US Calls for Fair Elections in Moldova

[Tinoire]

US Calls for Fair Elections in Moldova

US calls for fair elections in Moldova

CHISINAU: The United States urged Moldova on Friday to take immediate steps to ensure a fair parliamentary elections next month after opposition complaints that Communist authorities are trying to rig the vote.

Communists came to power in ex-Soviet Moldova in 2001 and remain highly popular, with about 60 per cent in opinion polls.

That would easily hand them victory in the March 6 ballot. Parliament then chooses the president, a job now held by Communist Vladimir Voronin in one of Europe’s poorest countries, sandwiched between Ukraine and Romania.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, in a statement issued by the US embassy, said Washington wanted Moldova to uphold its good record in staging elections but noted "disturbing" trends.

"Reports of biased coverage in the public media, harassment of the opposition by police, intimidation of independent civil society groups and use of public resources for campaign purposes are cause for particular concern and could cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election," Boucher said.

(snip)

http://jang.com.pk/thenews/feb2005-daily/19-02-2005/world/w6.htm

File under Soros, Putin, messing with Russia, U.S. ambitions for hegemony over the innermost circle of Russia’s historical sphere of influence... & keep an eye on ;)

[aquart]

1. And in Ohio.......?

[Rush1184]

15. you beat me too it!

[Desert Liberal]

2. Yes, everyone in the world should have free and fair elections...

...unless they happen to live in the USA.
How fucking hypocritical. And typical.

[The Doctor.]

3. ....

Holy hypocrisy.

More than this was documented in US elections last Nov.

Truly breathtaking.

[solinvictus]

4. How about fair elections in the USA???

Fucktards!!!

[yorkiemommie1]

5. pontificating again

whited sepulchres

[chlamor]

6. Moldova was next on the list-GUUAM-Pipeline routes

Moldova is currently hosting the usual suspects of electoral democracy, IRI,NED, etc. at www.globalresearch.ca the targeting of Moldova as another piece in ZB's wacky grand chessboard is documented. The usual takeover of western interests for the purposes of controlling LNG and oil pipelines.

The objective of the Bush Administration is to install a Ukrainian government which is firmly aligned with Washington, with the ultimate objective of displacing the Russian military from the Black Sea.

In this regard, The Ukraine has already signed several military agreements with NATO and Washington under the government of Leonid Kuchma.

The Ukraine is a member of  GUUAM, a military alliance between five former Soviet republics ( Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova).
GUUAM lies strategically at the hub of the Caspian oil and gas wealth, "with Moldava and the Ukraine offering export routes to the West." The objective of GUUAM was to exclude Russia from the Black Sea, protect the Anglo-American pipeline routes out of Central Asia and the Caspian sea  and essentially cut Russia off not only from the Caspian sea oil basin but also from the Black sea. 

[MisterP]

9. Brzezinski, Kissinger, and Powell met with Yushchenko

fits perfectly with what you wrote

[Tinoire]

11. With Wesely Clark & McCain in tow

The United State government has worked consistently throughout 2004 to promote a free, fair campaign and election in Ukraine:


We have made clear, consistent public statements about the positive and negative implications for Ukraine depending on the conduct of the election;

* We kept up a steady-stream of high-level visitors (both official and unofficial) to underscore our message privately;

* We have used all of our high-level meetings with Ukrainians to underscore our expectations and concerns about the election, including President Bush at the NATO-Ukraine Commission Summit in Istanbul, as well as bilateral meetings of Secretary Powell and Dr. Rice;

* We have tried to "raise the bar" for fraud by focusing our assistance in ways that would help to expose large-scale fraud (such as parallel vote counts and independent exit polls);

* We funded one of the largest international election observer efforts ever undertaken;

* We demonstrated the personal consequences of electoral misconduct by denying visas for individuals engaged in fraud and anti-democratic behavior;

* We welcomed Rada Speaker Lytvyn to Washington five days before the run-off to underscore our support for a legislative body committed to ensuring an outcome that reflected the will of the people;

* We have welcomed Congressional activity on Ukraine (resolutions, floor statements, visits); and

* President Bush asked Senator Lugar to deliver a message directly to President Kuchma on the eve of the vote.

(snip)

Beginning in February, a wide, bipartisan range of senior U.S. officials and prominent private citizens visited Ukraine carrying a strong message about the importance of a democratic election to Ukraine’s Euro-Atlantic integration. These included Defense Secretary Rumsfeld, Deputy Secretary of State Armitage, USAID Administrator Natsios, former President Bush, former Secretaries Albright and Kissinger, Dr. Brzezinski, Richard Holbrooke, Thomas Pickering, General (r.) Wesley Clark, Rep. Bereuter, Senator McCain, and of course Senator Lugar. The President asked Senator Lugar to return in November as his representative to deliver a letter to President Kuchma urging a free and fair election and to remain in Ukraine during the sensitive period immediately following the voting. He has already reported to you on that experience. We are grateful for Senator Lugar’s efforts, and have been extremely pleased at how closely the Administration and the Hill have cooperated in the run-up to the election in Ukraine.

