News
photo source: uam.md
Posted by: Ecaterina Arvintii
News / Social
27 Aug. 2020 / 07:30
The Republic of Moldova celebrates 29 years of Independence
The Republic of Moldova celebrates Independence Day. On August 27, 1991, Moldova broke away from the Soviet empire, becoming a free, sovereign, and independent state. It happened just days after the failed coup attempt in Moscow. Hundreds of thousands of people came to the third Great National Assembly, where they wrote the most important page in the country's history. In front of the crowd, the head of the then Legislature, Alexandru Moşanu, read the Declaration of Independence. From the stage in the Grand National Assembly Square, resounded the famous songs of the great artists Doina and Ion Aldea Teodorovici, speeches and pleadings of writers, poets and publicists.
I took this picture from the shows kept in the archives of the National Television and Radio with unique images and prints - interviews with prominent personalities, promoters of the national liberation movement.
"The Declaration of Independence went through a very tumultuous meeting of the presidium. On August 26 to 27, we started at 16:00 and finished at 22:00 without having a final text yet. Some colleagues from the presidium then went out to say that some of the lines that we were preparing in the Declaration were declarations of union, they were not declarations of independence," remembers Valeriu Matei, chairman of the Parliamentary Commission for the Media (1990-1993), co-author of the Declaration of Independence.
On August 27, 1991, in Chisinau, the third Great National Assembly took place. Under pressure from the crowd gathered in the center of the capital, the Declaration of Independence is voted.
"The proclamation of the Independence of the Republic of Moldova has become an imperative of the entire national spirit. I urge you to make that decision, which coincides with the will of the people. Long live the people of independent Moldova,” declared, then, from the rostrum of the Parliament, the first president of the Republic of Moldova, Mircea Snegur.
Sursa foto: aesgs.ro
Embraced by the frenzy of freedom, more and more courageous people left their homes. Hundreds of thousands gathered on August 27, 1991 in central Chisinau. One by one, in front of the crowd, the leaders of the National Renaissance Movement come out. From the stage in the Grand National Assembly Square, resounded the famous songs performed by Ion and Doina Aldea Teodorovici, written on the lyrics of Grigore Vieru.
Sursa foto:gazetadesud.md
Thus, on August 27, 1991, the elected representatives of the people unanimously proclaimed, with 278 votes, the Independence of the Republic of Moldova, thus realizing the unanimous will of the entire people, expressed by vote of the Great National Assembly.
"We reaffirm the equal rights of peoples and their right to self-determination in accordance with the UN Charter, the Helsinki Final Act and the rules of international law. We appreciate, for all these reasons, that the great hour of committing an act of justice has arrived in accordance with the history of our people, with the moral norms and of the international law. I solemnly proclaim, by virtue of the rights of peoples to self-determination, on behalf of the entire population of the Republic of Moldova and in front of the whole world - the Republic of Moldova is a sovereign, independent and democratic state, free to decide its present and future without any outside interference, with the holy ideals and aspirations of the people in the historical and ethnic space of its national becoming,” declared, then, from the tribune of the Parliament, the deputy Alexandru Moşanu.
"When we proclaimed Sovereignty, independence had to be proclaimed immediately. It would have been a courageous act, it would have cost us, but at least it was a clear expression of what we called for in 89. There was no need to wait for everyone around us to declare independence, and then for us to come, as great heroes," declares Ion Hadârcă, first vice-president of the first Parliament (1990-1993).
"The proclamation of Independence caused great enthusiasm, but also disappointment in a certain part of society, which relied on the fact that the Republic of Moldova will continue to be part of the Soviet Empire. It was not an absolutely unambiguous approach to this event in the Moldovan society of that time, but the vast majority, and here I am talking about the Romanian-Moldovan ethnic groups, received this decision with enthusiasm. Most of the society perceived the act of independence as an act of detachment from the Empire and an act that opened the way to return to the normality and naturalness of our national space," the historian Anatol Ţăranu, deputy in the first Parliament of the Republic of Moldova told TRM.MD.
Moldova's independence had been recognized by the world's great powers and international organizations.
In 1992, the Republic of Moldova became a member of the United Nations, and in 1995, it joined the Council of Europe, assuming its commitments to ensure the fundamental human rights and freedoms, the functioning of democratic institutions.
The first steps taken by the Chisinau authorities to establish cooperative relations with the European Union were made in 1994, through the negotiation and signing of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in Brussels.
The original act of the Declaration of Independence burned during the protests in April 2009. A year later, in 2010, the document was restored by the signatures of members of the first Parliament.
On Independence Day, the public television station Moldova 1 offers you the opportunity to see the documentary "The Road to Independence", made by journalist Irina Crăciun and to watch live the celebrations of the Inauguration of Independence Day.
The Radio Moldova team invites you to mark the 29th anniversary of Independence by listening to shows with the title "Independence of the Republic of Moldova: Facts, Events, People".
Show Comments