moldova

Government complicity is the main reason why Moldova for the first time has been put on the human trafficking blacklist. Moldova is the only European country on the worst-offenders list, revealed on Wednesday by the American government. Nations on the list could face sanctions, including the withholding of some aid by the United States.

The Moldovan Journalists Union warns that a free press cannot exist in Moldova's conditions of corruption and fear. The situation has gotten increasingly worse since 2004, the leader of Moldova's journalists says. Meanwhile, openness and a growth in the independent press has improved the free media climate in next-door Transdniestria.

The world's leading press freedom group is publicly expressing grave concern about government harassment of Moldova's independent news media. Reporters Without Borders has documented how an institutionalized harassment of news media is currently underway in Moldova. The country's state media serve the president’s reelection bid, while independent journalists are silenced.

The President of Moldova is now preconditioning his future status settlement dialogue with Pridnestrovie. During a visit to Brussels, Vladimir Voronin said he would talk to the government of neighboring Pridnestrovie "at any time" but under certain conditions. He is only ready to talk if Pridnestrovie will first accept to become part of Moldova.

The European Union ought to reconsider its relations with Moldova, says an EU Parliament group. The statement comes after Sunday's anti-gay violence which was tacitly supported by Moldova's authorities. Transdniestria is seen as being more tolerant and better at protecting minority rights.

With Moldova's police providing protective cover, armed gay bashers attacked a bus of participants bound for a march in Chisinau. It is the second year in a row that the march had to be canceled as a result of violence. Victims say authorities are aiding and abetting by allowing the gay bashing to take place.

A new report shows that Moldovan government officials are behind a booming trade in counterfeit cigarettes. The illegal tobacco smuggling targets the European Union via Moldova's shared border with Romania. Transdniestria is not named in the report and there have been no cases of any counterfeit cigarette smuggling on Transdniestria's borders.

New facts reveal that Moldova now holds the leading spot among European countries for illegal organ trafficking. Worldwide, Moldova is one of the top 3 source countries in the gruesome trade. Moldova's illegal organ harvesting rings operate with impunity and de-facto government protection.

If Moldova's government has its way, the leader of the country's largest opposition party will be sent to jail for the next nine years. Serafim Urechean is defending himself in a case which legal experts say is politically motivated. In 2006 the Supreme Court already ordered the case to be thrown out, but it has nevertheless been reopened just ahead of next year's elections.

With poverty and prices on the rise in Moldova, nearby Transdniester is increasingly convinced that independence is the best way forward. An opinion poll released in Chisinau reveals that 3 out of 4 Moldovans don't have a decent living. The situation is better in Transdniester where a majority of the population prefers not to join the "failed state" of Moldova.