MOLDOVAN DEMOCRACY HANGS IN THE BALANCE.

Moldovan prime minister Andrei Sangheli yesterday resisted President Mircea Snegur’s April 6 ultimatum-like demand to officially dismiss defense minister Pavel Creanga and submit within 48 hours a nomination for Snegur’s approval. Sangheli replied that Snegur’s "ultimatum ignores the Constitutional Court’s verdict" of April 4, which found the president’s dismissal of Creanga without governmental and parliamentary consent had been illegal. Sangheli pointed out that the Court’s decision must be carried out unconditionally, but he expressed "readiness for a compromise" through consultations among the presidency, parliament, and government. (Basapress, Flux, Reuter, April 8)

Political and military officials told The Monitor that the presidential coup is incrementally gathering momentum. Snegur is acting under his own "Order No. 1" giving him "direct command" of the armed forces, ostensibly under the defense law. The defense law, however, gives the president such powers only in wartime or a declared national emergency. His appointee as acting defense minister, Maj. General Tudor Dabija, and presidential military advisor Alexandru Gorgan physically control the Defense Ministry and have begun ousting politically unreliable officers. They are also issuing statements on behalf of various military units — including yesterday the Chisinau Military Academy — rejecting Creanga despite the Constitutional Court verdict reinstating him, and pledging to obey Snegur’s "direct command." Parliamentary leaders predict that Snegur might now also call on Internal Affairs Ministry units in a follow-up step. They and certain governmental ministers are also concerned by the activities of the presidential security service, which operates unaccountably and outside the law.

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