(snip)

U.S. efforts intensified as the campaign drew to a close. The State Department issued a hard-hitting statement in October that got considerable attention in Ukraine, the Deputy Secretary published an op-ed in the Financial Times on the eve of the first round, and the Department issued another statement after the first round vote. The White House issued strong statements of its own just before the November 21 election, and both the White House and the Department have spoken out repeatedly since the November 21 vote to make it known that we did not recognize the legitimacy of the results of the run-off because of the widespread and credible reports of fraud, and that we expected the will of the Ukrainian people to be upheld. The White House issued another statement following the run-off underscoring the "extensive and credible indications of fraud," "calling on the Government of Ukraine to respect the will of the Ukrainian people," and noting that "the United States stands with the Ukrainian people in this difficult time."

(snip)

http://www.state.gov/p/eur/rls/rm/39542.htm

[Tinoire]

10. Zbigniew Brzezinski and the CSIS again & new DLC "Progressive " Think Tank

Welcome to DU chlamor!

Thank you for connecting the dots for us. So our old neolib 'pal' Zbigniew Brzezinski is still at it... I rememberber now having seen an alarming paper posted by the DLC's new "Liberal" think tank written by his son Marc Brzezinski (did not stop to think it was his son at the time but just researched). The hawks, the CSIS and the DLC are just not giving up! It puts that PNAC paper signed by so many democrats to include our Balkan saber-rattling friend Madeleine Albright into better persepective (linked in my first post).
Expect to hear a lot more from this "liberal" think tank because they're supporting Wesley Clark for part of the 2008 ticket and making a lot of noise about a certain faction of the Democratic Party needing to shut up about how the war against terrorism is bogus(http://www.americanprogress.org/site/apps/s/google_search.asp?access=p&sort=date%3AD%3AL%3Ad1&output=xml_no_dtd&site=cap&c=biJRJ8OVF&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&client=cap_frontend&proxystylesheet=cap_frontend&b=180521&q=wesley+Clark&ip=172.16.36.120&filter=0). They even have "grassroots blogs" and a "liberal" radio station we can expect to be blasted with soon: RadioProgress.org is a project of the Center for American Progress.

Anyway, here's the paper:



A Crossroads in U.S.-Russia Relations

by Mark Brzezinski
December 19, 2003

U.S.-Russia relations are at a vital crossroads. Although many of the disturbing trends that have emerged under Vladimir Putin’s leadership are reversible, a tepid American reaction to them will only reinforce the cruder political instincts of the Soviet era. Looking the other way as President Putin cracks down on human rights activists and journalists and consolidates control over Russian political life is not in the long-term national security interest of the United States or Russia.

The U.S. needs to strengthen its Russia policy – in fact, adopt a Russia policy instead of a Putin policy – by persistently and firmly seeking to promote a positive reform agenda. Too often our approach is dictated by Vladimir Putin’s personality. As the Washington Post reported recently in a story about Chechnya, “Inside the State Department, officials debated whether to do the right thing. They then decided, at high levels, no, why make Putin angry?”

(snip)

In response to these actions, the United States should encourage:

* Straight Talk: In the area of democratization and human rights, President Bush should communicate to President Putin privately and to the people of Russia publicly that he recognizes and worries about signs that democracy is eroding.

* Democratic Promotion Programming: The Bush administration should expand funding and democracy assistance to meet growing challenges in Russia. Instead, for next year, the administration proposed cutting funding to Russia and Eastern Europe under the Freedom Support Act from $148 million to $73 million.

* Nunn-Lugar: Until recently, appropriations for the valuable Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction program (CTR), which dismantles nuclear, chemical and biological weapons in the post-Soviet region, were frozen by the Bush administration. Funding was only expanded by Congress recently, which authorized the administration to waive funds when certain conditions were met.

* Regional Engagement: The U.S. should continue to look for ways to cooperate in promoting stability in areas along Russia’s periphery – working together to resolve frozen conflicts involving secessionist provinces in Georgia and Moldova; promoting economic and political reform in Central Asia; and stemming the spread of radical Islam in the Caucasus and Central Asia. The administration’s recent success in Sudan serves as a model in certain ways.

* Engaging Russia More Deeply in Internationally Binding Cooperation: The U.S. should consistently strive to draw Russia into new networks of engagement while at the same time speaking unambiguously as to what it is that disqualifies Russia from genuine membership in the community of democratic states.

