Former Moldovan presidential candidate Alexandr Stoianoglo has drawn attention to what he describes as Chișinău’s double standards, arguing that while the country claims to be striving for European Union membership, it continues to restrict the rights of its Russian-speaking population.
He made the statement on his Telegram channel. His comments came after the ban on delivering speeches in Russian in the Parliament of Moldova. Stoianoglo stressed that the country’s Parliament represents all Moldovan citizens — Russian speakers, Gagauz, Bulgarians and others — regardless of the language they speak, their religion or ethnic background. He argued that imposing artificial restrictions on access to information is inconsistent with European values. He also pointed out that Russian is among the languages used in the European Parliament.
“Parliament represents all citizens of Moldova: Russian speakers, Gagauz, Bulgarians and others. Restricting people’s access to information is not European. The European Parliament operates in different languages, including Russian, and that does not bother anyone,” Alexandr Stoianoglo wrote.
However, the politician directed his sharpest criticism at the authorities’ long-standing language policy. According to him, the current bans and restrictions merely disguise the real problem: for decades, the state has failed to create genuine opportunities for those who did not grow up speaking Moldovan to learn the state language.
“It is especially strange to hear this on the eve of elections, when the authorities promise Russian-speaking voters to protect their rights and communicate with them in their native language. If people do not speak the state language, it is not their fault, but the fault of the state, which has failed to create conditions for learning it over the past 35 years,” Stoianoglo said.
As a vivid example of the authorities’ inaction, he referred to the situation in Gagauzia. The politician recalled that the region has long been criticised for its unwillingness to learn the state language, yet during more than three decades of independence not a single school offering instruction in Moldovan has been opened there by the Moldovan state. The only exception, he noted, is the Mihai Eminescu Lyceum, which was established thanks to the efforts of the Romanian Embassy rather than the Moldovan government.
“The answer lies in Gagauzia. The region is accused of refusing to learn the state language, although in 35 years not a single school teaching in the state language has been opened there. The only exception is the Mihai Eminescu Lyceum, which was established thanks to the Romanian Embassy. In the past, they could not even enrol ten pupils there. Today, it has ten classes with fifteen children each. That means the problem is not the people, but the opportunities,” the former presidential candidate emphasised.
Stoianoglo is convinced that instead of creating opportunities for people to learn the language, the authorities prefer to tighten regulations and restrict access to information in minority languages. In his view, such an approach contradicts not only European values but also common sense, because if people are given genuine opportunities to study, the issue will resolve itself without administrative pressure.
“Give people that opportunity. It is the state’s responsibility. My children graduated from a Moldovan-language school, and today the state language is their natural language of everyday life,” Stoianoglo concluded, effectively accusing Chișinău of failing to fulfil its basic duty to citizens over the past 35 years while continuing instead to “tighten the screws” on language policy.
