UNCLASSIFIED E4

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PAGE 01 MOSCOW 35584 01 OF 04 121505Z RELEASED IN FULL

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FMP-01
US IE-OO /100W
------------------B6721B 121505Z /38
P 121504Z DEC 91
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4225
AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
INFO MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

CON F IDE N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 MOSCOW 035584

DEPT FOR D, P, C/E, S/P, HA, EUR/SOV, EUR/EEY

E.O. 12356: DECL:OADR

TAGS: PGOV, PNAT, PHUM, RO, UR
SUBJECT: MOLDOVAN ELECTIONS: SNEGUR WINS WHILE
SEPARATIST REGIONS OBSTRUCT VOTING PROCESS

REF: MOSCOW 35207

1. CONFIDENTIAL - ENTIRE TEXT.

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PAGE 02 MOSCOW 35584 01 OF 04 121505Z

SUMMARY

2. MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT MIRCEA SNEGUR WON AN

OVERWHELMING VICTORY IN DECEMBER 8 PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTIONS, WITH 98 PERCENT APPROVAL. VOTING IN
MOLDOVA-PROPER TOOK PLACE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE
ELECTION RULES AND IN AN ORDERLY FASHION, ALTHOUGH
THE LACK OF OPPONENTS MADE IT LESS THAN A TRUE SECRET
BALLOT. VOTING IN THE SECESSIONIST TRANS-DNIESTER
AND GAGAUZ "REPUBLICS" WAS OBSTRUCTED BY THE
BREAK-AWAY GOVERNMENTS, WITH NUMEROUS REPORTS OF

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF STATE

REVIEW AUTHORITY: ROBERT 0 HOMME
DATE/CASE ID: 17 SEP 2009 200802198 UNCLASSIFIED
,
HARASSME~T AND INTIMIDATION OF ETHNIC-MOLDOVAN VOTERS
AND A PRESS AND RADIO CAMPAIGN DISCOURAGING UNCLASSIFIED
PARTICIPATION. THERE WERE ALSO CLAIMS OF SOVIET
MILITARY INVOLVEMENT IN VOTER HARASSMENT. POLOFFS
OBSERVING THE ELECTIONS ALSO HEARD REPORTS OF FRAUD
IN THE PEEVIOUS WEEK'S INDEPENDENCE AND PRESIDENTIAL
VOTING I~ THE TRANS-DNIESTER AND GAGAUZ REGIONS,
WHICH RESULTED IN LANDSLIDE VOTES FOR INDEPENDENCE IN
THOSE AREAS. COMMENT: SNEGUR'S VICTORY IS A
REFLECTION OF THE DESIRE OF MOST MOLDOVANS TO UNITE
BEHIND HIM IN ORDER TO SOLVE MOLDOVA'S PROBLEMS,
RATHER THAN A MEASURE OF HIS PERSONAL POPULARITY. AT
THE SAME TIME, THE UNEXPECTEDLY HIGH TURNOUT FOR THE
ELECTION WAS A SETBACK FOR THE NATIONALIST POPULAR
FRONT, WHICH HAD CALLED FOR A BOYCOTT OF THE ELECTION
IN PROTEST OF SNEGUR'S REFUSAL TO COMMIT TO IMMEDIATE
UNIFICAT ION WITH ROMANIA. END COMMENT AND SUMMARY.

OVERWHELMING SNEGUR VICTORY

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PAGE 03 MOSCOW 35584 01 OF 04 121505Z

3. CURRENT MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT MIRCEA SNEGUR, RUNNING
UNOPPOSED, WON AN OVERWHELMING VICTORY DECEMBER 8 IN
MOLDOVA'S FIRST DIRECT POPULAR PRESIDENTIAL
ELECTION. ACCORDING TO PRELIMINARY RESULTS ANNOUNCED
BY THE MOLDOVAN ELECTION COMMISSION DECEMBER 9,
SNEGUR RECEIVED 98.17 PERCENT OF THE VOTE; ONLY 1.79
PERCENT OF THE VOTERS ACTUALLY VOTED AGAINST HIM.
THE TURNOUT WAS ANNOUNCED AT 82.88 PERCENT OF THE
ELECTORATE. BOTH THAT FIGURE AND THE VOTE FOR SNEGUR
WERE HIGHER THAN EXPECTED, ESPECIALLY THE PRO-SNEGUR
VOTE, WHICH HAD BEEN PREDICTED BY PRE-ELECTION POLLS
TO BE APPROXIMATELY 67 PERCENT, WITH 13 PERCENT
UNDECIDED. THE HIGH TURNOUT FIGURE CAME DESPITE AN
ELECTION BOYCOTT BY THE NATIONALIST POPULAR FRONT IN
PROTEST OF SNEGUR'S REFUSAL TO COMMIT HIMSELF TO
IMMEDIATE UNIFICATION WITH ROMANIA.

