All Party Parliamentary Group on Moldova visits Chisinau – inspired by John Smith Fellows
Members of the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Moldova have just returned from an official visit to Chisinau on the invitation of the Moldovan Parliament. Heading the delegation was the Group’s Chairman, Lord Dubs of Battersea, who is also a member of the John Smith Trust Advisory Board. The purpose of the visit was to exchange views with Moldovan parliamentarians, NGO leaders and government officials on current developments in Moldova. It also provided an opportunity to publicize the John Smith Fellowships and meet with local alumni.
The All Party Moldova Group was established this year for the first time as a result of a meeting of All Party Country Groups organized by the John Smith Memorial Trust during our 2005 Fellowship Programme. Present at the July 2005 meeting were the Heads of the All-Party Groups for Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Ukraine – but no one representing Moldova. During the meeting our Moldovan Fellows Stela Mocan, Eugen Burdelnii and Iurie Brinister asked for an explanation for the apparent lack of interest in Moldova. Lord Dubs promised to rectify this, and the APPG Moldova was established soon after.
The visit of the APPG to Moldova was a cooperative venture between the Moldovan Parliament, the Moldovan Embassy in the UK and the British Embassy in Chisinau. The group had meetings in the Moldovan Parliament with members of the Foreign Policy and European Integration Committees, members of the UK/Moldova Friendship Group, with the Minister for Reintegration (on the issue of the future of Transdniestria) and with NGO representatives. They held discussions with Speaker of the Parliament Dr.Marian Lupu, Deputy Speaker Mrs. Maria Postoico, and Advisor to the President Mrs. Mariana Zolotco. In the course of their meetings they had discussions with representatives of all political parties, including Mr. Iurie Rosca, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the Christian Democratic Peoples Party. The Group also met with representatives of the EU, OSCE and the different diplomatic missions based in Chisinau.
Members of the APPG in the Moldovan Parliament
The visit provided an opportunity to promote the work of the John Smith Memorial Trust and to encourage applications to the 2007 Fellowship Programme. Trust Director Emma MacLennan was included in the official delegation and attended some of the parliamentary meetings. But for her the visit was also an important opportunity to bring together local John Smith alumni and introduce some of the more recent Fellows to alumni from previous years.
L-R Romeo Turcan (IABP Moldova), Stela Mocan (2005), Vitalie Iovitsa (2004), Iurie Brinister (2005), Vlad Catan (2003), Vlad Plamadeala (2003), Natalia Motili (2002), Eyghenii Goloşceapov (2006), Maureen Chapman, Lord Dubs, Ben Chapman MP, Emma MacLennan, Quentin Davies MP, Chantal Davies, Doina Melnic (2002) and daughter, Dr. Iulian Fruntasu (2006), Dorin Recean, Vladimir and Victor Neagu of the UK Embassy Chisinau
During the visit Fellows came together for a dinner hosted by Mr. Dorin Recean on behalf of Mr. Alexandru Oleinic MP, who sponsored the evening, including a tremendous performance of traditional Moldovan music and dance by a very talented local dance group. Mr. Oleinic has been a long-time friend of the Trust and very kindly hosted an event for all our Fellows during our 2005 Networking Conference in Chisinau in April this year. Fellows attending the dinner included Artur Lungu, John Smith Fellow from 2000, who has been studying and working outside Moldova for some years and who was new to many of our alumni.
Trust Director Emma MacLennan with Artur Lungu, 2000 John Smith Fellow
The visit provided an opportunity, too, to meet with individual Fellows and their organizations. Three John Smith alumni are currently working for the Local Government Reform Project, set up in 2000 to strengthen local government in Moldova. There are three strands to the LGRP’s work: 2002 Fellow Natalia Motili heads the “Democracy and Governance” team, whose aim is to encourage community development through strategic planning, including providing guidance as to how to successfully conduct public hearings. 2004 Fellow Vitalie Iovitsa is a specialist in the “Fiscal Improvements” team, which provides basic software and technical assistance to local public accountants and economists, including the use and installation of basic computer programs and financial accounting software. 2003 Fellow Alex Pelivan works in the “Municipal Services” team providing communities with technical training and assistance to improve the quality and efficiency of key public municipal services such as clean water.
