Ron Paul wins in Transdniestria

Voters in Transdniestria (shown) believe that a Ron Paul presidency will bring about a safer world with more respect for freedom

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - If Transdniestria could vote in the U.S. Presidential election, Ron Paul would win. So says local journalist Roman Konoplev, editor-in-chief of news agency Lenta PMR, after polling voters and publishing a comparative analysis of the candidate's foreign policy positions.

Paul, a ten-term Congressman from Texas, is seeking the Republican Party's nomination for the U.S. Presidency on a platform of a non-interventionist foreign policy which respects democracy and the right to self-determination.

" - What this means, for us, is that he will not make it U.S. policy to oppose our freedom and independence," says Roman Konoplev. "Instead, the issue will be decided strictly on the basis of legal principles. And according to international law, we have the same right to independent statehood as our two neighbors, Moldova and Ukraine, and as a number of other countries which also declared independence in the breakup of the Soviet Union nearly twenty years ago."

Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul is the top choice for Transdniestria, where the population overwhelmingly wants freedom and independence. "A Ron Paul win would mark a return to moral principles in foreign relations and the respect for international law," says a local political analyst.

Paul serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and his foreign policy positions have always advocated freedom for the citizens of the former Soviet Union. During the Cold War, Ron Paul led the Texas Delegation to nominate Ronald Reagan for president. The Reagan presidency played a key role in bringing an end to the Soviet Union.

Transdniestria, which is officially named Pridnestrovie according to its constitution, but which is also known under names such as Trans-Dniester and Transnistria, was lumped together with Moldova as part of the Soviet Union from 1940 to 1990. In 1990, Transdniestria declared independence, with Moldova doing the same one year later, in 1991.

The international community recognized Moldova's independence declaration but failed to do the same for Transdniestria, which today has the status of unrecognized country and lacks UN membership, a position similar to that of Taiwan.

Moldova maintains a territorial claim over the disputed territory, even though Moldova officially denounced the 1940 merger of Transdniestria and Moldova inside the Soviet Union as illegal. The 1940-1990 union of the two sides, based on Stalin's and Hitlers "Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact", took place by force and did not involve a referendum. It was declared "null and void ab initio" ("from the outset") by Moldova's parliament in the Republic of Moldova's own 1991 independence declaration.

Freedom for Transdniestria if that is what its people want

Ron Paul advocates a non-interventionist foreign policy, and is against U.S. military involvement in areas that represent no direct threat to America. In line with the official foreign policy objectives of Transdniestria, which were approved by the country's Parliament in 2005, Ron Paul is against the expansion of NATO and instead supports the idea of strong national sovereignty.

Tiraspol-based journalist Roman Konoplev, editor in chief of news agency Lenta PMR, spearheads the campaign for Ron Paul in the new and emerging country.

On 15 October 2007, Paul introduced the American Freedom Agenda Act of 2007, which among other things would "bar the use of evidence obtained through torture; require that federal intelligence gathering is conducted in accordance with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA); prohibit kidnapping, detentions, and torture abroad; and protect journalists."

" - Ron Paul also supports free trade, which is important for a small country like ours that relies heavily on our industrial base, our manufacturing capabilities and our exports," says Konoplev. "Transdniestria already has commercial relations with 99 countries around the world, and we want to increase our trade and create win-win relations with others who want to do business with us on a free, open and peaceful basis."

" - Ron Paul is also against excessive taxation," explains Konoplev, "and that, too, brings him 100% in sync with Transdniestria. Here, today, we now have a 10% flat tax. But if we come under Moldova's rule, taxes will shoot through the roof. Independence and low taxes go hand in hand," he says.

Officially called Pridnestrovie, but also known as Transdniester or Transnistria, the 'de facto' independent country is located near the Black Sea between Moldova and Ukraine. It declared independence in 1990, one year before Moldova.

" - It is also significant that he respects the right of people all over the world to choose their own future, and their own way forward," adds Roman Konoplev. "This means freedom for Transdniestria if that is what the people want, with no foreign interference or any outsiders telling them why they can not be free."

The small country's 550,000 people are overwhelmingly pro-independence. In a September 2006 referendum, which participating international observers said was free and fair, they voted 97% for independence and 94% against integration with Moldova.

