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Gagauzia: Growing Separatism in Moldova?

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Gagauzia: Growing Separatism in Moldova? Centre for Eastern Studies NUMBER 129 | 10.03.2014 www.osw.waw.pl Gagauzia: growing separatism in Moldova? Kamil Całus On 2 February, the regional authorities in Gagauzia - an autonomous region of the Republic of Moldova - carried out two simultaneous referenda. In the first, local residents were asked to declare their support for the country’s integration either with the EU or with the Moscow-led Customs Union (CU); the second referendum sought their opinion on the draft law “On the deferred status of the Autonomous Region of Gagauzia”. Under the proposed legislation, if Moldova were to lose its sovereignty (for example, through the unification of Moldova and Romania, or even as some politicians have argued, through Moldova’s further integration with the EU), the autonomous region would automatically become the independent Republic of Gagauzia. As expected, the outcome of the vote has shown overwhelming support for both the CU and for the draft law. According to the figures released by Gagauzia’s Central Electoral Commission, 98.5% of the voters supported Moldova’s integration with the Customs Union, while 98% voted in favour of the ‘deferred independence’ bill. Support for closer integration with the EU was marginal, reaching just over 2%. Despite the one-sided outcome of the ref- erendum, there is no reliable evidence to suggest that the ballot was rigged. It should also be noted that voter turnout was very high, reaching about 70%. Representatives of the Moldovan Central Electoral Commission, however, believe that the figure may have been artificially in- flated by excluding many of the voters currently residing abroad from the count. The primary reasons for such an unambiguously a number of factors, including: the struggle for one-sided result are: the traditionally pro-Russian power on the Gagauz political scene; the tussle attitude of the local population; a fear of the po- between central and regional government over tential unification of Moldova and Romania (fu- the degree of autonomy as well as the amount elled by local officials and compounded by state- and the distribution of funding; and Russia’s ments released by Bucharest); a fear of a further interference aimed at stoking separatist senti- drop in trade with Russia and restrictions on ac- ment in the region. Moldova’s decision to initial cess to the all-important Russian labour market; an association agreement with the EU in No- and also poor knowledge about the European vember 2013, which is expected to be officially Union and the process of European integration. signed in the second half of this year, became The referendum was held in the face of pro- a catalyst for the current crisis. The problems tests from Chisinau and a declaration that the in Gagauzia are just one of a number of in- vote would be illegal. The region’s defiance was struments which Russia has used to dissuade yet another manifestation of the long-standing Moldova from signing the document. Moscow crisis between Chisinau and the Autonomous hopes to destabilise the situation in Moldova Region of Gagauzia. This has been caused by and to cause the collapse of the pro-European OSW COMMENTARY NUMBER 129 1 coalition government and thus help bring endum2. As a result, the boundaries of Gagauz- Moldova’s Communist Party back to power. ia have undergone several small revisions since Despite the complicated relations between the region was officially established in 1994. It Chisinau and Gagauzia, it seems that there is currently consists of four separate areas (see little danger that the region may become dan- Map), with just three cities between them: the gerously unstable and force Moldova to change capital of Gagauzia, Comrat and Ceadîr-Lunga its current geopolitical course. The region is too and Vulcăneşti, along with about 30 villages. small, sparsely populated, and too weak eco- nomically to muster enough leverage to put sufficient pressure on the central government. Gagauzia is exceptionally pro-Russian. The most prominent political leaders in the re- In the collective consciousness of the gion have been using separatist and pro-Russian Gagauz people, Russians are seen as slogans, both to mobilise their electorate and as protectors from external threats, espe- a bargaining chip in negotiations with Chisinau. cially from Romania. Importantly, the results of the February referen- dum (in combination also with other measures) are likely to be used by Russia and by the Mol- Gagauzia did not enjoy special status within the dovan Communists in an attempt to undermine Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1990, fol- the country’s pro-European foreign policy. lowing an increase in separatist sentiment, and due to fears that Moldova might merge with Key features of the Autonomous Region Romania3, MPs from the region announced the of Gagauzia establishment of the Gagauz Republic, operat- ing as