The language spoken by the Romanians in Arad, Reșița, Mărășești, or Iași is the same Romanian language as the one in Chișinău, Bălți, or Cahul, states Adrian Dupu, the Secretary of State of the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova within the Government of Bucharest, in an exclusive interview with Ziarul Național, on Romanian Language Day. According to the official, the Romanian language unites the Romanians on both sides of the Prut River, and Romania’s greatest concern is to provide the citizens of the Republic of Moldova with the certainty of belonging to a shared cultural, spiritual, and geographical space.
“We are helping the Republic of Moldova because the Romanian language is spoken here, because the spirituality of our people is the same, because our churches are the same, because all our elites think in a Romanian way, and because in the villages of the Republic of Moldova, where Romanians live, you can smell the scent of the Carpathian villages in the morning. We are the same, identical, living in two different states. Romania has a historical duty to assume its relationship with the Republic of Moldova in these terms, not others,” declared Secretary of State Adrian Dupu.
How the challenging journey of the Romanian language across the Prut River to gain its scientific recognition has been seen from Bucharest, and what Romania is doing to protect the Romanian language in Moldova east of the Prut, can be found in the interview below.
– Mr. Secretary of State Adrian Dupu, on August 31st, we are marking 34 years since the moment when the crowd gathered at a Great National Assembly in the center of Chișinău demanded, after decades of forced Russification, the declaration of the Romanian language as the state language in the territory of the current Republic of Moldova, as well as the transition to the Latin script. Since 2013, Romanian Language Day has been celebrated on the same day in Romania. Why do you think it’s important for Romanians to celebrate their language?
– This is very important because the language in which we think and speak characterizes us as a nation. Accelerated globalization has a terribly simplifying aspect, and I’m referring especially to the fact that there’s a certain level of convenience when it comes to communication, language or languages through which people across the world understand each other.
We, Romanians, must do everything possible to preserve our language. The celebration of the Romanian language is an extremely strong marker in this continuous effort to preserve the language. In the historical context where the Prut River divides the same linguistic paradigm into two seemingly different entities, it’s even more important to understand the significance of assuming and marking such an event – Romanian Language Day.
The Romanian language, like our traditions, spirituality, culture, and history, keeps us united and enables dialogue between us, a dialogue that has been intensifying from year to year in recent times, which is very important.
– In 1989, the lawmakers in Chișinău approved the first significant set of laws that reintroduced the Latin alphabet to the territory of the current Republic of Moldova, and the “Moldovan” language was increasingly called by its true name – that it’s Romanian. However, the Romanian language was destined to play the role of Cinderella in Moldova for many years, and only this year it was officially recognized in the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova. How was this journey of the Romanian language from Bessarabia seen from Bucharest?
– History is the sum of decisions and choices that we, as people, make in different stages of our lives. Moldovan society has cautiously but irreversibly stepped onto a territory without balance when it comes to clear decisions that have been assumed over time.
Historians and linguists could develop such a topic better than I can. However, what has been clearly observed in the last three years is what I call patterns of historic evidence.
The current authorities in Chișinău, with care and attention, have gradually brought sensitive themes that define a society struggling for its young democracy back to normality and historical sensibility. One such theme was the theme of the Romanian language.
The concept or terminology of the Moldovan language was never a natural notion, historically speaking. Everyone, including the most Russian of Russians, knew from the very beginning that on the right bank of the Dniester River, a language called Romanian had been spoken for millennia.
Yes, the journey was a difficult one, but it was one of reclaiming its original title, which is so important. The language spoken by the Romanians in Arad, Reșița, Mărășești, or Iași is the same Romanian language as the one in Chișinău, Bălți, or Cahul. And here, we all need to emphasize this point.
– What is Romania doing to protect the Romanian language in the Moldovan region east of the Prut River?
Romania has significantly funded all programs that allowed the transmission of the Romanian language in schools, kindergartens, radio and television, theaters, and various cultural events.
Furthermore, on Romanian Language Day, representatives of Romanian state institutions have always come to Chișinău, as they have this year as well, so that this celebration can be jointly observed here in Chișinău.
Could more be done? Certainly. Nothing is perfect, but I want to assure you that the main concern of the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova is to identify any cultural project that can bring the Romanian language to every household in the Republic of Moldova. This goal of ours is very important, and we will never give it up.
– Mr. Adrian Dupu, the Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova that you lead was created within the Romanian Government relatively recently, about four years ago, but it has managed to implement hundreds of projects aimed at the citizens on the other side of the Prut River. If you were to give a brief assessment, in which areas of the Republic of Moldova has the Government of Bucharest invested the most through DRRM? Are you satisfied with the efficiency of the projects implemented with the support of DRRM?
Yes, it’s true. At this moment, we are talking about hundreds of projects benefiting the citizens of the Republic of Moldova. The funds provided by the Romanian state amount to millions of euros over these years. These are very substantial sums, and the returns with which these projects have been implemented have been impeccable.
We take care to support certain symbols, such as language, spirituality, visual arts, literature, but we also closely monitor the costs of each individual project, costs relative to the number of beneficiaries.
The Department for Relations with the Republic of Moldova aims to fund major projects with national resonance, projects that can directly benefit as many citizens of the Republic of Moldova as possible.
Let me give you a few examples:
– For three years in a row, we provided school supplies for nearly 15,000 students across the Republic;
– Support for the Basarabia Metropolis;
– Support and equipping projects for 7 universities;
– Children’s shows;
– Theater tours;
– Romanian film festivals;
– Bookfest, and the examples can continue.
Now, when making critical references to the activity of the institution I represent, I want to tell you two things. Firstly, the intensity with which we work is very high, and this is visible. Secondly, I personally make great efforts to increase the funding allocated by the Romanian Government for supporting such projects from year to year. The numbers support my statements; the sums have increased every year.
Yes, we can do things even better, and we can do more things. The important thing is to have institutional partners here, on the other side of the Prut River, with whom we can work very effectively. At this historic stage, the partners exist, and this contributes decisively to improving the quality of our work.
– In recent years, the Romanian language has become more “understood” in the relations between Romania and the Republic of Moldova: Romania is the main market for Moldovan products, we felt Romania’s valuable support when we ran out of Russian gas and electricity from Transnistria, our children go to renovated kindergartens with funds from across the Prut, and they are transported to school in buses donated by Romania, etc. At the same time, Bucharest is making real efforts to help Chișinău on its European path. Why does Romania assist the Republic of Moldova, even though, as it is known, the support provided is not always appreciated at its true value on the other side of the Prut?
The question is almost philosophical. Our greatest concern is to provide the citizens of the Republic of Moldova with the certainty of belonging to a shared cultural, spiritual, and geographical space, and supporting the European path of the Republic of Moldova is one of our foreign policy priorities.
We help the Republic of Moldova because the Romanian language is spoken here, because the spirituality of our people is the same, because our churches are the same, because all our elites think in a Romanian way, and because in the villages of the Republic of Moldova, where Romanians live, you can smell the scent of the Carpathian villages in the morning.
We are the same, identical, living in two different states. Romania has a historical duty to assume its relationship with the Republic of Moldova in these terms, not others.
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