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| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| Paying Attention: Moldova bars Russians before poll |
| 2005-03-06 |
| Voting has opened in Moldova's general election - with 100 Russians who said they were election observers barred from entering the country. The Moldovan authorities said the Russians intended to disrupt the elections - the fifth since the state won independence from Moscow in 1991. They have also accused Russia of trying to influence the ballot. The governing Communist Party, which is pro-western, is expected to win the majority of seats and remain in power. At present they hold 71 of the 101 seats in parliament. European integration According to Russian television, the Russians who were detained on a train on Saturday wanted to ensure that the ballot was free and fair. But the authorities claim they were not registered as monitors. "These people said they were observers but they don't have a single document to prove it," a government official told AFP news agency. This is just the latest dispute between the two countries. Last month a number of Russians were expelled from Moldova on suspicion of spying. Leading up to the parliamentary election, tension has been escalating. Russia threatened trade sanctions and a visa regime for Moldovans in a row over Trans-dniester, Moldova's breakaway republic. The Russian speaking region declared itself independent in the early 1990s and since, Russian troops have been stationed there. Moldova's government has called for their withdrawal, saying they are an illegal occupation force. There have been complaints in Moldova that Russia is trying to determine the outcome of the election to prevent the ruling Communist Party from remaining in power. Moscow had denied this. But according to BBC correspondent Helen Fawkes in the Moldovan capital, Chisinau, Russia cannot be happy with the direction Moldova is heading. The Moldovan President, Vladimir Voronin, who is the Communist leader, used to support closer ties to Moscow but is now in favour of European integration. Heh. Brezhnev & Co are spinning in their graves, lol! |
| Posted by:.com |
| #1 A pro-Western Communist leader? Now I've seen everything. |
| Posted by: gromky 2005-03-06 7:41:11 AM |