← Autodidact Archive · Original Dissent · madrussian
Thread ID: 17133 | Posts: 3 | Started: 2005-03-06
2005-03-06 02:24 | User Profile
[url]http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4322617.stm[/url]
Moldova has barred 100 Russians who say they are election observers from entering the country ahead of Sunday's parliamentary poll.
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.
European integration
According to Russian television, the Russians who were detained on a train 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.
2005-03-06 02:58 | User Profile
Thanks for the excellent post. I'm not surprised the Moldovan Communists are pro-Western, given what the West has become today. Glad to know who are 'friends' are.
Contrary to common belief, the Communist regime did not die with the fall of the Soviet Union. It simply moved West and took up residence in Brussels, London, and Washington. This is the enemy.
2005-03-06 05:29 | User Profile
Exactly. The neo-cons are [I]literally[/I] Trotskyites in pinstripes.
They may have dropped overt Schachtmanite tactics on Labor for a Gramscian/Frankfurt School approach to usurp Capital but their lineage is undeniable.
The deranged insolence of Baby Bush and his handlers make one plumb nostalgic for the Cold War at times.