"The First Parliament marked the beginning of a path towards freedom, independence and democracy, it opened the door to a pluralistic society in which freedom and human rights are fundamental values." With this message, President Maia Sandu addressed the conference celebrating 35 years since the legal establishment of the first Parliament, "a fundamental moment in the history of the Republic of Moldova".
The head of state said that the first Parliament "had the courage to call things by their name, brought back the tricolor, formalized the use of the Romanian language, and voted the Declaration of Independence on August 27, 1991". "Through its courage, the first Parliament gave us back our freedom and laid the foundations of democratic institutions," Maia Sandu emphasized.
The Head of State communicated that we are currently living in a new turning point. "We have a historic chance to anchor Moldova definitively in the free, democratic and prosperous world by integrating into the European Union. But for this journey to succeed, we must remain faithful to the values that united us then - the rule of law, fundamental freedoms and respect for democratic institutions," the President said.
The President of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, Ion Tighineanu, congratulated the members of the Independence Parliament and wished them success "in their noble work, focused on promoting values and ideals". "May the voice of the Parliament of Independence be heard by the whole society", said Ion Tighineanu.
"Your legacy and that of the whole country is immortal. We, today's generations, have the honor and high responsibility to carry justice, truth and national identity as you have done since the 1990s," the President of the Supreme Council of Prosecutors, Dumitru Obada, addressed the representatives of the first Parliament.
The Deputy Speaker of the Independence Parliament, Ion Hadarca, noted that independence from the Russian empire was hard paid and hard maintained, but, nevertheless, the Independence Parliament fulfilled its historical mission: the enshrinement of national symbolism and the adoption of the Declarations of sovereignty and independence, the consecration of parliamentarianism as the supreme manifestation of the will of the people, as an expression of freedom, democracy and civilized form of struggle of ideas.
Ion Hadarca presented the "quintessence" of the Declaration of Independence proclaimed by the first Parliament: "The Republic of Moldova is a sovereign, independent and democratic state, free to decide its present and its future, without any outside interference, in accordance with the ideals and the sacred aspirations of the people in the historical and ethnic space of its national development".
Former MP Alecu Renita said that the first Parliament "was nothing but the emanation of the national revival and liberation movement, its institutionalized form". According to him, things will not go well in the Republic of Moldova because the goals outlined in the Declaration of Independence "were abandoned in 1994 and since then the basic objectives of the National Revival Movement have not been realized".
"I don't think we have a perspective if we don't return to those three essential points: liquidation of the consequences of the Ribbentrop-Molotov pact, removal of the artificial border on the Prut and reunification of the country," the first-term MP said.
In addition to members of the first parliament, the event was attended by law students.
On May 23, 1991, according to the decision of the Supreme Soviet of the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic of the 12th legislature, constituted following the first democratic elections, the unitary republic of the MSSR was transformed into the Republic of Moldova and the Supreme Soviet became the first Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.
