July 2004
The plight of Moldovan orphans periodically grabs some media attention, but now it has taken something a political, linguistic twist. Inevitably, the latest problem centres around Transdnestr. Disagreements about the status of a Moldovan-language boarding school in the unfortunately named town of Bender have resulted in the local Dnestr militia closing down the school, leaving orphans as young as seven out on the streets, reports the BBC. This has rather annoyed a lot of people, including Romania, the OSCE, and the Council of Europe, which expresses "serious concern". But then, the Council of Europe likes to express serious concern quite often about a lot of things.
Reuters reports that the Moldovan government has imposed sanctions on the Tiraspol regime. Maybe I was a bit too hasty about Donald Rumsfeld's comments in last month's monitor, after all.
Moldova's team for the Athens Olympics is preparing for the games, according to a website called (very possibly) the Kishinev Observer by going to visit the country's president. There is a familiar sounding complaint that If the victories are won by Moldovan Olympic sportsmen, it would be not due to, but in spite of our country`s committment. I am not hugely optimistic about Moldova's prospects at the games, but they'll win a medal or two, and there will be nothing of the embarrassment of Eric the Eel to sully ( or maybe gladden) the country's name.
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