Moldovan minister ignores recommendation, says schools to keep studying history of Romanians

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(Corrects spelling of name of chairman of Moldova’s Jewish community in paragraph 9)

CHISINAU (Reuters) -Moldova’s education minister said on Monday that schools would keep teaching the subject “history of the Romanians,” despite an official ruling that the term was unfair to the ex-Soviet state’s ethnic minorities.

Dan Perciun issued his statement amid a debate over a history textbook denounced by pro-Russian opposition parties and Moldova’s Jewish community on grounds it exaggerates Moldova’s links with neighbouring Romania and whitewashes the actions of Romania’s pro-Nazi wartime leader Ion Antonescu.

“We are continuing in the same vein as before,” Perciun said in his weekly online address. “After 150 years of Russification, we believe that we can and must study the history of the Romanians in our schools.”

Perciun said he felt no need to be bound by a recommendation by the Council for the Prevention of Discrimination that the subject area’s title be changed to a more neutral name to reflect Moldova’s multi-ethnic makeup.

Some 150 years before independence, Moldova was, in turns, part of the Russian Empire, “Greater Romania” and the Soviet Union.

Official census figures show 77.2% of the population to be ethnic Moldovans and a further 7.9% to be Romanians – though the distinction is often blurred as both countries speak Romanian. There are also large communities of ethnic Russians, Ukrainians and others and Russian is still widely spoken.

Pro-European president Maia Sandu, highly critical of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and what she says are attempts to destabilise her government, is pressing ahead with a campaign to join the European Union by 2030.

Educators, historians and civil society groups are taking part in a country-wide debate on the new textbook, also entitled “History of the Romanians and General History.”

Alexander Bilinkis, chairman of Moldova’s Jewish community, called for the textbook’s withdrawal on grounds it downplays the extent of Nazi pogroms and mass deportations of Jews.

The ministry is to consider the findings of the country-wide discussions and decide whether to maintain the textbook in the school system or alter it.

(Reporting by Alexander Tanas; Writing by Ron Popeski; Editing by Rod Nickel)