Majority of Moldovans willing to accept Transnistria's independence

Most Moldovans are OK with granting independence to Transnistria, which celebrated its 17th independence day on 2 Sept (shown)

CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) - A majority of Moldovans are now willing to grant independence to Transnistria. This is the result of the latest Moldovan opinion poll carried out by the CBS-AXA Center for Sociological Research and Marketing. The Chisinau-based polling firm presented its the survey findings at a news conference in Chisinau on 13 September at the Infotag news agency.

68% of all Moldovans polled are willing to grant Transnistria independence if such a divorce is necessary for the process of Moldova's integration with Europe.

CBS-AXA Executive Director Ion Jigau said the research was held from 25 August to 3 September 2007 in a total of 60 towns and villages, including the capital Chisinau and Moldova's second largest city, Balti. It covered a total of 1,094 persons. It did not include anyone from Transnistria, which has never been a functional part of the Republic of Moldova since Moldova declared its own independence in 1991.

Most of the interviewed people also stated they did not trust either the judiciary or political parties in the contemporary Moldova. The institutions having the populace's highest trust are the Church and the mass media, the poll revealed.

According to its findings, Moldovans do not believe they are able to influence on decision-making at the local or central level.

No EU membership for Moldova until Transnistria is free

There can be no European Union membership for Moldova until Transnistria has officially gotten its freedom and Moldova has relinquished its claim to the strongly independent-minded area which is located to the East of the Dniester River and which has historically not been part of Moldova.

Although Romania is in favor of EU membership for Moldova, others in the European Union say that this can not happen before the territorial conflict with Transnistria is resolved.

" - It would be unwise to accept Moldova as a member of the EU before the issue of Transdniestria is resolved," Czech President Vaclav Klaus said at a European-wide summit in May.
Comparing Moldova's situation to Cyprus, Klaus said, "Trying to accept another Cyprus that will be divided into two parts, making a similar mistake in the case of Moldova, would be unwise." Klaus said a similar solution was preferred by Moldovan President Vladimir Voronin, who declared in his speech to the summit that it was impossible for Moldova to be integrated with the EU until the issue of Transdniestria was resolved.

Moldova now wants to be a member of the EU more than it wants to keep its un-enforcable territorial claim on Transnistria. In Moldova, there is no strong nationalist sentiment which is felt towards Transnistria, or the need for Moldova to include Transnistria in the country: An earlier opinion poll in Moldova revealed that a majority of the population considers EU-membership very important, whereas only 4.3% considers "the Transnistria problem" important.

Transnistria is the Moldovan/Romanian name for the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica, or PMR, which declared its independence in 1990. Although it is 'de facto' ruled as a separate and sovereign country, Moldova never accepted its independence and has consistently sought to impose its own dominance over the area; with no luck.

In a referendum held last year, 97% of all voters in Pridnestrovie (its official, constitutional name) endorsed independence and separate statehood, while 94% rejected any form of a union with Moldova outright. The referendum was monitored by 130 international election observers who declared the process free and fair. Turnout was 79%.

See also:
» Moldova should choose Europe instead of Transdniester
» EU membership for Moldova tied to Transdniester settlement, independence
» Moldova in EU but without Transdniestria

Opinion and commentary:
» Independent Transdniestria good for Moldova