in his speech to a large crowd in Chisinau, also underlined US support for a speedy resolution to the Transnistrian conflict and its reintegration into the Republic of Moldova
