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President Vladimir Voronin has called on Moldovan citizens:

Dear fellow citizens, the international organised crime forces have intervened in the pre-election situation in Moldova in the most rough manner.

We all became witnesses of how extremists, criminal authorities, leaders of the Tiraspol separatist regime and totalitarian opposition which serves their interests have openly joined forces to take revenge over failures they had suffered in the past four years. The are going mad because our country has risen from its knees, that people are no longer afraid of them, that domestic business is not anymore under “protection” of different bandits. They are going mad that the Ukrainian and Moldovan authorities promote a coordinated policy on Transnistria settlement, that our country and people chose the way to Europe, the way to a new quality of life.

The international criminals understand very well that an eventual victory of Communists at the March 6 elections will be a sentencing for them, that Moldova will be at a distance of several days from the long-waited hour of reunion with Transnistria. That’s why they chose the libel, bribery of influent international mass media and threats against me as weapons for setup of their bandit power.

Dear fellow citizens, You must know and trust that President Voronin did not and does not cede to tries to blackmail him. You must know that no matter what libel about our country or me will the revenge takers invent, I will firmly promote till the end the principles of territorial integrity and independence of our country, principles of protection of democratic freedoms, principles of fairness. I am confident that we will resist to criminal intervention, I believe that our people cannot be cheated, intimidated or made slaves again.

Let’s make common cause for the future of our country, for the Republic of Moldova.

The chairman of the Democratic Moldova Bloc (DMB), Mr.Serafim Urechean, said the following in a statement: “Our country lives more with hopes. The day when the most actual of them will become true is coming. It is already clear: the Communists have lost. They are seized by panic of failure. We note that they lost both as party which remains in the past — Communists lead Moldova to perdition.This appreciation expresses our concern.

The Communists subdue the country to major risks. Inside: the worst effect was the worsening of poverty and destruction of democratic institutions. You know the arguments and there were lots of them in campaign. Outside: the aggressive and inconsistent nature of Communist democracy was the worst.. Moldova did not cooperate especially regarding the implementation of European standards.

The effects of irresponsible policies of Communists turned against them like a boomerang during the ongoing electoral campaign.

Home: Population has finally learned about crisis faced by country and corruption of government. It also felt the fear of authorities who avoid a honest confrontation and do everything they can to block up the right of people to a free information about opposition.

Abroad: As elections are a basic element of democracy, the international community has sent lots of alarm signals and warnings.

The replacement of diplomacy with aggressiveness on behalf of Moldova has determined Russia to threaten with very dangerous sanctions against common people. Otherwise, the inertia of negative history of relationships with Romania is manifested through interdictions for Moldovan imports.

However, the former governors are incapable of a honourable loss. They are ready to sacrifice the civic peace and internal stability in order to keep their seats in government. With adequate external consequences, as the ruling party’s must be condemned in line with humanity laws for provocation of conflicts during elections.

BMD holds more data confirming that the Communists implement an ample and complex plan on preparations for social confrontations after elections. The Communists have lost. Moldova’s victory is essential now”.

Irina Gerashchenko, spokeswoman for Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko, reported that Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin was on a special working visit to Kiev. It was noted that the visit is an initiative of Moldovan president. The two presidents discussed problems related to bilateral relations, cooperation within GUUAM, settlement of the Transnistria conflict.

President Vladimir Voronin invited his Georgian counterpart Mikhail Saakashvili to visit Moldova on March 2 in order to discuss the same range of issues.

Analyst Vladimir Socor has published an article titled “Kiyv-Tbilisi-Chisinau Triangle: Common Approach to Common Problems”, in the online magazine Jamestown Foundation. He said the following:Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko is holding meetings in Kyiv today (March 1) with Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin and Georgian Prime Minister Zurab Noghaideli. Their agenda includes energy supply, border security, anti-smuggling efforts, and revitalizing the GUAM (Georgia-Ukraine-Azerbaijan-Moldova) group of countries.

Tomorrow Georgian President Mikhail Saakashvili will arrive in Chisinau for a working visit that includes meetings with President Voronin and opposition Christian-Democrat People’s Party leader Iurie Rosca.

Saakashvili and Voronin are scheduled to sign a “Chisinau Declaration on the Supremacy of Democratic Values” and a “Declaration on the ’Black Holes’ in Europe.” The first document, a follow-up to the Yushchenko-Saakashvili “Carpathian Declaration” signed in January in Ukraine, commits Moldova alongside Georgia to “recognizing representative democracy to be the most effective model of sound, good governance.” It goes on to express the common belief that “only Democracy can guarantee true state-building through strengthening civil society and its institutions in the countries that have emerged from totalitarian dictatorship and foreign rule.”

Clearly alluding to the Russian government’s ongoing campaign to lift its Moldovan “centrist” allies to power in the upcoming general elections, the declaration asserts, “No external forces can prevent the freedom-loving peoples from voting . . . in accordance with their beliefs. No outside force should be allowed to impose its will on the people, no one should be allowed to influence the outcome of the elections and try to change the political course of the country through economic blackmail and all kinds of illegal operations.”

The press service of the Social Democratic Party of Moldova (PSDM) says that “Radio Moldova gave an example of political partisanship and demonstrated an unfair attitude towards electoral competitors, participants in debates.

Radio Moldova aired on Tuesday, March 1 electoral debates with participation of representatives of political parties, competitors of the electoral campaign for parliamentary elections.

Radio Moldova did not inform beforehand the participants in the live programme about topics of debates. Respectively, the representatives of political parties expected a free discussion, but they were strictly limited on one topic and namely related to agriculture. Mr.Victor Ciobanu, a leader of the electoral campaign who is competent in many sectors, participated in debates on behalf of PSDM, but the fact that political parties were deprived of the possibility to delegate representatives specialized in agriculture sector to this programme is revolting.

PSDM fears that this was a deliberate action aimed to shed a bad light to participants in programme who represented the opposition parties.

PSDM warns that Radio Moldova practices this way the political partisanship, while its attitude towards participants in this programme is unfair and provocative. PSDM will notify the international organisations over this case.”

The third report called Monitoring of Mass Media in Electoral Campaign, undertaken by the Independent Journalism centre, CIVIS, Article 19, and Association of Independent Press within Coalition-2005 from January 16 to February 24, was unveiled. The report says that the Communists are still favoured in radio and TV news, and other sort of broadcast.