Ethnic Moldovans want Pridnestrovie's "de facto" independence recognized

The largest group of Moldovans resident in PMR wants independent statehood; rejects unification with Moldova

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - Ethnic Moldovans in Pridnestrovie sent an open letter to Moldova's President Vladimir Voronin, asking him and his government to respect the will of the people and recognize the independent statehood of Pridnestrovie, also known as Transdniester or Transnistria.

" - We consider that the recognition of Pridnestroive as a sovereign and independent state is the best way to quickly and satisfactorily determine the future our countries," said the Union of Moldovans in Pridnestrovie.

" - No matter which citizenship is held by the people who live here, be they Moldovan, Ukrainian or Russian, they all turned out for the national referendum, which passed in the republic on 17 September", said the president of the Union of Moldovans of Pridnestrovie, Valerianus Tulgar.
" - The results of the plebiscite clearly and unambiguously confirmed the wish of our citizens to see their state be independent."

The Union of Moldovans in PMR, a federation of local clubs and civic organizations of Moldovans throughout Pridnestrovie, is strongly supportive of independence. Founded in 1993, it is the largest organization representing the Moldovan minority living in the unrecognized country. Its president, Valerianus Tulgar, is an ethnic Moldovan born in Pridnestrovie.

Full text of the appeal

Olvia Press, the state-owned news agency of PMR, published the text of the statement by the country's ethnic Moldovans. Tiraspol Times has translated the statement, as follows:

"After Pridnestrovie carried out the national referendum on 17 September of this year, the conflict resolution process entered a new phase; that of seeking good neighborly relations between two separate states: Pridnestrovie and Moldova.

The referendum showed the world the will and the wish of the citizens of Pridnestrovie to live in a free and independent state.

Therefore, the civic organization Union of Moldovans in Pridnestrovie now appeals to you, with political will and wisdom, to understand the impossibility of unification of Pridnestrovie and Moldova, and to initiate the process of recognition of Pridnestrovie as a sovereign and independent state.

We are convinced that only the recognition of Pridnestrovie as a republic can maintain peace, create conditions for stable development of the economies of the two sides, and in the final analysis also improvement in the welfare of their populations.

We are convinced also of the fact that any conflict resolution measures, applied from the outside, should not force the people of Pridnestrovie to give up their wish for independence.

Moreover, in the process of the 16 year old conflict, there are many essential and objections reasons which demonstrate that a common, unified state is impossible to achieve:

1. The nullification by Moldova's parliament of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact automatically divided the territory of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1990 into two separate states: The Republic of Moldova and the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica.

2. After the collapse of the USSR, Pridnestrovie was created first, before the creation of the Republic of Moldova. Moldova declared independence one year later, and by then the territory of Pridnestrovie was no longer part of the MSSR.

3. The people of Pridnestrovie were not consulted when the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova was made. Rather, Pridnestrovie is governed by the constitution of PMR, voted into law by the population of Pridnestrovie in a nationwide refrerendum. Forcing the people of Pridnestrovie to live by foreign laws is impossible.

4. Different types of conflict settlement have already been proposed by Pridnestrovie in the past, ranging from a free economic zone to confederation proposals. In return, Moldova answered with military aggression, constant economic pressure, an information war and diplomatic blockades.

5. Pridnestrovie preserves the Moldovan language, using its traditional and historic Cyrillic alphabet, as an official state language, while in Moldova the language is Romanian [written in the Latin alphabet].

6. For 16 years, a new generation has been born and raised here, which only knows one fatherland: Pridnestrovie.

7. There are differences in education, the economy, social culture. This is true in foreign policy and politics as well.

All of the above gives us the proper basis for turning to you with a call to initiate the process of state recognition of the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica as a sovereign and independent sttae.

We consider this the proper and most correct way to satisfactorily determine the future of our countries."

Moldova, which still pursues a territorial claim on what it considers its "Eastern region", is unlikely to consider the plea by the ethnic Moldovans. The Council of Europe, however, stated last year that any determination of status of the area should take the will of the people into account.

Pridnestrovie declared independence in 1990, one year before the formation of the Republic of Moldova. The small country has been de facto independent for the past 16 years. It has its own elected president, its own parliament and its own currency.

In an independence referendum on 17 September, 97% of Pridnestrovie's voters support independence and a full 94% rejected any kind of unification with Moldova. Voter turnout exceeded 78% and the referendum was monitored by more than 130 international election observers who all declared the vote free and fair.

Never recognized by the international community, its territory is disputed by Moldova which has previously barred efforts by the country to obtain international recognition despite the fact that it meets the formal requirements for sovereign statehood under the Montevideo Convention and other aspects of international law. (With information from Olvia Press)

See also:
» Ethnic Moldovans in Pridnestrovie prefer independence over unification with Moldova