Bender Mayor interviewed about War of Independence

In the city of Bender, some houses still have memorial plaques to those who lost their lives in the 1992 war of independence

BENDER (Tiraspol Times) - On Tuesday, the Mayor of Bender, Pridnestrovie's second largest city, spoke with a delegation of French journalists about the city's rebuilding efforts since the war of independence fifteen years ago.

Vyacheslav Kogut briefed the journalists about the history of the town and the events leading up to the 1992 attack by Moldova.

In Mayor Kogut's opinion, the wave of slogans based on ethnic nationalism which were developed in Chisinau during the run-up to independence in 1989 and 1990 were only the visible tip of the iceberg. According to Kogut, much more than mere ethnic nationalism was at stake and "many politicians had murkier purposes."

" - They acted on behalf of the United States, accepting multimillion-dollar financial injections in return for isolating Russia within a kind of 'cordon sanitaire'," says the Mayor, pointing to the outside orchestrated so-called "popular uprisings" which were in reality scripted by specialists in Washington. A self-published timeline from NED, a U.S.-government agency, records with pride the organization’s extensive operations in Eastern Europe.

This sort of financial support for government overthrow has since been confirmed by some of those who were directly involved at the time. Mark Almond, a history lecturer at Oxford University, disclosed in a 2004 article in The Guardian the role of himself and other Western academics:

“ - As an old cold war swagman, who carried tens of thousands of dollars to Soviet-bloc dissidents alongside much better respected academics, perhaps I can cast some light on what a Romanian friend called ‘our clandestine period’. Too many higher up the food chain of People Power seem reticent about making full disclosure…"

" - Throughout the 1980s, in the build-up to 1989's velvet revolutions, a small army of volunteers - and, let's be frank, spies - co-operated to promote what became People Power. A network of interlocking foundations and charities mushroomed to organize the logistics of transferring millions of dollars to dissidents. The money came overwhelmingly from NATO states and covert allies such as ‘neutral’ Sweden."

Mark Almond later became disillusioned with the fruits of Washington-funded ‘people power’ after seeing how it subverted true democracy and made a mockery of self-determination. Today, he is committed to Pridnestrovie's democratic development under constitutionality and the rule of law. Having been a foreign election observer in Pridnestrovie in 2000, 2005 and 2006, he now supports democracy in its fullest expression and the inalienable right of all people to self-determination and the pursuit of sovereign independence without outside interference.

Real People Power, Bender-style

The population of Pridnestrovie - which is also known internationally as Transdniester, or Transnistria - refused to adhere to the script and follow the Moldovan/Romanian plan. It declared independence in 1990, but its independence was never recognized by Moldova and in 1992 Moldova invaded Bender as the first step in a plan to take over Pridnestrovie and crush the separatists.

The French journalists wanted to know how the inhabitants of Bender, for the most part civilians, were able to fight back the Moldovan military units. Romania maintained a daily supply line of arms and ammunition to Moldova during the war, and the inhabitants of Bender were clearly outgunned and outnumbered. To this question, Vyacheslav Kogut gave a very simple answer: "We were defending our homes."

In the battle of Bender, the inhabitants of the city did not receive any support from Russia until late in the war. It wasn't until 17 July 1992 that active involvement by the Russian 14th Army was able to contain the sides and enforce a cease-fire agreement.

Bender is unique among Pridnestrovie's main cities in that it lies on the right bank of the Dniester river, in what is traditionally Moldovan territory - unlike the rest of Pridnestrovie, which has no historical ties to Moldova and has never been part of an independent Moldovan state at any time in history.

The vast majority of Bender's population are ethnic Slavs, not Moldovans, and in a referendum in 1990 they voted to join Pridnestrovie rather than to stay in Moldova. Similar, but much smaller, pockets of Moldovan villages lie on the left bank of the Dniester river, in traditional Pridnestrovian territory. In cases where they inhabitants preferred to voluntarily subject themselves to Moldovan rule, Pridnestrovie has respected that as a democratic right to self-determination and the border is drawn so it does not include these villages. Similar border situations are found between Holland and Belgium, with no serious disturbances or problems of any kind under international law.

Successful peacekeeping and ceasefire compliance

Bender's Mayor explained to the journalists that as a border city, located in the buffer zone dividing the two sides, successful peacekeeping activities are one of his city's largest concerns. During the past fifteen years of maintaining the ceasefire agreement, it is thanks to the current peacekeeping contingent that fighting has not flared up again. Not a single life has been lost to conflict in the past fifteen years, said Vyacheslav Kogut, and that is testimony to the effectiveness of the peacekeeping mission.

It is made up of troops from four countries: Moldova, Russia, Pridnestrovie and Ukraine. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, OSCE, also participates with oversight.

"- Today, we honestly don't understand why Chisinau wants to change the composition of the current peacekeeping operation," said Vyacheslav Kogut. "We can't allow them to do so unilaterally, considering what it would cost us."

Left unspoken, the Mayor of Bender fears a flare-up in the tense situation on the border between Moldova and Pridnestrovie, and renewed bloodshed. Until a status settlement for Pridnestrovie has been negotiated, the situation will remain unstable and only a strict adherence to the mutually agreed rules of the peacekeeping format can guarantee that the standoff doesn't boil over and that lives are not lost again.

The delegation of French journalists wrapped up their visit to Bender with a tour of the 1992 War Museum followed by a solemn visit to Bender's Memorial of Remembrance and Mourning.

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