CHRISTMAS TREE FIGHT DERAILS MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHISINAU 000034

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/UMB, DRL/IRF, AND DRL/AE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/11/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KIRF KDEM PINR MD
SUBJECT: CHRISTMAS TREE FIGHT DERAILS MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT
ECUMENICAL OUTREACH

REF: A. 07 CHISINAU 1490

B. 07 CHISINAU 1141

C. 07 CHISINAU 955

D. 07 CHISINAU 089

Classified By: CDA Kelly A. Keiderling under 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: An ecumenical outreach by the Government of
Moldova (GOM),which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and
European Integration planned to propose to Prime Minister
Tarlev, was thwarted by the Christmas Tree fight (ref A)
between the GOM and Chisinau's city government, and by an
atmosphere that a distressed Moldovan diplomat called
"religiously poisonous." End Summary.

Moldovan Diplomat Promotes Ecumenical Reception to his
Minister
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2. (C) Gheorghe Aparece (protect),acting U.S. Desk Officer
at the MFA, read the USG's 2007 International Religious
Freedom Report (IRFR) as a wake-up call to his own
government. He mooted to us (ref B) a plan to involve the
Roman Catholic Church in Moldova as a catalyst to promote
ecumenism in Moldova and reduce the regressive influence of
the majority Moldovan Orthodox Church (MOC),which is
subordinate to the Patriarch of Moscow. In a November 28,
2007, memo which he drafted for Foreign Minister Stratan (and
shared with us--protect),Aparece noted that the 2007 IRFR
criticized the privileged status of the MOC, leaving Moldovan
officials without "a minimum level of plausible arguments" to
make in reply. Warning that the pace of U.S. criticism of
human rights in Moldova was likely to increase in the runup
to 2009 elections, he proposed that the GOM begin to take an
"equidistant" stance to all religions, and, at the highest
possible level, host a reception for the heads of Christian
confessions which celebrate Christmas on December 25.
Imitating by flattery, Aparece noted that the idea of the
reception came from the IRFR, which described a reception
hosted by Ambassador Kirby for representatives of 21
religious organizations. (See ref D.) Aparece ruefully
noted in his memo that the American event was the first such
meeting in Moldova's history, and that the GOM had a duty to
do something similar.

Concentrate on the Roman Catholics--Small, Safe, Helpful
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3. (C) Aparece also proposed in his memo that the GOM
concentrate its ecumenical efforts on the Roman Catholic
Church, arguing, from the international perspective, that the
EU can be seen as a "Catholic Club," and that Bulgaria
assisted its efforts to join the EU by appointing a Roman
Catholic, Meglena Cuneva, as its chief negotiator, and
organizing a Papal visit to Sofia in 2002. From the
ecclesiastical perspective, Aparece argued that the Roman
Catholic Church was a useful starting point for GOM religious
outreach in Moldova because it was small and subject to a
hierarchy interested in stable relations. (He also added
that GOM proximity to the Roman Catholic Church locally would
"improve the comments on freedom of religion in the country
in future reports of the State Department.") Aparece further
argued to his Minister that the Roman Catholic Church kept a
closer watch on Islamic jihadism than did Christian Orthodox
churches, implying that the Roman Catholics could be a useful
source of information on that front.

If No Reception, at Least Some Congratulations
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4. (C) Failing a GOM reception for churches which observe
Christmas on December 25, Aparece urged that the GOM could at
least congratulate such churches on their Feast of the
Nativity, and congratulate members of other faiths, such as
Jews and Lutherans, on their major holidays. Most
importantly, he concluded in his memo, European integration
required such approaches. Aparece noted that Stratan had
responded positively to the memo.

Christmas Fights Halt Goodwill Gestures
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5. (C) In a meeting with us on January 10, Aparece ruefully
noted that the Christmas tree fight between the GOM and the
Chisinau City administration (ref A),and associated disputes
about the dates of Christmas (the MOC observes the
celebration on January 7),had so poisoned the atmosphere
that FM Stratan was unwilling to forward Aparece's memo to
the Prime Minister. Aparece also noted with disgust that

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television interviewers in the past week had been
push-polling people on the street to give positive responses
to questions regarding the January 7, as opposed to the
December 25, date for Christmas.


6. (C) Comment: Aparece, born in 1977, is a fast-tracker at
the MFA. He is also unusually sensitive to Moldova's
international reputation. He seems able to push his views
to, and receive a positive hearing from, the highest levels
of his Ministry. He is probably moving a bit too fast for
Moldova and its monopolist MOC, but he is moving, and pushing
others to move, in the path that Moldova should take if its
improved law on religion (ref C) and hopes for European
integration, are to have any effect. End Comment.

Keiderling
KEIDERLING