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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 7, No. 234, Part II, 15 December 2003

MOLDOVAN PARLIAMENT APPROVES IN FIRST READING CONTROVERSIAL
'NATIONALITIES POLICY.' The communist majority in the Moldovan
parliament approved on 12 December in first reading the draft Concept of
the State's Nationalities Policy that President Vladimir Voronin
submitted to the legislature, RFE/RL's Chisinau bureau reported. The
document designates as a "national priority" the promotion of Russian as
a language of inter-ethnic communication in Moldova, alongside
"Moldovan," which continues to be the state's "official" language. The
draft also states that the "state-forming" nationality in the country
are the Moldovans, but adds that the crystallization of statehood was
also made possible by the contribution of other nationalities living in
the country and lists among those theUkrainian, Russian, Gagauz,
Bulgarian, Jewish, Romanian, Belarusian, Romany and Polish minorities.
The draft also calls for "the judicial and political neutralization of
attempts to deny the existence of a Moldovan nationality and of ignoring
the concept of Moldovan language." On the same day, Popular Party
Christian Democratic (PPCD) Deputy Chairman Stefan Secareanu called on
Moldovan citizens to protest the draft, describing it as "a new attempt
to de-nationalize the Romanians," Infotag reported. He said that
although Romanians make up two-thirds of the country's population, the
presidential "concept" puts them on the same footing with Jews or
Belarusians. MS


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 7, No. 236, Part I, 17 December 2003

PRESIDENTIAL ENVOY TO PROPOSE PILOT PROJECTS NEXT MONTH. Presidential
envoy to the Northwest Federal District Ilya Klebanov told media in St.
Petersburg that his office is preparing suggestions for merging several
regions in his district, "Vremya novostei" reported on 16 December.
"There are two or three pilot projects that we plan to present to the
presidential administration at the beginning of 2004," Klebanov said.
Valerii Khomyakov, director of the Agency for Applied and Regional
Politics, told the daily that the process of unification "will be
opposed by regional elites, who will hardly support a reduction in the
number of leadership posts." He added that in his opinion initiatives
for merging regions should come exclusively from below, and the most
promising regions in this regard are "Chechnya and Ingushetia and the
Altai Krai and Altai Republic." JAC


RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 7, No. 236, Part II, 17 December 2003

NEW ROMANY MOVEMENT LAUNCHED IN HUNGARY. The National Gypsy Authority
(OCO) will launch a new movement in January to promote equal opportunity
under the banner "The Decade of Romany Integration," OCO Chairman Orban
Kolompar announced on 16 December. Kolompar said the Romany community in
Hungary is in a "disastrous position," as 73 percent of Roma live in
poverty, compared to a figure of 33 percent in 1989, "Magyar Hirlap"
reported. MSZ