(snip)

Seeking to Reassert Control Over Former Soviet States

(snip)
In Moldova, Putin is pressing President Vladimir Voronin to legalize Russia’s military presence and Russia’s secessionist authorities in Moldova’s Trans-Dniester region. Putin’s plan envisages handing these authorities a share of power in Moldova’s central government under an allegedly federal formula, and guaranteeing such a settlement through a predominantly Russian military force. Although this plan has been resisted by a surprisingly outspoken pro-European Moldovan popular movement, Kremlin representatives continue to push their case with Moldovan authorities.

(snip)

Regarding Russian meddling in the former Soviet states, the lack of administration reaction has resulted in growing anxiety in the region. The region needs reassurance that the U.S. stands with the newly independent post-Soviet states and is committed to their independence, integrity and stability. The administration should also be clear that Moscow should stop ongoing attempts to subordinate Georgia and Moldova, and it should push for the withdrawal of Russian troops. Ukraine should be told that the U.S. supports its opposition to a Russia-led “Eurasian Economic Union” since that would help to restore Moscow’s control over this part of Europe, on NATO’s and the EU’s new frontier.

(snip)

The U.S. should continue to look for ways to cooperate in promoting stability in areas along Russia’s periphery – working together to resolve frozen conflicts involving secessionist provinces in Georgia and Moldova, promoting economic and political reform in Central Asia, and stemming the spread of radical Islam in the Caucasus and Central Asia. Increased U.S.-Russian collaboration in Russia’s vicinity will enhance the credibility in Russian eyes of U.S. anti-terrorist actions there and reduce Moscow’s suspicion that Washington wants to limit Russia’s ability to exercise influence along its borders for appropriate purposes and encircle Russia via a permanent military presence.

(snip)

Mark Brzezinski was the director for Russian/Eurasian affairs on the National Security Council during the Clinton administration and recently visited Russia to study on U.S.-European-Russian collaboration in the war on terrorism. He is currently a partner at McGuire Woods LLP in Washington D.C., where he manages the firm’s international practice.

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=15121

http://www.americanprogress.org/atf/cf/{E9245FE4-9A2B-43C7-A521-5D6FF2E06E03}/HEADING_ABOUTUS.JPG

What We're About

The Center for American Progress is a nonpartisan research and educational institute dedicated to promoting a strong, just and free America that ensures opportunity for all. We believe Americans are bound together by a common commitment to these values and we aspire to ensure our national policies reflect these values. Our policy and communications efforts are organized around four major objectives:

• developing a long term vision of a progressive America,
• providing a forum to generate new progressive ideas and policy proposals,
• responding effectively and rapidly to conservative proposals and rhetoric with a thoughtful critique and clear alternatives, and
• communicating progressive messages to the American public.

We work to find progressive and pragmatic solutions to significant domestic and international problems and develop policy proposals that foster a government that is "of the people, by the people, and for the people." We believe in honoring work, building strong communities, fostering effective government and encouraging free and fair markets.

Every day we challenge conservative thinking that undermines the bedrock American values of liberty, community and shared responsibility.

The Center for American Progress advances policies that help create sustained economic growth and new opportunities for all Americans. We support fiscal discipline, shared prosperity, and investments in people through education, health care and workforce training.

The Center for American Progress promotes the cause of liberty. We press for a government that protects our civil rights, safeguards our neighborhoods and lands, and provides equal justice under the law.

In a world of unprecedented threats, the Center for American Progress encourages policies that protect the American people and further our national interests. We promote the need for a strong, smart military and believe America must safeguard its homeland, fight terrorism and take on threats that know no borders. And we believe America's interests are advanced when we strengthen alliances and work with multilateral institutions that support the rule of law.

As progressives we stand for policies that unleash the potential of all our people. We are dedicated to promoting concrete ideas that can help create an America that is powerful, just, safe and free.

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=3459

American Progress Staff


Senior Staff
• John Podesta President and Chief Executive Officer
• Morton H. Halperin Senior Vice President and Director of Fellows
• Sarah Wartell Senior Vice President, Chief Operating Officer and General Counsel
• Laura Nichols Senior Vice President for Communications and Strategy
• Alyssondra Campaigne Senior Vice President for External Affairs
• Mara Rudman Senior Vice President for Strategic Planning
• Mark Agrast Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy
• Robert O. Boorstin Senior Vice President for National Security
• Cassandra Q. Butts Senior Vice President and Coordinator for Economic Policy

Fellows
• Eric Alterman
• Melody Barnes
• P.J. Crowley
• Thomas Kalil
• Lawrence J. Korb
• Jeanne Lambrew
• Scott Lilly
• Mark Lloyd


• Matthew Miller
• Jonathan Moreno
• John Moyers
• Fred Rotondaro
• Shira Saperstein
• David Sirota
• Gayle Smith
• Gene Sperling
• Ruy Teixeira

Special Advisers
• Ivo Daalder
• David Halperin

Staff
(snip)

