A year after the tragedy in the Royal Forest, authorities say that hunters do not step foot in there, a fact confirmed by most residents of the area. However, some locals say the opposite, stating that, from time to time, gunshots are heard from the Reserve. And explanations of some employees in connection to the shot that I heard, leaves room for interpretation and opens the question as to whether there is still hunting in the winter of 2013 in the Royal Forest. 

A year ago, on December 26, 2012, the Paciu family was preparing for Sorin’s funeral, a young man who at 34 years of age was killed in a wild boar hunting trip which took place three days earlier in the Natural Reserve “RoyalForest”. A year ago, the public knew nothing about the murder during the hunt, and this is because the participants were senior state officials headed by the Attorney General at the time, Valeriu Zubco, Ion Pleşca, the President of the Court of Appeals (CA) Chisinau, and Ion Lupu, head of Moldsilva.

The File, Far from Final

First off, on the 6th of January, the anti-mafia leader Sergiu Mocanu, after giving public details about the tragedy, accused Valeriu Zubco of murder, whom he repeatedly critised previously. Gradually, information about the hunt was starting to appear. Ultimately, Zubco was dismissed for concealing the incident. Gheorghe Creţu, Vice President of CA Chişinău at the time, was suspected by the prosecutors.  In a short time – the only one blamed in Sorin’s Paciu death was Creţu.

The entire time, however, Creţu said he that is innocent, asking the media to be patient with the promise that he would talk after the completion of the file examination. The file is still in Court now, being interviewed about half of the hunters, but quite far from being finalized. “By the end of February, 12 hearings will take place that have already been scheduled. The prosecution’s evidence will be examined”, says Prosecutor Alexandru Caraman, one of the three state prosecutors involved in the case at Făleşti District Court where the case is being examined on its merits.  However, after the events in the Royal Forest, even though a parliamentary committee was created to investigate the circumstances of the hunt, the public, to this day, does not know exactly what happened there, creating the feeling that some moments of that hunt will remain secret forever between the Natural Reservation trees.

“No Hunting” vs. “Hearing Gunshots”

In August, through a governmental decision, banned hunting in areas protected by state , including selection hunting, for an indefinite period of time.  However, a year after the incident at the Reservation, and four months after the government decision, is there still hunting in the Royal Forest or not?

Saturday, 21st of December, we were in the area and the surrounding villages to talk to people about the situation there and the echoes of the incident from December 2013. “No, not too much hunting now. Before, luxury cars often passed by but not anymore. It is controlled and it is not permitted”, says a man from Călineşti. “Not too much hunting. I’ve heard that they do it in secret, people from villages go to hunt but rarely”, says another.  “Since last year, nothing is really heard. Actually, gunshots are heard, but people from the area say it is rabbit hunters”, says a woman who lives right next to the woods. “Nothing is heard. I think they have had enough of it”, says another man. “Hunters haven’t come here for a while now. Since when? About two months. Earlier they used to come almost every week from Chisinau with luxury cars. But gunshots are still heard, supposedly on the pond, at ducks”, says an old woman.

Rabbits, Firecrackers or Trees

The entrance to the Canton Teritorry No. 4 on the Reservation where the fatal hunt for Sorin Paciu took place, was not permitted for us by the rangers who were not legitimate. While walking around the Royal Forest, I came around bison loft, where I met two employees of the Reserve. “Is there still hunting in the RoyalForest?” I asked. “What a stupid question? If you know that I will not answer, why ask?” answered one of them. While waiting for someone, a gunshot was heard.

We approached those two employees of the Natural Reservation again to ask if they know where the shots were heard and whether or not they came from within the Royal Forest. “What shot? I have not heard anything”, jumped to answer one of them. Realizing that the shot was too jarring, his colleague gave another explanation. “Well, the rabbit season is open. People hunt rabbits near the forest. But, it could have been a child throwing a firecracker or a tree that crackles when it is cut… What do you think, that was a gunshot?”

“I Know There is Hunting”

As I walked out from the Reserve, a cart carrying a man and a woman entered, most probably after the woods. In fact, inside the Reserve, dozens of trees freshly deforested can be seen right from the sidewalk. Carts and cars full of wood are circulating, and villagers, once approached on the subject, are ready to tell you who to talk to for “a car of wood”. The man we talked to was sure, that even now in Royal Forest, not only the trees are cut but there is also hunting. “I know there is hunting. Maybe in secret, but there is. I know all the rangers in here”, he boasted.

Officially, however, in the Royal Forest, as in Codri or Plaiul Fagului, there is no longer any hunting. “I do not know what people hear, but I can tell you that, in the RoyalForest, there is no more hunting. Since August, it is a government decision. No hunters were detected there. Pruning trees, probably, the ones that need it”, Ştefan Chitoroagă, Ion Lupu’s successor at Moldsilva, told us.

Paciu and the Quarry

Some people near the Royal Forest do not believe, even to this day, that Sorin Paciu was shot accidentally. Father John, who lives in a coastal village in the Reservation, is certain that he was killed intentionally because of the subterran fight for the Balatina quarry, where Sorin Paciu was a chief last year. “The quarry brings a lot of money”, says the man.

“I have checked this version but it hasn’t been confirmed. If you look at the continuation of the history of that quarry, you will see that if Paciu was the main obstacle there would have been changes. So, everything is ok there, or it was when I investigated the link. Much was said, but we checked each piece of information written by ZdG or communicated by Mocanu”, said Attorney  Alexandru Caraman. Marcel Berco was appointed as Sorin Paciu’s successor as head of the quarry, from Edineț. People from the quarry told us there are leaders in Chisinau, but no one wanted to tell us their names. Marcel Berco also refused to talk about his leaders in the capital and also to talk to us about Sorin Paciu.

Victor MOŞNEAG