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Pridnestrovie's parliament played host to the President's press conference with BBC and wire service correspondents

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - Speaking to foreign journalists before Pridnestrovie's upcoming 17th annual independence celebrations, PMR President Igor Smirnov said confirmed that the population of the unrecognized country are solidly united behind the quest for internationally recognized independent statehood.

" - There is no other way than autonomy and independence," the independence leader said.

A total of 45 local and foreign journalists took part in the press conference which was held in the assembly hall of Pridnestrovie's Parliament in Tiraspol, the republic's capital.

Igor Smirnov blamed the economic blockade by Moldova for losses which so far totals $565 million dollars over the past year and a half.

Igor Smirnov, the democratically elected president of Pridnestrovie, shown here during Friday's press conference inside the parliament building.

Commenting on the stalled status settlement talks in the “5+2” format, Igor Smirnov noted that thanks to Moldova, negotiations had stopped. Moldova walked away from the peace talks in February 2006, just days before unilaterally imposing customs regulations which Pridnestrovie sees as an economic blockade.

Smirnov said his government they were ready for talks in a five-plus-two format, involving Moldova, Pridnestrovie, Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE, and the the U.S. and EU as observers. At the same time he urged Moldova to stick to earlier agreements which it had signed, in particular a 1997 deal under which Pridnestrovie has the freely import and export according to its own rules and not those of Moldova.

" - Until Pridnestrovie's economic independence is fully restored, as provided for under the 1997 memorandum, and earlier signed agreements with Moldova, no serious negotiations can take place," Igor Smirnov said at the press conference. Negotiators from Pridnestrovie have previously refused to be blackmailed and forced to negotiate under conditions of economic pressure tactics, boycotts and blockades.

Pridnestrovie's future depends on its people

Asked by BBC about the future of Pridnestrovie, Igor Smirnov stressed that nothing can be decided without letting the affected population have a say. He told the press conference that behind people’s back it will be impossible to solve anything and not a single agreement can be reached that way.

He pointed out that the people of Pridnestrovie had never been given a choice or asked about their own destiny before the referendum in which they themselves declared independence and created their republic. Before that, the Pridnestrovian people had been included in the Moldavian SSR without anyone asking them if they wanted it. They had been united with Bessarabia against their will, and even today Moldova is trying to "solve" the conflict without asking the Pridnestrovian people about their opinion or even attempting to speak about democracy.

" - We have at least as many rights as Kosovo to self-determination," Igor Smirnov also said.

Smirnov placed in doubt a recent statement made by Moldovan president Vladimir Voronin, who said that the Transnistria issue (its Romanian-language name) was close to a settlement.

" - The populations of Moldova and Pridnestrovie have different mentalities, ideologies and different ideals," the President said, adding that a new generation had grown up only knowing the republic and not knowing what it is like to be part of another country; be it Moldova or the Soviet Union.

Voters want independence

During the September referendum last year, 97% of the population of Pridnestrovie voted for independence and closer ties with Russia.

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty asked Igor Smirnov about human rights hearings at the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly which relied on testimony by members of the now-released Ilie Ilascu group. Pridnestrovie considers the group a terrorist organization since it advocated political killings and the violent overthrow of government, and its members were convicted of carrying out two political murders.

" - In this case, human rights are being discussed by convicted terrorists. They killed an MP, a deputy of the Moldovan Parliament," said Igor Smirnov, referring to one of the two victims of the Ilascu group who at the time of his murder had been elected a member of the parliament of the MSSR in Chisinau, representing voters from the left bank. "To us, these men are just killers."

Relations between Moldova and Pridnestrovie have been tense since 1990, when both Moldova and Pridnestrovie sought independence from the "Moldavian SSR" (MSSR), created by Josef Stalin in World War II to be a hybrid republic within the Soviet Union.

A multilateral contingent of peacekeepers safeguard a buffer zone between the two since a Moldovan invasion ended in defeat in July 1992, and the negotiation process has been frozen since February 2006.

See also:
» Igor Smirnov: "We have a stronger case for statehood than Kosovo" [1]
» Igor Smirnov, Pridnestrovie's "Khozyain" President [2]
» Igor Smirnov: "What matters first of all is the opinion of the people who live here" [3]