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=36096

National Security Advisory Committee

David L. Aaron
Madeleine K. Albright
Samuel R. Berger
Stephen W. Bosworth
Carol M. Browner
Zbigniew Brzezinski
Kurt M. Campbell
Warren Christopher
General Wesley K. Clark USA (Ret.)
Admiral William. J. Crowe USN (Ret.)
Thomas E. Donilon
Reverend Robert W. Edgar
Stuart E. Eizenstat
Leon Fuerth
Gary Hart
Reverend J. Bryan Hehir
Richard Holbrooke
Juliette N. Kayyem
Robert Keohane
Ronald A. Klain
Lawrence J. Korb
Anthony Lake
Leonard Lieberman
Jessica Tuchman Mathews
Donald F. McHenry
Walter F. Mondale
William J. Perry
Clyde V. Prestowitz, Jr.
Susan E. Rice
Bill Richardson
Felix Rohatyn
Robert E. Rubin
Mara Rudman
Rabbi David Saperstein
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr.
General John. M. Shalikashvili USA (Ret.)

Wendy R. Sherman
Rodney E. Slater
Nancy Soderberg
Theodore C. Sorensen
George Soros
James Steinberg
James Lee Witt

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=2596

[MisterP]

7. they're not going along with Thatchernomics like the good Georgians

and Ukrainians and Raqees and Tonee Blare and Azerbaijanis and Ecuadoreans and Peruvians and Argentinians just before their economy somehow imploded for absolutely no reason whatsoever and it's not related at all to them doing everything the way we asked them to and...

[rugger]

8. How about fair fuckin elections in the US?

Christ, even Iraq did better than we did

[LynnTheDem]

12. "Reports of biased coverage in the public media, harassment of the

opposition by police, intimidation of independent civil society groups and use of public resources for campaign purposes are cause for particular concern and could cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election,"

That loud rumbling is the entire world laughing at the deep & ever-growing total ignorant hypocrisy of the USSA.

[FlyByNight]

13. Does being a right-winger mean...

one loses all sense of irony - especially with the electoral irregularities here in the US?

Do they ever actually listen to themselves?

[LinuxInsurgent]

14. Moldova calls for fair elections in the U.S.

After indications that Republican authorities HAD rigged the vote.

Republicans came to power largely in the 1980s and the 1994 "GOP Stampede" of the Congress, and remain slightly popular, with 51% in opinion polls.

That did not easily hand them victory in the Nov. 2nd ballot. Congress usually abdicates its responsibility to be a "check and balance" on the Executive, a job now held by Born Again Christian Conservative George W. Bush in the world's richest nation, sandwiched between Canada and Mexico.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr. Victor Von Doom, in a statement issued by the Moldovia Foreign Ministry, said Moldovia wanted Washington to uphold its good record in staging elections, but noted "disturbing" trends.

"Reports of biased coverage in the public media (Fox News, Cable Networks), harassment of the opposition by police (Florida detention of African-Americans going to the polls), intimidation of independent civil society groups and use of public resources for campaign purposes are cause for particular concern and could cast doubt on the legitimacy of the election," Doom said.

Doom ended the press conference by revealing that he would challenge Reed Richards and Tony Stark (aka Ironman) to a deathmatch...and that the winner of that deathmatch would decide the outcome of the U.S. election. News at 11:00!

[Dirk39]

16. Orange, Velvet, what will be the name of the

"Revolution" in Moldova?
I'm just a bit astonished. All the capitalist democracies in Europe as in the USA, not to mention the so-called transition countries - (what a transition after more than 15 years of free-market-happyness!) in east-Europe and the former Soviet-Union, facing a kind of agony, apathy and cynicism.
While in the West, the "social-market" and "New-Deal" democracies are replaced with a neoliberal turbocapitalism, the former communist countries never even experienced the so-called "welfare-state" they thought would replace the former totalitarian socialism.

People don't vote anymore, don't care anymore, 'cause whatever they do, nothing will change...

But we see just one staged "peacefull" "Revolution" after the other. With funny little flags - orange or velvet - all across the TV-globe.
Seems to me that the apathy and desperation of the people has something to do with it. The less people see any kind of chance to really change something, the easier is has become, to simply stage some "revolutions" there or buy some elections.

Reminds me a bit of the staged marches at the first of May in the former socialist countries. People are used to it.

And Soros must be masturbating about buying, selling and destroying regimes as he formerly did with economies.

Democracy and public opinion has just become the next >stock exchange<.


"North south east west
kill the best and buy the rest
it's just spend a buck to make a buck
you don't really give a flying fuck
about the people in misery

See the paid-off local bottom feeders
passing themselves off as leaders
kiss the ladies shake hands with the fellows
open for business like a cheap bordello

And they call it democracy
and they call it democracy
and they call it democracy
and they call it democracy"
Bruth Cockburn 1985

Dirk