Moldova's Constitutional Court ruled on Monday that a decree issued by the country's acting president to establish a Soviet Occupation Day is unconstitutional.
Moldova's acting President Mikhai Ghimpu, who is also the parliament speaker, signed the decree on June 24.
The degree, which has been widely criticized by Moldovan citizens, established June 28 as Soviet Occupation Day and ordered a Monument to the Victims of Soviet Occupation to be erected in front of the government building, mourning ceremonies across the country and that national flags be flown at half mast. The president also demanded that Russian troops be immediately withdrawn from the republic.
"Moldova's acting President Mikhai Ghimpu tried to interpret historical motives through a prism of legal norms," Dmitry Pulbere, the court chairman said.
Ghimpu was made acting Moldovan leader in September 2009 when the country's liberal-democratic coalition was forced to find a compromise after failing to appoint another candidate. The acting president is known for his sweeping pro-Romanian policies.
The appeal to the Constitutional Court was initiated by the Moldovan Communist Party, which fiercely opposed Ghimpu's decree, calling it unconstitutional.
The communists said in their statement to the court that Ghimpu violated 13 articles of the country's Constitution by signing the decree, in particular an article on Moldova's sovereignty and integrity.
On June 28, 1940, at a U.S.S.R. request, royal Romania withdrew its troops from Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina, which it had been occupying since 1918, and the region joined the Soviet Union. The Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic, including six Bessarabia districts as well as six areas from the left bank of the Dnester, was established in August 1940.
CHISINAU, July 12 (RIA Novosti)
