July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Complex issues beg for solution
Editorial
It's always risky to draw conclusions about events on the other side of the world.
That's particularly true about events in Moldova this week.
Even those who know the country well are taking a wait-and-see attitude simply because the political and economic landscape is incredibly complex.
How complex?
The country is linguistically divided between Romanian-speakers and Russian-speakers. Those at one extreme dream of reuniting the country with Romania; those at the other extreme long for the days of the Soviet Union and, before that, the Russian Empire.
The country is also divided between young people who look to the West for greater freedom and pensioners nostalgic for the more predictable drabness of the Soviet era.
Politically, though it appears most of the electorate favors movement toward Western Europe, the non-Communist parties are so fractured that they speak with dozens of voices.
So, in some ways, it was not surprising when the Communist Party won last weekend's parliamentary elections by a slim margin. If nothing else, the Communists have maintained party discipline.
And, at the same time, it was not surprising when young people and opponents of the Communists took to the streets to protest the election's outcome.
The surprise came when those protests turned suddenly and frighteningly violent. What had been a protest march with chants of "Freedom" quickly transformed into rock throwing and surges of humanity through police cordons into both the building that houses the parliament and the building that is the headquarters of the presidency.
The buildings were trashed and vandalized, and fires were set ablaze on their steps.
Things are calmer now, but the situation is no less murky.
The president, a Communist, blames Romania. So does Russia, which is watching the situation closely.
The opposition says it was simply a protest that got out of control when young people exploded with frustration at their government.
Others, quite plausibly, suspect the Communists themselves of having planted provocateurs in the crowd with the intent of sparking violence that will now justify a crackdown against dissent.
That last theory might sound paranoid in much of the world, but not in Moldova.
How this will play out is anyone's guess.
But as of now, the government has ordered a re-count of the election results. The opposition believes it will provide evidence of large-scale voter fraud. The Communists believe it will prove their victory was legitimate.
Does it matter? Given the geography and the tensions between Western Europe and post-Soviet Russia, yes it does indeed. - J.R.
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That's particularly true about events in Moldova this week.
Even those who know the country well are taking a wait-and-see attitude simply because the political and economic landscape is incredibly complex.
How complex?
The country is linguistically divided between Romanian-speakers and Russian-speakers. Those at one extreme dream of reuniting the country with Romania; those at the other extreme long for the days of the Soviet Union and, before that, the Russian Empire.
The country is also divided between young people who look to the West for greater freedom and pensioners nostalgic for the more predictable drabness of the Soviet era.
Politically, though it appears most of the electorate favors movement toward Western Europe, the non-Communist parties are so fractured that they speak with dozens of voices.
So, in some ways, it was not surprising when the Communist Party won last weekend's parliamentary elections by a slim margin. If nothing else, the Communists have maintained party discipline.
And, at the same time, it was not surprising when young people and opponents of the Communists took to the streets to protest the election's outcome.
The surprise came when those protests turned suddenly and frighteningly violent. What had been a protest march with chants of "Freedom" quickly transformed into rock throwing and surges of humanity through police cordons into both the building that houses the parliament and the building that is the headquarters of the presidency.
The buildings were trashed and vandalized, and fires were set ablaze on their steps.
Things are calmer now, but the situation is no less murky.
The president, a Communist, blames Romania. So does Russia, which is watching the situation closely.
The opposition says it was simply a protest that got out of control when young people exploded with frustration at their government.
Others, quite plausibly, suspect the Communists themselves of having planted provocateurs in the crowd with the intent of sparking violence that will now justify a crackdown against dissent.
That last theory might sound paranoid in much of the world, but not in Moldova.
How this will play out is anyone's guess.
But as of now, the government has ordered a re-count of the election results. The opposition believes it will provide evidence of large-scale voter fraud. The Communists believe it will prove their victory was legitimate.
Does it matter? Given the geography and the tensions between Western Europe and post-Soviet Russia, yes it does indeed. - J.R.
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