an entity within the Soviet Union. Over The Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia the next four years, Gagauzia (like Transnistria) (Unitatea teritorială Autonomă Găgăuzia) is functioned as an unrecognised quasi-state. In a special administrative region in southern Mol- 1994, the local authorities reached a compro- dova, with a population of about 160,000 peo- mise with the Moldovan government and offi- ple (or 4.5% of Moldova’s total population). The cially recognised Chisinau’s authority over the region’s main ethnic group are the Gagauz - an region, which resulted in the formation of the Orthodox Christian, Turkic-speaking people of Autonomous Region of Gagauzia within the Turkish or Bulgarian origin1, who have been liv- borders of the Republic of Moldova. ing in the area for about two centuries. The re- Gagauzia has its own ethnic symbols, a flag, an gion’s total area is very small - around 1,830 km2, emblem and an anthem, all of which are used which represents just 5% of Moldova’s total ter- ritory. Gagauzia does not constitute a uniform 2 and compact territorial unit, and under cur- As a result of the referenda, Gagauzia includes the vil- lage of Kirsovo, inhabited mainly by Bulgarians, the rent law it includes all areas of Moldova where town of Svetlîi, dominated by ethnic Russians, and Fe- the Gagauz make up more than half the pop- rapontivka in which ethnic Ukrainians outnumber the local Gagauz population. ulation, as well as those parts of the country 3 The Gagauz people tend to hold exceptionally strong which have opted to join the Gagauzia by refer- pro-Russian and anti-Romanian sentiments. In their col- lective consciousness, Russians are seen as the protec- tors from external threats, especially those emanating 1 There are a number of theories regarding the origin of from Romania. The people remain acutely aware of the the Gagauz people, but due to the lack of written sourc- particularly painful period of Bucharest’s rule during the es none of them can be verified. The Gagauz are most interwar period across present-day Gagauzia, followed commonly considered to be the descendants of medie- by a fascist regime led by Ion Antonescu during World val Turkic tribes (Uz or Oghuz), Seljuk Turks or ‘Turkified’ War II. Moreover, Romania is still seen as the cause of Bulgarians, although some scholars see them as ‘Turki- the Moldovan-Romanian nationalism of the late 1980s, fied’ Greeks. which sparked ethnic tensions in the region. OSW COMMENTARY NUMBER 129 2 alongside Moldova’s national symbols across Republic of Moldova, the Code of Gagauzia the autonomous region. It has three official lan- (seen as a local constitution) and the Law on guages: Gagauz, Moldovan (identical to Roma- the special legal status of Gagauzia. According nian) and Russian; however, Russian is spoken to the above documents, Gagauzia is a special, most widely, while proficiency in Romanian re- autonomous territorial unit within Moldova’s mains relatively low. The Gagauz Autonomous borders, and as such, it embodies the right Region does not have its own Armed Forces, of the Gagauz people to self-determination5. but it does have a local police force, which is Nonetheless, the documents emphasise that fully subordinate to the General Police Inspec- Gagauzia is an integral part of the Republic of torate at Moldova’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. Moldova. Until 2003, under the region’s stat- ute and under the law on the special status of Gagauzia, the region’s government was given Until 2003, Gagauzia was guaranteed the powers to declare independence in the event power to declare independence in the that Moldova loses sovereignty. However, the event that Moldova lost its sovereignty. powers were de facto abolished with the in- The region was stripped of that right fol- troduction of amendments to the constitution lowing an amendment to the constitution. in 2003. The amended constitution considers Gagauzia to be a “constituent and integral” part of Moldova, while its land and resources The Gagauz economy is quite weak and rep- have been identified as assets of the Moldovan resents only a small part of the Moldovan econ- people6. Although the provisions on the possi- omy. It is based largely on agriculture and in bility of secession included in other two docu- particular on wine production. Industrial pro- ments constituting the legal basis for Gagauz- duction does not play a significant role in the ia’s autonomy have not been amended, they region and represents just 3.1% of Moldova’s have in effect been nullified due to the primacy total industrial capacity. The region’s main in- of the constitution. dustry is food processing, alongside several tex- Gagauzia has its own executive and legislative tile companies and furniture makers. Gagauzia bodies. Its law-making powers are vested in the is considered to be Moldova’s poorest region People’s Assembly (Halk Topluşu), which has 35 and remains dependent on financial support members elected for four-year terms.
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