Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR considers decision of the European Court of Human Rights in the case ‘Catan and others versus Moldova and Russia' to be preconceived and politicized. Conviction of Russia for state of affairs in the teaching situation in Moldovan schools with education based on Latin script which are territorially located in Pridnestrovie but administrated by the Republic of Moldova – this decision has noting in common with objective realities.
Pupils from 6 schools, mentioned in the decision of the court, have been purposefully constrained in their rights on education by administrations of their schools which acted under direct orders from Kishinev. This situation was used for political pressure on Tiraspol, which was expressed in form of EU travel ban on representatives of the leadership of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic. In spite of creation of special facilitated regime of registration for these schools, their administrations for many years refused to get Pridnestrovian registration and to benefit from rights and privileges which other schools enjoy in the state.
Since 2012 dialogue is going on at the negotiation table on the issue of facilitated mechanism of issuing licenses to these education facilities. But this mechanism is still not introduced due to the refusal of Moldovan side.
Some of the statements used by the European Court of Human Rights give rise to concerns.
Thus, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR finds definition of the Moldovan language with Cyrillic script, given by the European Court of Human Rights, as “a linguistic anomaly which is of no practical use”, to be insulting for Moldovan people which used Cyrillic script in the course of all its history. Introduction of Latin script which took place on the territory of Romania in second half of XIX century and in Moldova in 1989 was an act of violence against Moldovan history, culture and consciousness. At the present time Cyrillic script, which is traditionally and historically correct for Moldovan language, is preserved only in the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
The changing reality when the European Court of Human Rights, functioning for more than 50 years as a supreme body defending human rights, becomes instrument of pressure is perceived with worry in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the PMR. It is regrettable that rights of people are cynically used for political goals by certain countries. We believe such situation does not promote improvement of authority of the Council of Europe as an organization able to work out European standards in humanitarian sphere.