VOTING ORDERLY IN MOLDOVA ...

4. POLOFFS WERE IN MOLDOVA DECEMBER 6-9 AND OBSERVED

VOTING IN THE CAPITAL OF KISHINEV, IN VILLAGES
OUTSIDE EISHINEV, AND IN CITIES AND VILLAGES IN THE
SEPARATIST, LARGELY ETHNIC-RUSSIAN "TRANS-DNIESTER
REPUBLIC." POLOFFS ALSO VISITED THE OTHER SEPARATIST

UNCLASSIFIED
REGION IN MOLDOVA, THE "REPUBLIC OF GAUGAUZIA," THE
DAY PRIOR TO THE ELECTION. IN AREAS UNDER THE UNCLASSIFIED
CONTROL OF THE MOLDOVAN GOVERNMENT, ELECTION
PROCEDURES WERE FOLLOWED AND VOTING WAS ORDERLY.
MEMBERS OF THE LOCAL ELECTION COMMISSIONS SEEMED
PROUD OF THEIR ROLE AND INTENT ON FOLLOWING THE
RULES. POLOFFS NOTED THAT BALLOTS WERE NOT UNDER
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PAGE 04 MOSCOW 35584 01 OF 04 121505Z

CONTINUOUS SECURITY AT SOME POLLS BUT SAW NO ONE
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THE SECURITY LAPSE .

. .. BUT NO OPPOSITION

5. THE NATURE OF THE ELECTION AND PHYSICAL STRUCTURE

OF THE POLLING PLACES MADE TRUE SECRET BALLOTING
IMPOSSIBLE. AS IN ALL RECENT ELECTIONS IN THE FORMER
SOVIET REPUBLICS, VOTERS WERE GIVEN A BALLOT ON WHICH
THEY WERE TO CROSS OUT THE NAMES OF CANDIDATES THEY
OPPOSED. VOTERS STEPPED INTO AN ENCLOSED POLLING
BOOTH TO MARK THEIR BALLOT AND THEN STEPPED OUT THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE BOOTH AND DROPPED THE BALLOT INTO A
BALLOT BOX. WITH NO OPPOSITION TO SNEGUR, THOSE
VOTING FOR SNEGUR SI
MPLY STEPPED THROUGH THE BOOTH
WITHOUT STOPPING AND DEPOSITED THEIR BALLOT. THOSE
WHO STOPPED IN THE BOOTH TO CROSS OUT SNEGUR'S NAME
OR, IN SO~ CASES, TO WRITE COMMENTS ON THEIR
BALLOTS, WERE THEREFORE EASILY NOTICEABLE. HOWEVER,
POLOFFS SAW NO EVIDENCE THAT ANYONE WAS
SYSTEMATICALLY WATCHING THE VOTERS. POLOFFS SAW
OFFICIAL OBSERVERS AT ONLY ONE POLLING PLACE. THE
ELECTION ATMOSPHERE IN MOLDOVA-PROPER WAS RELAXED AND

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UNCLASSIFIED
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ACTION EUR-01

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PM~01 PRS-01 P-01 RP-10 SCT-03 SDEL-01 SIL-01
SNP-01 SP-01 SR-01 SS-01 STR-20 TRSE-OO T-01
USIE-OO FMP-01 /100W
------------------B6724B 121507Z /38
P 121504Z DEC 91
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4226
AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
INFO MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

CON F IDE N T I A L SECTION 02 OF 04 MOSCOW 035584

DEPT FOR D, P, C/E, sip, HA, EUR/SOV, EUR/EEY

E.O. 12356: DECL:OADR

TAGS: PGOV, PNAT, PHUM, RO, UR
SUBJECT: MOLDOVAN ELECTIONS: SNEGUR WINS WHILE
SEPARATIST REGIONS OBSTRUCT VOTING PROCESS

LOW-KEY; MANY VOTERS SEEMED MORE INTERESTED IN THE

FOOD WHICH WAS FOR SALE IN THE ADJOINING ROOM AT MOSQ
POLLING PLACES. THE ABUNDANT SPREADS AT KISHINEV
POLLS WERE IN MARKED CONTRAST TO THE LONG LINES AT
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PAGE 02 MOSCOW 35584 02 OF 04 121506Z

FOOD STORES OBSERVED ON ELECTION EVE.

VOTING OBSTRUCTED IN TRANS-DNIESTER

6. VOTING IN THE AREA OF THE SELF-PROCLAIMED,

SECESSIONIST "TRANS-DNIESTER REPUBLIC" TOOK PLACE
UNDER MARKEDLY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES. POLOFFS
OBSERVED POLLING PLACES IN THE CITIES OF BENDERY,
TIRASPOL, ~D DUBOSSARY, AS WELL AS IN SEVERAL
MOLDOVAN-POPULATED VILLAGES IN THE TRANS-DNIESTER

UNCLASSIFIED
REGION. THE TRANS-DNIESTER "GOVERNMENT" PERMITTED
FEW POLLING PLACE TO OPEN; POLOFFS WERE TOLD BY UNCLASSIFIED
MOLDOVANS THAT NO MORE THAN TWO WERE OPEN IN EVEN THE
LARGER CITIES. THE PRESS SECRETARY FOR
TRANS-DNIESTER "PRESIDENT" IGOR SMIRNOV TOLD POLOFFS,
"OUR ELECTION WAS LAST WEEK" (REFERRING TO THE
DECEMBER 1 TRANS-DNIESTER INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM AND
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION - PARA 12), AND SAID THE
TRANS-DNIESTER HAD AGREED NEITHER TO ASSIST NOR
HINDER THE CONDUCT OF THE MOLDOVAN ELECTION. HE ALSO
SAID AN AGREEMENT TO ALLOW VOTING HAD BEEN REACHED AT
A MEETING BETWEEN MOLDOVAN PRIME MINISTER MURAVSCHI
AND SMIRNOV A FEW DAYS PRIOR TO THE ELECTION.
(MOLDOVAN OFFICIALS CONFIRMED THIS.)

7. ON ELECTION DAY, HOWEVER, POLOFFS RECEIVED

NUMEROUS REPORTS OF HARASSMENT AND INTIMIDATION OF
VOTERS BY TRANS-DNIESTER MILITIA, AS WELL AS
ALLEGATIONS THAT REGULAR SOVIET MILITARY FORCES
STATIONED IN THE TRANS-DNIESTER WERE ALSO TAKING PART
IN ATTEMPTS TO OBSTRUCT THE ELECTION. POLOFFS
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PAGE 03 MOSCOW 35584 02 OF 04 121506Z

THEMSELVES OBSERVED THE PRESENCE OF UNIFORMED MILITIA
OUTSIDE ONE PLANNED POLLING PLACE IN THE VILLAGE OF
GISCA, OUTSIDE BENDERY. THE HEAD OF THE LOCAL
ELECTION COMMISSION TOLD POLOFFS THAT A GROUP OF
ETHNIC-RUSSIANS HAD ENTERED THE POLLING PLACE THE
EVENING BEFORE THE ELECTION AND REMOVED POLLING
BOOTHS AND ELECTION MATERIALS. LOCAL ELECTION
OFFICIALS THEN EQUIPPED A BUS AS A SUBSTITUTE POLL.
ON THE WAY TO THE VILLAGE, THE BUS WAS STOPPED BY
TRANS-DNIESTER MILITIA, WHO SAID THE BUS "MIGHT COME
TO HARM" IF IT CONTINUED ON ITS WAY. THE EFFORT WAS
THEN ABANDONED. SOME LOCAL MOLDOVAN RESIDENTS HAD
FOUND TRANSPORTATION INTO BENDERY AND VOTED THERE;
THOSE UNABLE TO LEAVE HOME OR FIND TRANSPORT WERE
SIMPLY UNABLE TO VOTE.

HARASSMENT OF ETHNIC MOLDOVANS

8. POLOFFS HEARD STORIES OF HARASSMENT FROM ETHNIC

MOLDOVANS AT EACH POLLING PLACE IN THE
TRANS-DNIESTER. ONCE IDENTIFIED AS AMERICAN ELECTION
OBSERVERS, POLOFFS FOUND THEMSELVES SURROUNDED BY
CROWDS OF MOLDOVANS EAGER TO TALK ABOUT ELECTION LAW

UNCLASSIFIED
VIOLATIONS AND THE DIFFICULTIES AND DISCRIMINATION
FACED BY MOLDOVANS IN EVERY-DAY LIFE IN THE
UNCLASSIFIED
TRANS-DNIESTER. HEAT AND LIGHT HAD BEEN CUT TO THE
BUILDINGS HOUSING A NUMBER OF POLLING PLACES, AND
POLOFFS ~RE TOLD OF ANTI-ELECTION PICKETING AND
TRANS-DNIESTER MILITIA PATROLS IN FRONT OF SOME
POLLS. ~T ONE VILLAGE, LOCAL MOLDOVAN ELECTION
OFFICIALS TOLD POLOFFS THAT FOUR MASKED MEN HAD
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PAGE 04 MOSCOW 35584 02 OF 04 121506Z

BROKEN A WINDOW TO ENTER THE POLLING PLACE DURING THE
NIGHT AND HAD DEMOLISHED THE VOTING BOOTHS AND TAKEN
AWAY THE BALLOT BOXES. VILLAGERS HASTILY REBUILT THE
BOOTHS AND FOUND NEW BALLOT BOXES, AND VOTING WAS
TAKING PLACE. POLOFFS WERE SHOWN THE BROKEN WINDOW
AND OBSERVED THE TORN CLOTH COVERING THE VOTING
BOOTHS.

9. WHERE VOTING WAS POSSIBLE IN THE TRANS-DNIESTER,

THE TURNOUT WAS HEAVY. ALTHOUGH THE ELECTION
COMMISSIONS HAD BEEN PREVENTED BY AUTHORITIES FROM

PREPARING PRE-ELECTION LISTS OF ELIGIBLE VOTERS, AS

REQUIRED BY THE MOLDOVAN ELECTION LAW, THEY TOLD
POLOFFS THEY HAD INSTEAD GONE DOOR-TO-DOOR AND TALKED
PERSONALLY TO MOLDOVAN VOTERS, AS WELL AS CONTACTING
PEOPLE IN WORKPLACES AND BY PHONE, TO NOTIFY THEM OF
THE LOCATION OF POLLING PLACES. THE TURNOUT WAS IN
SPITE OF A RADIO AND PRESS CAMPAIGN URGING PEOPLE NOT
TO PARTICIPATE IN AN "ILLEGAL ELECTION."

DIFFICULT TO VOTE IN GAGAUZIA

10. IN KOMRAT, "CAPITAL" OF THE "REPUBLIC OF

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US ,IE-OO
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------------------B6728F 121509Z /38
P 121504Z DEC 91
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4227
AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
INFO MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

CON F IDE N T I A L SECTION 03 OF 04 MOSCOW 035584

DEPT FOR D, P, C/E, sip, HA, EUR/SOV, EUR/EEY

E.O. 12356: DECL:OADR
TAGS: PGOV, PNAT, PHUM, RO, UR
SUBJECT: MOLDOVAN ELECTIONS: SNEGUR WINS WHILE
SEPARATIST REGIONS OBSTRUCT VOTING PROCESS

GAGAUZIA," POLOFFS MET ON DECEMBER 7 WITH "PRESIDENT"

STEPAN TOPOL AND HIS AIDE, GEORGY RATKOGLO, AND WERE
TOLD THAT GAGAUZ ELECTIONS HAD ALSO ALREADY BEEN HELD
(AGAIN, REFERRING TO THEIR DECEMBER 1 PRESIDENTIAL
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PAGE 02 MOSCOW 35584 03 OF 04 121508Z

ELECTION AND INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUM - PARA 12) AND
THAT THE GAGAUZ AREA WOULD NOT BE TAKING PART IN THE
DECEMBER 8 ELECTION, WHICH WAS THE ELECTION OF "A
FOREIGN COUNTRY." RATKOGLO INDICATED THAT THOSE
MOLDOVANS WHO WANTED TO VOTE WOULD BE PROVIDED
TRANSPORTATION TO A NEARBY MOLDOVAN VILLAGE AND
ALLOWED TO VOTE THERE. HOWEVER, A MOLDOVAN WHO SPOKE
WITH POLOFFS LATER HAD HEARD NOTHING ABOUT THIS
OFFER; INSTEAD, SHE SAID, PEOPLE WERE BEING

UNCLASSIFIED
DISCOURAGED FROM VOTING VIA RADIO ANNOUNCEMENTS AND UNCLASSIFIED
MEETINGS AT WORKPLACES. ON DECEMBER 9, POLOFFS SPOKE
WITH OBSERVERS WHO HAD VISITED KOMRAT AND THE NEARBY
MOLDOVAN VILLAGE ON ELECTION DAY. THESE OBSERVERS
HAD SEEN NO ELECTION TRANSPORTATION AND HAD BEEN TOLD
BY THE NEARBY VILLAGE ELECTION COMMISSION THAT VERY
FEW PEOPLE HAD ARRIVED FROM THE GAGAUZ REGION TO VOTE.

REPORTS OF FRAUD IN DECEMBER 1 VOTES

11. IN BOTH THE GAGAUZ AND TRANS-DNIESTER REGIONS,

POLOFFS HEARD REPEATED CLAIMS OF FRAUD DURING THE
PREVIOUS WEEK'S INDEPENDENCE REFERENDUMS AND
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS. THERE WERE NUMEROUS REPORTS
OF ATTEMPTS TO FORCE PEOPLE TO VOTE, INCLUDING THE
USE OF ABMED MILITA WHO ATTEMPTED TO FORCE VILLAGERS
INTO MOBILE "BUS POLLS" WHICH WENT FROM VILLAGE TO
VILLAGE. SOME SAID THEY WERE THREATENED WITH LOSS OF
JOBS IF THEY DID NOT VOTE. IN THE VILLAGE OF TElA,
ONE ELECTION COMMISSION MEMBER SAID THE DISTRICT,
WHICH CONTAINS APPROXIMATELY 1,300 ELIGIBLE VOTERS,
IN REALITY HAD A 500-VOTER TURNOUT ON DECEMBER 1 BUT
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PAGE 03 MOSCOW 35584 03 OF 04 121508Z

HAD BEEN REPORTED AS CASTING 1,500 VOTES. AT SEVERAL
PLACES IN BOTH REGIONS, ETHNIC-MOLDOVANS CLAIMED THAT
EVEN SOME RUSSIANS AND GAGAUZ WERE UPSET WITH WHAT
THEY CLAIMED WAS THE ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF THE DECEMBER
1 ELECTIONS.

12. AS ANNOUNCED BY GAGAUZ OFFICIALS, THERE WAS AN

83 PERCENT VOTER TURNOUT FOR THEIR INDEPENDENCE
REFERENDUM, WITH 90 PERCENT VOTING FOR INDEPENDENCE.
STEPAN TOPOL WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT WITH A REPORTED 90
PERCENT OF THE VOTE. IN THE TRANS-DNIESTER, WITH
OFFICIALS REPORTING A 78 PERCENT VOTER TURNOUT, 98
PERCENT OF THE VOTE WAS REPORTED AS FAVORING
INDEPENDENCE. IN THE PRESIDENTIAL RACE, THE VOTERS
CHOSE SMIRNOV OVER TWO OTHER CANDIDATES, GIVING HIM
APPROXIMATELY 66 PERCENT OF THE VOTE. SMIRNOV, THE
FORMER COMw.roNIST PARTY FIRST SECRETARY IN THE
TRANS-DNIESTER CAPITAL OF TlRASPOL, HAS BEEN THE
UNELECTED DE FACTO LEADER OF THE REGION SINCE IT
SECEDED FROM MOLDOVA. ACCORDING TO MOLDOVAN
OFFICIALS AND MOSCOW PRESS REPORTS, HE IS A BELIEVER
IN CENTRAL PLANNING AND THE "SOCIALIST ECONOMIC

UNCLASSIFIED
SYSTEM." MOLDOVAN OFFICIALS IMlxIEDIATELY ANNOUNCED
THEY WOULD ANNUL THE RESULTS OF THE TWO "ILLEGAL"
UNCLASSIFIED
ELECTIONS. HOWEVER, SINCE THEY HAVE NO AUTHORITY
INSIDE THE "REPUBLICS," THEY CANNOT ENFORCE THE
ANNULMENT.

COMMENT

13. DESPITE THE LANDSLIDE VOTE FOR SNEGUR, POLOFFS

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PAGE 04 MOSCOW 35584 03 OF 04 121508Z

DID NOT SENSE ANY GROUNDSWELL OF SUPPORT FOR SNEGUR
PERSONALLY. INSTEAD THEY HEARD FROM MANY SOURCES
THAT MOLDOVA NEEDS TO UNITE BEHIND A LEADER IN ORDER
TO SOLVE ITS PROBLEMS, THE IMPLICATION BEING THAT THE
IDENTITY OF THE LEADER IS NOT THAT IMPORTANT. WHILE
THE RESULT MAY NOT HAVE BEEN A PERSONAL VICTORY FOR
SNEGUR, THE HIGH ELECTION TURNOUT WAS A CLEAR SETBACK
FOR THE MO
RE MILITANTLY NATIONALISTIC NATIONAL FRONT,
WHICH SEEMS TO BE LOSING SUPPORT AMONG MOLDOVANS.
POLOFFS MET A NUMBER OF MOLDOVAN POLITICAL FIGURES
AND OFFICIALS WHO DESCRIBED THEMSELVES AS "FORMER
MEMBERS" OF THE FRONT'S LEADERSHIP BUT WHO HAD LEFT
THE FRONT WITHIN THE LAST YEAR IN DISAGREEMENT WITH
THE FRONT'S SINGLE-MINDED PURSUIT OF IMMEDIATE
UNIFICAT ION WITH ROMANIA. THEY CONTEND THAT MANY
ETHNIC-MOLDOVANS ARE NOT IN FAVOR OF IMMEDIATE
UNIFICATION WITH ROMANIA, BUT INSTEAD FAVOR A GRADUAL
INTEGRATION OVER A PERIOD OF YEARS, BOTH FOR ECONOMIC
REASONS AND BECAUSE OF THE OPPOSITION OF ETHNIC
MINORITIES TO UNIFICATION. REFERRING TO THE RESULTS
OF GERMAN REUNIFICATION, SEVERAL OFFICIALS ALSO
WARNED THAT RAPID UNIFICATION WOULD SIMPLY MOVE
MOLDOVA FROM COLONIAL STATUS VIS-A-VIS MOSCOW TO A

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UNCLASSIFIED
 UNCLASSIFIED
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PAGE 01 MOSCOW 35584 04 OF 04 121508Z

ACTION EUR-01

INFO LOG-OO AID-01 AMAD-01 CIAE-OO C-01 DODE-OO DPR-01

EB-01 E-01 CSCE-01 HA-09 H-01 INRE-OO INR-01
10-19 LAB-04 L-03 ADS-OO MOFM-01 MOF-03 M-01
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SNP-Ol SP-01 SR-01 SS-Ol STR-20 TRSE-OO T-01
USIE-OO FMP-01 /100W
------------------B672AO 121509Z /38
P 121504Z DEC 91
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4228
AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
INFO MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

CON F IDE N T I A L SECTION 04 OF 04 MOSCOW 035584

DEPT FOR D, P, C/E, S/P, HA, EUR/SOV, EUR/EEY

E.O. 12356: DECL:OADR

TAGS: PGOV, PNAT, PHUM, RO, UR
SUBJECT: MOLDOVAN ELECTIONS: SNEGUR WINS WHILE
SEPARATIST REGIONS OBSTRUCT VOTING PROCESS

SIMILAR STATUS VIS-A-VIS BUCHAREST.

14. WHILE SNEGUR NOW HAS THE OFFICIAL MANTLE OF

"POPULARLY ELECTED PRESIDENT," HIS WORK IS CUT OUT
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PAGE 02 MOSCOW 35584 04 OF 04 121508Z

FOR HIM. LIKE THE REST OF THE FORMER SOVIET UNION,
MOLDOVA FACES GRAVE ECONOMIC PROBLEMS AS IT TRIES TO
ADJUST TO A MARKET ECONOMIC SYSTEM AND TO REPLACE THE
ECONOMIC AND TRADE FRAMEWORK OF THE OLD UNION.
SNEGUR, HOWEVER, HAS OUTLINED ONLY VAGUE ECONOMIC
PROGRAMS FOR THE REPUBLIC. WHILE THE ELECTION SHOWS
THE POPUlAR FRONT IS WEAKENED, PAN-ROMANIAN
NATIONALISM REMAINS A SIGNIFICANT FORCE IN MOLDOVA;

UNCLASSIFIED
MANY STILL HOPE FOR THE "RETURN" OF SOUTHERN
BESSARABIA AND NORTHERN BUKOVINA, BOTH NOW PART OF UNCLASSIFIED
UKRAINE. FINALLY, SNEGUR MOST DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM
OF THE BEEAK-AWAY GAGAUZ AND TRANS-DNIESTER REGIONS
(DISCUSSED SEPTEL). END COMMENT.
COLLINS

CONFIDENTIAL

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UNCLASSIFIED