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"If you recognize Kosovo, recognize PMR" reads a banner which civil society group Breakthrough unfurled before OSCE in Tiraspol

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - A week after Kosovo unilaterally declared independence without the consent of the state it nominally belongs to, Serbia, civil society activists in Pridnestrovie (Transdniestria) are pointing out parallels with their own situation vis-a-vis Moldova.

Youth group Breakthrough, based in Tiraspol and with branches throughout the length of the unrecognized country, is saying that the precedent now exists for Russia to recognize the independence of South Ossetia and Abkhazia - both bordering Georgia - as well as of Pridnestrovie, which separated from Moldova back when both were part of the Soviet Union.

Parliament agrees that Kosovo can be used as a model for international integration of Pridnestrovie. The potential recognition of independent Kosovo will imply the possibility of self-determination for Pridnestrovie, speaker of the unrecognized republic's parliament Yevgeny Shevchuk said in an interview published in the Thursday issue of the newspaper Kommersant.

Speaker of Parliament Yevgeny Shevchuk, 39, asks why Pridnestrovie's citizens can't have the same rights to democracy as other citizens in Europe.

" - If they recognize that territory and declare that it is the Albanian nation's right to self-determination, a question will arise: why don't Pridnestrovian citizens, who also live in Europe and have held independence referenda, have this right?" he said.

Government sees "new model"

The government of Pridnestrovie, which is home to 550,000 people, said in a statement issued by the PMR Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Kosovo should be "a new model for conflict settlement."

Pridnestrovie's more than 17 years of 'de facto' independence should be recognized internationally, it also said. However, on the other side of the Dniester river, the foreign ministry of Moldova rejected Kosovo's independence declaration, and said it had "no application to our region."

Moldova and Pridnestrovie has been arguing over the future of the territory since before the break-up of the Soviet Union. Moldova initially declared independence on the basis of its "historical and ethnic area", neither of which includes Pridnestrovie. It also declared the World War II Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact to be "null and void", even though this was the only document which originally had bound Moldova to Pridnestrovie as part of a secret division of Eastern Europe between Hitler and Stalin. Later, Moldova apparently changed its mind, laying claim to all of Pridnestrovie although the territory has never been part of Moldova in the past and has no majority Moldovan population. Pridnestrovie's population is resoundingly opposed to being absorbed by Moldova. Following attacks on Pridnestrovie in 1992, Moldova failed to bring the area under its control and Pridnestrovie has ruled itself as an independent country ever since. No other nation has yet recognized its current status.

Hoping for international recognition

For the better part of the past two decades, talks between Moldova and Pridnestrovie have failed to bring the two sides closer. Now, the smaller of the two - Pridnestrovie - sees a future which is based on the will of the people, and looks to Kosovo for a model for how such a new country can obtain a certain level of international recognition.

The Speaker of Pridnestrovie's Parliament, opposition leader Yevgeny Shevchuk from the Renewal party, said: "We believe that a new era started and a new system of international relations was formed the moment part of a country, based on a series of historical developments, decided to live independently, and this country can gain recognition."

In a message of support from Canada, Quebec sovereigntists support the will of the voters in both Kosovo and Pridnestrovie to freely choose their own future in freedom and democracy.

" - A people decides to become a country and other countries recognize that fact," the Parti Quebecois' Daniel Turp said last week. "And in this case what is special is that Serbia is against the independence of one its component parts and ... other countries ignore this objection."

See also:
» PMR Foreign Ministry: "Kosovo sets new model for conflict solving" [1]
» After Kosovo precedent, Transdniestria re-affirms independence commitment [2]
» Transdniestria seeks recognition of its 'de facto' independence [3]