The Gagauz autonomous territory, instituted in 1994, is the only jurisdiction with ethnic autonomy in Moldova. Adjacent to the Gagauz territory, the Bulgarian-majority district (“raion”) of Taraclia has no particular status. Legislation now pending in the Moldovan parliament would allow conferring a special status on districts or towns, beginning with the Taraclia district. This initiative is consistent with Russia’s policy to promote state fragmentation by delineating territories with “special status” in Moldova and Ukraine (see EDM, April 9, 13).
The proposal’s timing in Chisinau coincides, and may have been synchronized with, a similar initiative of Russian inspiration in Ukraine’s Odesa province, …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation