Moldova drafts new recruits as part of military expansion plan

Although speaking of peace, Moldova's President Voronin is secretly expanding his military and putting more men under arms

CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) - A leaked recruitment plan from Moldova's military shows expansion in comparison with the previous year, despite talk by Moldova's President Vladimir Voronin that he wants to scale down the country's armed forces.

According to a report by Chisinau news agency Info-Prim Neo, the military service recruitment plan for November and December 2007 will constitute 3,035 recruits, with the majority of them - 1,385 new soldiers - going to the national army.

The expansion of Moldova's military is based on new recruits who come from the Chisinau Municipality, Gagauz-Yeri, Ungheni, Hancesti, Orhei, Cahul, and Balti. These localities are all located in Moldova. None of the recruits come from east of the Dniester, where Transdniestria (officially Pridnestrovie) is located and where the Moldovan government has no territorial control.

In May and June, Moldova also expanded its military with the enrollment of another 3,059 new soldiers. The figure exceeded the target for normal growth and was seen as an aggressive re-armament move by observers of the peacekeeping process.

In order to expand its armed forces even more, the military is pressing the authorities of local public administrations into service. Info Prim Neo reports that they are being used to establish the enrolment plan for each mayoralty. Together with the territorial military centers, they will also ensure the activity of the recruitment commissions and make sure that the goals are met.

Preparations for new war

A small number of Moldovan troops are currently active in Iraq, but most of them are located nationally and Transdniestria has publicly voiced its fears that the Moldovan military's expansion will be used against the strongly independent minded Transdniestria.

Pridnestrovie was part of the Moldavian SSR inside the Soviet Union, but has never been part of the Republic of Moldova.
Pridnestrovie declared independence in 1990, one year before the Republic of Moldova was founded in 1991. Since Moldova became a country, its authorities have maintained a territorial claim to the territory but have not been able to exercise any sovereign control over it.

In 1992, Moldovan troops invaded Pridnestrovie in order to enforce its rule on a reluctant population. The war led to more than 1,000 dead. Fighting was halted with a cease-fire and the introduction of a multilateral peacekeeping force, and since 1992 there have been no further incidents of Moldovan troops crossing over to the other side of the Dniester river, no further loss of lives and no Moldovan rule over Transdniestria.

Just like Moldova's May and June expansion drive exceeded the number of men under arms, the November and December expansion is also intended to create a larger-than-before army, the leaked figures show.

While Moldova is secretly putting more men under arms, Transdniestria is considering an appeal to peacekeepers for a beefed-up presence on the 'de facto' border between the two sides in an attempt to avoid provocations which can lead to the outbreak of a new war.

See also:
» As Moldova aligns with NATO, Transdniester fears new attacks
» Moldova "bogus neutrality" draws fire from Transnistria