DEPUTY PM ROSCA PROMISES RETRACTION ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 CHISINAU 000576 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/UMB, DRL/AE, G/TIP E.O. 12958: Declassify 07/23/2019 TAGS: PREL PGOV PHUM KDEM PINR MD SUBJECT: DEPUTY PM ROSCA PROMISES RETRACTION ON NDI & IRI LIBEL, AND DELIVERS CHISINAU 00000576 001.2 OF 002 Classified by Ambassador Asif J. Chaudhry under 1.4 (b) and (d). REFs: A) CHISINAU 566 B) CHISINAU 525 ¶1. (C) Summary: In a July 23 meeting with Ambassador Chaudhry, Deputy Prime Minister Iurie Rosca expressed shock at a defamatory anti-IRI and NDI article that appeared in his party's newspaper, and promised a retraction. The retraction appeared the next day, on the front page. Rosca also described attempts by his enemies in the Government of Moldova (GOM) to sideline him, and added to his earlier criticisms of Democrat Party (PD) leader and former Speaker of Parliament Marian Lupu. End summary. Rosca's Newspaper Slanders IRI and NDI -------------- ¶2. (C) On July 17, the Christian Democratic Party newspaper Flux published a letter supposedly submitted by a young man who claimed to have been trained by the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) to foment revolution and organize riots. The article gave the first names of the trainers, clearly identifiable as NDI and IRI officials (of American, Moldovan and Serbian nationality),and accused them of working on behalf of liberal parties and foreign powers. The article elicited no questions from the press or public to the Embassy, and appeared to have faded away, until Prosecutor General Valeriu Gurbulea, in a July 22 press conference broadcast on Moldova 1, stated that the GOM had proof that the April 7 protesters were "trained by trainers from abroad provided by extremist organizations from other countries." A Long Whistle, and Apparent Surprise -------------- ¶3. (C) Shown the July 13 article in his July 23 meeting with the Ambassador, Rosca gave a long whistle, agreed that the naming of names was a serious error, and characterized the article itself as a "KGB-style falsification" which managed to slip past junior staff while Flux chief editor Sergiu Praporscic was in the hospital. Using language that appeared in the July 24 retraction, Rosca said that someone at the paper must have been drunk. He also stated that the article was part of a game against him, and an attempt "by our Russian brothers" and "their local branch" to destroy his relationship with the Ambassador, and to increase diplomatic tensions between Romania and Moldova. Rosca also expressed his anger about the article in light of U.S. assistance to Moldova, noting in particular the large number of Army and Border Guard officers who had received U.S. training. Rosca then reached for his cell phone, called an editor, and arranged for a retraction in the next day's edition. As promised, the Retraction Appears -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The next morning, on the front page of the July 24 edition of Flux, the headline appeared over Rosca's photograph: "A Classic Model of Disinformation and Intoxication." In the article, Rosca regretted that, in the absence of Director Praporscic, his young colleagues had committed the error of publishing an article "by an invented person," which falsely implicated Americans, Ukrainians and other foreign nationals in the events of April 7, and harmed relations between Moldova and Romania. Calling for better journalistic investigations and a complete inquiry into the April 7 events by national law and justice officials and international experts, Rosca criticized the article for introducing error into the process. He concluded by expressing regret for the appearance of the material, "which is an element of psychological warfare." Further Comments on Sidelining -------------- CHISINAU 00000576 002.2 OF 002 ¶5. (C) Rosca complained that he had been denied a meeting at the Ministry of Interior because of "renovations," and that he had been bumped from the speakers' list of a GOM seminar on the Constitution--a seminar he had proposed several weeks earlier. Agreeing that he will always be seen as an outsider, he repeated his determination to effect change from inside. And More on Lupu and Other Colleagues -------------- ¶6. (C) Rosca expressed his hope that Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan, whom he described as a friend, would not continue in the job, and said that he was trying to help Natalia Gherman, daughter of Moldova's first President Mircea Snegur, to get the job. Rosca noted that he had talked on July 23 with Liberal Democrat Party leader Vlad Filat about the campaign. Filat, he noted, was "playing smart and keeping all his options open," in contrast to Our Moldova Alliance leader Serafim Urechean and Liberal Party leader Mihai Ghimpu, both of whom he described as impossible to talk with. Rosca, as in previous meetings, maintained his animus against Democrat Party leader, former Speaker of Parliament and Party of Communists defector Marian Lupu. Lupu, he said, was ambitious, obsessed with power, and corrupt: four years ago, taking a position that had been promised to Rosca (then Deputy Speaker), Lupu had chaired a UNDP project for parliamentary reform--and took USD 800,000 to be used for various activities of the Parliament while the money is gone and there is nothing to show for it. Post-Election Ambitions -------------- ¶7. (C) Perhaps indicating some confidence that he might remain in office after July 29 elections, Rosca stated his desire to reform corrupt practices in commercial licensing "as a matter of economic freedom," in education, and in the Prosecutor's office. Rosca said that "we could arrest 15 a day, with proof, for corruption" at high schools and universities, but stated that the "mafia" at the Ministry of Justice stood in the way. He described his anger at a ruling two weeks earlier that reduced the number of companies licensed to import fish from 60 to 13 (10 of them newly incorporated),and then, three days earlier, to only four. He expressed interest in the Ambassador's description of Embassy-supported reforms to the export licensing chamber in 2008 (a one-window, computerized real-time registration system),and repeated earlier requests for possible assistance with a new building for the Supreme Court of Justice. Comment: -------------- ¶8. (C) Rosca continues to surprise. He is the only GOM minister with a sense of humor and an ability to laugh at himself. He also has the rare ability to apologize for actions taken in his party's name, promise a retraction, and deliver the goods. He continues to promise that the Government will register IRI and NDI (both of which continue to operate freely) after the July 29 elections. Delivering on his promise to retract the offensive article raises our confidence in his word. We will be watching closely to see whether he can deliver on the promised registration. CHAUDHRY