Warnings of "soft fascism"

Other issues that Konoplev says resonate with Transdniestrians include Ron Paul's support for Constitutional rights, freedom of the Internet, and habeas corpus for political detainees.

On Friday, the news editor ran a front page story for Lenta PMR on Paul's positions, detailing how the candidate's concerns over U.S. policy coincide closely with opinions expressed locally by the populace of Transdniestria.

In addition, the article covered FBI's latest $1 billion effort to build the world's largest computer database of peoples' physical characteristics, a biometrics database which critics say will diminish the privacy rights of all Americans as well as foreigners who are unlucky enough to be caught up in it.

" - There are signs of fascism in the way that the American government wants to control its people more and more every day," says Roman Konoplev, who remembers growing up under Soviet rule and who later lived in both Sweden and Norway before moving back to Transdniestria.

" - The Soviet Union would have loved to be able to do the same, but it couldn't and now it is gone. Now that we are free, we want to stay that way. I can guarantee you that our population is now too well-informed and educated to never accept such a thing. It smacks of creeping fascism," he adds.

In December, Ron Paul told NBC's Meet the Press that the United States has adopted fascist leanings. Changes in the country's tone, says the Congressman, such as the Patriot Act, questioning dissenters' patriotism during the war, and civil liberties abuses indicate "soft fascism."

" - We're moving in that direction," warns Ron Paul. "We're not moving toward Hitler-type fascism, but we're moving toward a softer fascism. Loss of civil liberties, corporations running the show, big government in bed with big business. So you have the military industrial complex, you have the medical industrial complex, you have the financial industry, you have the communications industry. They go to Washington and spend hundreds of millions of dollars."

" - That's where the control is," says the Congressman. "I call that a soft form of fascism - something that's very dangerous."

Civil liberties concerns like these have also led Ron Paul to oppose the Patriot Act, a national ID card, federal government use of torture, and domestic surveillance.

" - And on foreign policy, he has a clear and tolerant attitude that freedom must come first," says Roman Konoplev. "As long as we respect the right of our neighbors to independence, we also expect them to respect our own right to be independent, too. The same rules for everyone, and a strict adherence to international law. That is what creates stability. A Ron Paul presidency will be the best guarantee of freedom for Transdniestria and stability in the Black Sea region."

'De facto' independent country

Transdniestria has never been part of an independent Moldovan state at any time in the past, and has a non-Moldovan majority which speaks a different language from Moldova.

Since 1990, Transdniestria has governed itself as a "de facto" independent country with its own government, democratically elected free market president, and a parliament which is led by an opposition party.

Several recent studies point out that Transdniestria already meets the requirements for statehood under international law. It has a defined territory which is larger than Luxembourg, a permanent population twice the size of Iceland's, a democratic government, and a Foreign Ministry which seeks peaceful relations with other members of the international community.

The new and emerging country also has its own flag, passports, a Central Bank, its own currency, and issues its own stamps. It has a health care system, a national army, a border service, postal system, and a large national university. Transdniestria has its own license plates, a Constitution, a Supreme Court and a national anthem. Broadband internet (ADSL) reaches all homes throughout the length of the country.

Now, the 18 year old nation puts its hopes on Ron Paul.

" - A Ron Paul win would mark a return to moral principles in foreign relations and the respect for international law," says local political analyst Sergei Ilchenko, a former resident of Chisinau (Moldova) who moved to Transdniestria's capital Tiraspol and now supports the right of the young state to become a member of the international community. "In foreign policy, the world needs fewer double standards, less hypocrisy and more realism that takes the facts on the ground into account. Ron Paul brings fresh hope to the rest of the world."

See also:
» Can a country legally exist if it is "self-proclaimed"..?
» After freedom and reform, Pridnestrovie says it is no longer Communist
» Pridnestrovie tax reform brings 3½-fold increase in revenue
» Gold ownership legal, retail sales by PMR banking sector

Opinion and commentary:
» Rethinking America's Transdniester policy
» Memo to State: Face up to reality

On the web:
» 'Pridnestrovie.net' country profile
» 'Lenta PMR' news agency