Evidence of meeting #103 for National Defence in the 42nd Parliament, 1st session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was transnistria.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Conservative
David Yurdiga Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I'd like to welcome the ambassador to our committee.
We have seen Russia over the years expand its influence over other nations, whether through misinformation, using the Internet, or whatever other means they have at their disposal. Now I understand that Moldova has passed anti-propaganda laws to combat Russian propaganda, or any propaganda. Can you comment on this new law?
Ala Beleavschi
I wouldn't tell you that it has been very popular in the country, but we had to do it. Unfortunately, because of hybrid warfare conducted in Ukraine, we have not been immune to this. Russia has been meddling in our elections over the course of quite a few years.
The 2016 presidential elections clearly proved that. A massive misinformation campaign was launched through the Russian-controlled media, and we had to take measures, because otherwise the population was being brainwashed by the channels and the programs that were broadcasted by the Russia-controlled media.
Last year we actually drafted a law. It is called the anti-propaganda law, but it is actually amendments to the audio-visual code to not allow broadcasts on the territory of Moldova of programs involving news, analysis, and all kinds of programs that will impose Russia's opinion of what is happening in the world including in Moldova.
Actually, it was not aimed only against Russia. Officially it is called the amendments to the law that will not allow the broadcast of the programs that come from the countries that have not signed the European Convention on Transfrontier Television. Moldova is part of it; Russia is not.
Today our population does have access to all sorts of advertisements and programs from Russia that have, let's say, cultural content, but not news and analytical programs. Yes, it has been criticized. We have been criticized. We are breaching the right to free access to information, yes, but who has the right to impose their own view of what is happening and to brainwash our population? It is polarized today due to these activities that Russia has conducted and, unfortunately, keeps conducting on our territory.
Also, social media is heavily used by Russia. They have created a huge network of non-governmental organizations. They have posted bloggers to write specifically on Moldova and to present this misinformation and fake news about what is happening in Moldova in order to make it evident or to show the pro-Russian parties in a rosy light. The president represents this party, and it's no wonder he won the elections in 2016.
Conservative
David Yurdiga Conservative Fort McMurray—Cold Lake, AB
I know that a lot of communications between individuals are done on Facebook and all of these other platforms. That's how the younger generation communicates. Are there any limitations on individuals expressing their opinions to each other on these media? I'm trying to understand how far this law goes. Is this for media outlets only?
Ala Beleavschi
It's only for media, and by the way, everyone is absolutely free to express his or her opinion. We have freedom of assembly. We have the freedom to express our opinions in all ways, including through social media.
Each member of the government has a very clearly set schedule of meetings with the population. They travel to the regions to meet with the population. There is an undertaking from the government to examine and reply to each petition, which is a written request for information from civil society, the wider society. Each governmental department replies to all sorts of requests for information, relating to salaries, incomes, and so on, even if doing so is not convenient or comfortable for someone. We have a law that makes it transparent. There is accountability of the officials in terms of their incomes. We fill in declarations, and the society has access to those declarations. They know exactly everything that relates to their incomes and the finances.
Those are just a few examples, of course.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
Welcome, Ambassador. Thank you for being here.
You may have touched on some of this, but I'm interested in the relationship between the Moldovan people and Ukrainians. I'm interested in the relationship between the countries that Russia threatens with aggression, and how they participate. What is their relationship? You have a physical line of troops, by the looks of it, keeping you from 80% of your shared border with Ukraine. Is there a relationship between the Ukrainians and those around them?
Ala Beleavschi
Yes. If you mean people-to-people contacts, they are absolutely great. First of all, traditionally, this was the region where Moldovans spent their holidays. My good friend, the Ambassador of Moldova to Ukraine, told me about the number of border crossings. I believe he said there were four million crossings in 2016. Some were for personal reasons, because we have many mixed families, and kinship relations are very close. We also have businesses with Ukraine. As I mentioned, we spend holidays over there. There's a very good understanding between our two peoples. Traditionally, it has been this way. Despite all the problems with Transnistria, and despite who was ruling Ukraine previously, contacts have continued. Just the figure of four million crossing the border speaks for itself. We have only a 3.5 million population today. You can imagine how frequently we deal with Ukrainians.
You mentioned the relations at the level of governments. I spoke today about the parliaments deciding to unite their forces. The same attempts, the same efforts, are being made now to work together at the level of the executive power, at the level of the governments. You know, President Poroshenko comes from our region. He speaks Romanian, by the way. He is very proud of it, and when they meet at the high level, he very often switches to Romanian when he wants to talk to us, just to show that he has very much in common with our country and that he remembers his roots.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
So you have political, economic, and social connections.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Do you have to cross the border in the northern portion, or are you able to freely cross over into Ukraine and move back and forth?
Ala Beleavschi
We not only have the Transnistrian segment of the border where we used to have problems, but the entire length of the border is more than 1,000 kilometres, all in all, so of course we are travelling.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Are you able to travel through the area that is occupied?
Ala Beleavschi
We are not allowed in the Transnistria region, and we do not cross the border along this Transnistria segment as it is.
Ala Beleavschi
It's not only us. I will tell you that, at the level of the officials, of course, they're not allowed to go there, although they have families over there. From time to time, they want to visit the graves of their relatives in the Transnistrian region. They are not allowed. OSCE is not allowed to do it either.
We indeed have very limited movement on that territory.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
Is that line of troops there physically limiting your ability to enter?
Ala Beleavschi
But it is such an insecure region that we would rather go through other crossing points.
By the way, since we had such a good understanding with Ukrainians, Ukrainians previously allowed, if I may say, “to close eyes” about what was happening on this Transnistria segment in terms of the smuggling of goods and bringing military equipment through their territory to re-equip the Russian operational forces in Transnistria. Today it is no longer possible. Whatever Russia wants to do, it has to go through territory controlled by the legitimate authorities of Moldova. This is where they find serious problems.
The only thing that Ukraine has mentioned that will allow access is if Russia decides to withdraw its troops, Ukraine will create a corridor for them. That is the only place they will allow them to cross these borders.
Liberal
Darren Fisher Liberal Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS
For the Russians to get in and out of there and move into that little isthmus there....
