Lovcev's public opposition to the flagrant violations of human rights in Transnistria puts his l
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Written by transnistria.info
Wednesday, 23 November 2005
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Moldova.org - Falls Church, VA, USA
Ion Iovcev, Director of the Lucian Blaga High School in Tiraspol, Moldova, has recently begun to receive a constant stream of telephone threats as a result of his courageous public opposition to the flagrant violations of human rights in the secessionist region of Transnistria, where his school is located.
The threatening calls are laced with obscenities directed at Mr. Iovcev personally and members of his family. The anonymous callers speak in the familiar but menacing tones all too familiar to victims of KGB intimidation during the Soviet period. The calls began shortly after Mr. Iovcevs return earlier this month from Washington, DC, where he and Ion Manole, President of Promo-Lex, described to U.S. Government officials and private audiences the depredations of the Transnistrian regime against the regions people.
On November 20 alone, nine such calls were received. Mr. Iovcev reports that these threats are identical to those previously addressed to opposition leaders in Tiraspol and can be attributed to the Transnistrian secret police, which operate from the regions so-called Ministry of State Security. In 2004, following visits by representatives of this agency, Mr. Iovcev was involved in a serious traffic accident.
An independent civil society cannot exist in Transnistria, but Mr. Iovcev has bravely defended the rights of students and teachers at his Romanian-language school, a target of the regime since 1994 in its efforts to russify Transnistria. He has also investigated and publicized other violations of human rights to the best of his ability in the face of official repression. Promo-Lex, a civil society organization based in Chisinau, Moldovas capital, has supported Mr. Iovcevs efforts and those of others defending the rule of law. However, its representatives in Transnistria have been followed, their telephones tapped, their offices burgled, and their characters blackened in broadcasts by Tiraspols media.
Promo-Lex vehemently condemns the criminal actions of the separatist regime and will hold its paramilitary organs responsible for any action or threat again Mr. Iovcev, members of Promo-Lex, and their families.
Further, Promo-Lex calls on the constitutional authorities of the Republic of Moldova, its civil society and mass media, and the international community to denounce the KGB-like tactics employed by the illegal regime in Tiraspol.
Finally, Promo-Lex asks the representatives of the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, the Russian Federation, the OSCE, the European Union, and the United States to address in the framework of their negotiations the problem of guaranteeing security and protection to persons considered unfriendly by Tiraspol.
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PROMO-LEX
93, str. Sciusev, MD-2012 Chisinau, Moldova
tel/fax (373-22) 23 88 26
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More information about Ion Iovcev and Ion Manole's visit to the US: http://foundation.moldova.org/stiri/eng/6268/
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Last Updated ( Monday, 09 April 2007 )
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