The LGRP will close in July 2007. Much of its work will be undertaken by a new Ministry of Local Public Administration, recently created to deal with all matters relating to local authorities and develop policy on local government reform. Mr. Vitalie Vrabie, the former mayor of Ungheni—a LGRP partner community—was appointed by President Voronin to head the new Ministry. LGRP Director Andrew Popelka briefed Emma MacLennan on ways in which Natalia, Vitalie and Alex are already working along with the new Ministry to help develop good local government practices and services.
Natalia Motili and the LGRP Project she organized introducing public hearings on local budget-making
Emma also met with 2006 Fellow Eyghenii Goloşceapov, Executive Director of Amnesty International Moldova, to hear of his work promoting human rights in Moldova – including a new project supported by the Ministry for Education teaching basic human rights to school children.
2006 Fellow Eyghenii Goloşceapov in Amnesty International office
UK Ambassador to Moldova HMA John Beyer hosted a reception at his residence for Members of the delegation. Lord Dubs spoke of the importance of the John Smith Fellowships to Moldova, and during the many official meetings and visits he encouraged those he met to suggest potential candidates for the 2007 Fellowships. The APPG Vice Chair, Bruce George MP, had separate meetings organized by the International Association for Business and Parliament (IABP), including meetings with students and businesspeople from Transdniestria. He also encouraged applicants to come forward for next year.
L-R Eyghenii Goloşceapov (2006), Lord Dubs, Doina Melnic (2002), HMA John Beyer and Stela Mocan (2005)
The purpose of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Moldova is to develop relationships with parliamentarians in Moldova, to host meetings in the UK with ministers and delegations from Moldova, and to inform and brief MPs and peers on the situation in the country. One issue of current importance is the effective ban on Moldovan wine by Russian authorities. The Moldovan government and wine producers were eager to discuss this issue with the visitors. Traditionally Moldova has exported about 65% of its wine output to Russia, so the ban on imports of Moldovan wine has very serious potential consequences for the Moldovan economy. The visit of the APPG coincided with the beginning of the Moldovan Wine Festival in Chisinau, and members of the Group joined Moldovan political leaders in the opening celebrations.
Dance celebrations at the Wine Festival” from Moldovan Russian-language newspaper. Photo caption from left to right: “Moldovan folk dancer wearing national dress; Prospective Moldovan folk dancer (slightly older); Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin - obviously a retired folk dancer; random Moldovan girl 1 dancing in the square; random Moldovan girl 2 dancing in the square; English folk dancer - Mrs. Maureen Chapman - Wirral South constituency - a slight Beatles influence can be observed; Welsh folk dancer - Mr. Martyn Jones, MP - Clwyd South constituency also known as "the last bastion against ruthless English domination"; Moldovan folk dancer wearing national dress; Moldovan Parliament Speaker Mr. Marian Lupu - barely meeting the professional dancing standards of his European colleagues.”
The final morning of the visit included a meeting with staff, parents and children at the Hippocrates Children’s Centre in Chisinau, a special facility providing vital services to children with disabilities opened in August 2000 with assistance from the British author and comedian, Tony Hawks. The centre describes its mission as being “To improve the health of children with chronic conditions who are living in socially vulnerable families. The centre accomplishes its mission by providing free consultations and medical rehabilitation services to children from birth up to the age of 15, who have chronic illnesses of the neuro-muscular, cardio-vascular or respiratory system. One branch of this mission is teaching parents and caretakers of children with chronic conditions to help their child live a more comprehensive life and integrate into the society.” The Centre is run by Diana Covalciuc, the doctor with whom Tony Hawks lodged while challenging Moldovan footballers to play him at tennis (see “Playing the Moldovans at Tennis” by Tony Hawks for further explanation). The Centre is currently fundraising for much-needed new premises. Go to http://www.tony-hawks.com/philanthropy.php for more information.
Tony Hawks and Diana Covalciuc with staff, parents and children at the Hippocrates Children’s Centre
The John Smith Memorial Trust is enormously grateful to all the organisations and individuals who helped to make this visit such a success. These include Ambassador Mariana Durlestianu of the Moldovan Embassy in London, HMA John Beyer and British Embassy staff in Chisinau, and Mr. Alexandru Oleinic MP for his sponsorship of our Fellows’ dinner. Not least we would like to thank our John Smith Fellows from Moldova who gave so much of their own time to assisting with the visit, in particular Doina Melnic and Eugen Burdelnii. Special thanks go to the Speaker of the Parliament Dr. Marian Lupu for the Parliament’s sponsorship of the delegation during their stay in Moldova.