Alena Arshinova: "We are prepared to make a sacrifice for sovereign statehood"

Breakthrough's young party leader Alena Arshinova: "We are opposed to the current policy of double standards regarding PMR"

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - The civil society youth group Breakthrough, Proriv in Russian, was founded in 2005 as political youth organization. It quickly rose to become the largest in the country, thanks to a series of protest marches, street happenings and methods modelled on groups like Otpor, Kmara and other participants of colored revolutions in the post-Soviet sphere. On 2 June 2006 it formally registered itself as a political party, enabling its members to stand as candidates in all of Pridnestrovie's elections, local and national.

Breakthrough has a young and mostly female leadership, with Alena Arshinova as president. Young, dynamic and easy on the eyes, Arshinova talks about the work of the combined youth group and political movement in Pridnestrovie. This interview took place on Radio PMR, with a transcript initially published by PMR News.

What makes Breakthrough unique?

" - Breakthrough is the first youth organization in the history of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) which founded its own political party. Breakthrough today operates in all the cities and regions of Pridnestrovie. The majority of our activists are students of local colleges, pupils of different schools, lyceums and gymnasiums, and students of Tiraspol University. Young people are very different, from different social levels, but they all share strong patriotic ideas and all of us are prepared to make a sacrifice for the sake of sovereign statehood and international recognition of our republic."

What are the main political goals of Breakthrough?

" - Independence. We don’t want our people to become victims to outside forces whose goal is to destroy our statehood. We have organized anti-blockade mass meetings. We have also picketed OSCE Mission, criticizing the “double standards” of OSCE- and NATO-countries who support the one sided Moldovan version of the conflict.

Why are we against “double standards”? One word: Kosovo. We have better legal and moral reasons for international recognition of our statehood, but the West keeps silent and prefer to distort the reality. Even so, we know that the people of our country deserve freedom and prosperity."

We supported the 17 September 2006 independence referendum. People expressed their will clearly. Our vector is pro-Russian, even if that doesn't match the strategy of Moldovan puppeteers. Chisinau is under the sway of anti-Russian forces. Moldova itself is currently ruled by Nazi-like regime that violates human rights. This pseudo country has political prisoners. In many ways, Moldova itself is a prison for the people who live there.

Such a situation makes it necessary for us, the people of Pridnestrovie, to find a way to protect ourselves. Breakthrough doesn’t attack anybody. We simply don't need Moldovan European or even American puppeteers. We are proud, and we will solve our problems ourselves."

What do you do except politics?

" - Breakthrough's activists take part in different programs. We attend youth forums and conferences where we represent Pridnestrovie. Our delegates have been part of the international youth meeting “Foros”, and in forums and conferences in Estonia, Kaliningrad, and Abkhazia.

Seminars are also held frequently here, in which political activists, experts, public and religious leaders from different countries of the world take part. As of matter of fact, Pridnestrovie has plenty of friends abroad but their voices can’t be heard through the thick web of lies that are constantly spewed forward from those who follow Washington's official policy [of denying recognition of Pridnestrovie's independence, ed.]."

And you do sports?

" - We won the last two relay races, and our basketball team holds the regional championship. We also do yoga and martial arts."

What does Breakthrough cover?

" - Breakthrough spans the political party, the youth group and a school for grassroots activism, called the Che Guevara High School of Political Leadership. We also publish on the Internet and we have our own newspaper. Breakthrough's goal is to see the population of Pridnestrovie be happy, free and independent. We are in favor of PMR. We want PMR to stay independent."

See also:
» More new parties in Pridnestrovie as youth group joins the fray
» Youth: "OSCE undermines democracy by passing premature judgment"
» Civil society seeks a voice in settlement dialogue

On the web:
» Breakthrough / Proriv