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PMR adheres to Hague Convention against aircraft hijackings
Pridnestrovie's parliament has passed a resolution binding the unrecognized country to the provisions of the Hague Convention against "skyjackings". The move comes in advance of plans for re-opening Tiraspol's airport for commercial flights. Pridnestrovie also recently passed a law outlawing terrorist activity and financing.
Tiraspol's airport, seen here from space, has a 2.5 km runway but is currently not operating (Satellite-photo by Google Maps)TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - It doesn't have an operating airport. And as an unrecognized country, it can't enter into international treaties. But that didn't stop Pridnestrovie's parliament from passing a resolution adhering to the principles of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, better known as the 1970 Hague Convention.
Signed in the Hague, on 16 December 1970, the convention covers what constitutes hijacking and guidelines for what is expected of governments when dealing with hijackings of civilian aircraft.
Parliament Speaker Yevgeny Shevchuk said, “Voicing its position on the Convention, Pridnestrovie assumes international obligations.”
Aircraft hijacking (also known as skyjacking and aircraft piracy) is the take-over of an aircraft, by a person or group, usually armed. In most cases the pilot is forced to fly according to the orders of the hijackers.
" - Support for the Hague Convention by an unrecognized country can not have any binding legal force. However, it shows that Pridnestrovie is committed to international standards and principles," the Tiraspol-based New Region Press reported members of parliament as saying.
- Re-opening of Tiraspol's airport
Under the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft, each state-signatory to the convention has a commitment to impose severe penalties on perpetrators, reports the PMR Parliamentary press service.
According to the official resolution, PMR is "expressing its readiness for international collaboration in the sphere suppressing criminality and providing airline safety."
One of the reasons for passing the resolution on skyjackings is the possible re-opening of Tiraspol's LUTR airport. The airport is currently closed to scheduled flights and other civilian aviation, but it is planned to open it in the future. When it opens it is necessary that the proper legal framework is in place so that swift international action can be taken if a terrorist group decides to order a hijacked plane to land at Tiraspol airport.
Tiraspol's airport has the IATA code "LUTR". Its runway is 2500 meters long by 40 meters wide. It has not been used since 1992.
Prior to this resolution, Parliament has passed other resolutions setting forth the position of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic on three other international instruments:
- the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism
(concluded at Strasbourg on 27 January 1977),
- the International Convention against the Taking of Hostages
(adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 17 December 1979), and
- the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism
(adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations on 9 December 1999).
In April, Pridnestrovie's parliament passed a local law against terrorism. The law stipulates punishment for recruitment to a terrorist organization and for public incitement to terrorism, and outlaws all terrorist activity and financing.
See also:
» Pridnestrovie joins global war on terror
» In Voronkovo, a secret military base is now farmland
On the web:
» Satellite photos of Tiraspol LUTR
» Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (Hague Convention)
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The government of Pridnestrovie has proposed a solution on Permanent Status Negotiations that will be based on consensus with Moldova. Its government sees little or no point in signing an unequal treaty which mostly favors just one of the sides, its Foreign Ministry said. The dispute over Pridnestrovie's territory has lasted almost 18 years. . . 
