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Marian Lupo wants to end peacekeeping in the PMR buffer zone (Official photo: parliament, RM)

CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) - Moldovan parliament speaker Marian Lupu believes that Pridnestrovie, or Transnistria as he calls it, can only "really be democratized" after Russian troops withdraw, the region "is demilitarized" and certain unnamed structures "suppressing democratic values are closed".
The Moldovan politician gave his statements at a conference in Chisinau, Moldova, today, entitled "Thawing a frozen conflict: Legal aspects of the separatist crisis in Moldova." He did not elaborate on what these unnamed structures are or how they suppress democracy.

" - Although there have been no military actions on the Dniester river for 14 years, this conflict has negative consequences. It is our moral duty to resolve it and only after do we have a basis for European integration," Lupu said.

In 1992 Moldova initiated a military conflict by sending troops to enforce its territorial claim over Pridnestrovie. Fighting ended with the signing of a ceasefire agreement which established a multinational Joint Control Commission (JCC) to ensure safety in the region. The troops in the JCC are provided in roughly equal numbers by Moldova (403 men), Pridnestrovie (411 men) and Russia, with the Russian presence being a bit smaller than that of the other two (385 men). In addition, Ukraine participates with a limited number of soldiers under an observer status.

According to his latest statements, Marian Lupu wants these troops to withdraw. He made no suggestion of what sort of peacekeeping operation could replace them, or if Moldova was even interested in upholding the negotiated ceasefire, insisting only that the peacekeeping troops should withdraw.

Since 1992, the peacekeeping operation has been succesful in preventing any flare-up of the armed conflict. Not a single peacekeeper has lost his life in the past 14 years, causing the mission in Pridnestrovie to be highlighted as an example of one of the world's more successful and effective peacemaking operations.

Moldova committed to dialogue, not use of force

In his statement, Parliamentary Speaker Lupu also insisted that the conflict should be solved through political and civil dialogue rather than through force. Nevertheless, in Tiraspol, the unilateral withdrawal by Moldova's representatives from negotiation talks on 27 February was seen as a forceful move and a rejection of political and civil dialogue. Likewise, less than a week later, the 3 March surprise introduction at Moldova's urging of new customs regulations by Ukraine was also seen as use of force. The move, which was unannounced and not subject to dialogue, attempted to force Pridnestrovie's exporters under Moldovan jurisdiction, and was denounced by Tiraspol's authorities as an "economic blockade."

In Tiraspol, civic activist Petru Gladchi saw Lupu's latest statements as a threat to conflict settlement:
" - These are not constructive comments. He wants the troops gone because they prevent renewed bloodshed. And by preventing fighting, Pridnestrovie can concentrate on nation building instead of on war. By doing so, the government of PMR provides functional services to its citizens, services which it could not provide if it was at war," the NGO organizer said.

" - Naturally, Marian Lupu doesn't want the government of PMR to succeed because that legitimizes it in the eyes of its citizens. When he says that he wants Pridnestrovie "democratized", what he really wants is to delegitimize the currently elected government because it is in favor of continued independence for PMR. If 90% of the population agrees with this government, that still won't matter to Lupu. He wants a government for the 10% which agree with his own personally preferred way of solving the conflict."

" - His comment about wanting to close certain structures which supress democratic values is also ambigious, to say the least. But he could be referring to the OSCE office in Tiraspol," says Gladchi, "which has in the past refused to send observers to oversee local elections and which has already declared that it will not recognize the results of PMR's scheduled 17 September referendum."

Troops dismantle weapons dump with OSCE collaboration

As per the 1992 agreement with Moldova, Russia has a right to keep 2,400 troops in the region. However, today the number of Russian troops has been reduced to just 1,500. Approximately 700 of them are assigning to peacekeeping duties, with between 349 to 360 of those assigned to active duty in the buffer zone at any given time.

The remaining 800 troops are present in Pridnestrovie in order to guard and dismantle an old Soviet-era ammunitions dump in Kolbasna, northern PMR. The majority of the ammunition has by now been removed from Kolbasna under the supervision of OSCE, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Military equipment which was unpractical to remove has undergone on-site destruction. The U.S. State Department has recognized that the process of removal of ex-Soviet munitions and equipment has been carried out with efficiency since 2003.

In his statements to the conference, Marian Lupu reiterated claims by Moldova that Pridnestrovie is "a source of many types of trafficking," although he did not provide any evidence or elaborate on the specific proof of trafficking which, according to his allegations, supposedly originate from landlocked Pridnestrovie.

Despite dealing with Pridnestrovie, no one from Pridnestrovie was invited to the conference, neither from NGOs, the republic's elected government, local government, or civil society. As a result, participants in the conference only heard a pro-Moldovan point of view, with no possibility for Pridnestrovie to presents its view of the situation or its contributions to conflict settlement dialogue.