New Europe College Regional Program Yearbook 2001-2002

N.E.C. Yearbook 2001-2002
Attitudes towards (national) community: The Moldovan nation exists
independently and is entirely different from the Romanian nation.
Attitudes towards language: prohibition by governmental order of the
use of the expressions “Romanian language”, “Romanian literature”,
“History of Romanians”.
Uses of history: Soviet and communist history. For example, republishing
of the Soviet period history books in which the term “annexation
by Romania” is used to describe the 1918-1940 period.
Integration of minorities: Neo-Soviet discourse claims to be an active
defender of minority rights, but, in fact, all minorities are reduced to
Russian. The Russian language is the “language of inter-ethnic
communication”. However, Neo-Soviet discourse also requires that the
Russian language acquire the status of official language. The argument
is quite democratic and is characteristic of the contemporary politics of
identity: the example is given of democratic states, such as Belgium or
Switzerland, but more often that of Finland where the Swedish make up
only 2 percent of the population, but the Swedish language is nonetheless
an official language.
Attitudes towards state: Moldova as federation (Moldova, Transnistria,
Gagauzia); integration by union with Russia and Belarus.
We and Romania: Romania is a foreign state, which intervenes in the
internal affairs of the independent and sovereign state of Moldovan.
We and Europe: Europe is ignored. “Europe is foreign and has no basis
for understanding us”.
We and Russia: In this discourse, Russification and the proliferation of
the Russian language should not be seen as the propaganda of Kremlin,
but as a tool of modernization. From their point of view, modernization
was not only the fundamental purpose of the Soviet and communist regime,
but it was also a real achievement.
(iv). European oriented discourse:
Attitudes towards (national) community: “We are Romanians, beyond
any discussion or doubt, but we are Romanians with a Basarabian
ingredient with which we bring diversity and richness to the ways of
being Romanian”.
Attitudes towards language: “We should stop discussing what is the
real nature of our language and start speaking the Romanian language
correctly, which is our ‘given’”.
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