Some challenges from Eastern Romania have lately reached us. After President Voronin's threatening statements and the change of Romania's history for integrated history, the Romanian language used in Tyraspol schools is now under assail. And there is even more: Tyraspol separatists bulldozed the cemetery in Tighina where the Romanian and German soldiers who had fought in WW II were buried, in order to make room for an obelisk dedicated to the Soviet soldier. The tomb crosses in "Romanian cemetery" in Tighina, as the locals call it, were also bulldozed. Reports from Tighina claim human bones dug out are scattered all over. Transdniester authorities want to delete any trace of the Romanian presence and they are defying all international juridical norms and all common sense. According to the Geneva Convention, states housing tombs of soldiers who died in the war must take good care of them so that they can be recognized. The "Romanian cemetery" in Tighina was bulldozed under the eyes of armed militiamen, who continue to protect the cemetery against the curious. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs knows nothing The MAE (Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Romania) has provided no information on what is going on in Tighina. Last Wednesday ZIUA talked to someone employed by the Romanian Embassy to Chishinau, who wouldn't unveil his name. He said they knew no details, apart from what was in press reports. Then the official refused to explain about his mission: "All we know comes from the press and from those who got there. As we have not access to the area, we may not... Only if you have sources at the place. We have got nothing to offer on behalf of the Embassy, because we don't know what exactly is going on there. We can't go there and see what is happening." (...)

George DAMIAN, Anne Marie LUPASCU