The Council of Europe is against the Romanian nationalists in Moldova

The group of citizens of Moldova addressed in the Prosecutor General's Office of the Republic of Moldova with the requirement to institute the criminal proceedings of the number of authors of history textbooks for kindling of international discord and insult concerning the national minorities. The lawyer of claimants Roman Aronov reported about it on March 19 at press conference in Kishinev.

According to Aronov, the matter, in particular, is about the works of such authors as Ion Negrei, George Cojocaru, Ion Varta, Demir Dragnev, Nikolay Enchu, Ion Shishkan and Anatol Petrenko. The lawyer brought the example from the textbook “History of the Romanians. Modern age. Textbook of IX form. Kishinev. 2002” where there are the quotes and the opinions, laying to blame for social and economic problems on the representatives of separate nationalities and the whole people. “Here they quote, for example, a certain I.Loginov who says that “these Poles, Greeks, Armenians, Jews are the real nonentities who polluted Kishinev”, Aronov read. According to him, similar charges and insults of these works state also concerning the Russians, Gagauzs, Hungarians and other ethnic minorities.

According to the citizens who have addressed in the Prosecutor General's Office, similar textbooks should be withdrawn from schools and their authors should be instituted not only the criminal proceedings, but also deprived of scientific ranks.

The Ministry of Education of Moldavia made the decision to rename the studied at schools of Moldova a history course from “History” into “History of the Romanians and a world history” since September 1, 2012. Let's remind, “History of the Romanians” was taught in Moldova from 1990 to 2006 when the course “History of the Romanians” was substituted for “The integrated history”. In June, 2011, there was the information in the Moldavian and Romanian mass media that a subject “History of the Romanians” will be returned in school programs and Bucharest will finance the edition of the corresponding textbooks. Nevertheless, because of protests of the representatives of civil society and a number of historians, according to the decision of the Ministry of Education, the subject “History” is taught in current academic year at schools of the country within which 50 % are made by the world history, 45 % - national history and 5 % - the local history of the respective cities and villages.

It should be noted that in 2002 the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, having analyzed a course “History of the Romanians”, made recommendations to exclude it from the school program, having called it “xenophobic”, “separating society” and “offending ethnic minorities”. “The present methods of teaching -studying of “History of the Romanians”... reflect the nationalistic relation and by that the disrespect of other ethnic and religious groups of Moldova for history. These methods will create the problems henceforth as interfere with understanding and tolerance”, it was noted in the document. In addition the experts of the Council of Europe also noted the lack of objectivity and scientific approach at the authors of textbooks “History of the Romanians”. “The Moldavian pupils, having acquiring such material offered them, leave school with biased perception of the last of their people. They advance such representation of the past in the future and inevitably transfer to the future generations. Thus, the historical myths, biased and false, have the long life", it was noted in recommendations of the Council of Europe.