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Pridnestrovie's defense forces (shown here during their 15 year anniversary) successfully held off a Moldovan invasion in 1992.

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - Confidence building and a mutual demilitarization on both sides of the Dniester river are the key steps needed before peaceful co-existence can become a reality. That is the lesson from similar conflicts, based on a study of history and grounded in the guiding principles of international conflict resolution and peacebuilding experience.

Pridnestrovie created its defense forces on 6 September 1991, three days after the 3 September 1991 formation of the Moldova's army and as a direct response to threats made by Moldovan defense minister Ion Costas that the new Moldovan army was created for one main purpose: To destroy the Pridnestrovie's independence and de facto statehood with military force. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees has described Ion Costas' position as "hardline."

When founding its armed forces, both Moldova and Pridnestrovie justified their actions by the right to self-defense under international law. Today, voices of both sides of Dniester river - as well as international organizations, such as the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) - believe that the time has come for demilitarization.

Head of the OSCE Mission to Moldova, Ambassador Louis O'Neill, publicly called on all those involved to "take concrete steps towards arms control and disarmament."

Armies help secure independence, may not be needed afterwards

As an old Russian proverb goes, "if you want peace, prepare yourself for war." The thinking is that a deterrent effect will keep the other side from provoking a war, and as long as you just stay on your side of the border, all will be well. In the case of Pridnestrovie, the proverb didn't work.

In 1992, Moldovan troops crossed the Dniester river, attempting to take control of Pridnestrovie, which had declared independence in 1990. A brief but savage war left 1,000 dead, most of whom were civilians. In the aftermath of the invasion, the findings of the 1993 International Tribunal [1] clearly put the blame at Moldova. The country was found to have committed serious violations of the Geneva Conventions relating to Victims of War, such as rape and torture of civilians and intentional killings of civilians, including women and children.

During the war, Pridnestrovie's troops did not enter into Moldova proper. Pridnestrovie respected the territorial integrity of Moldova, based on its historic and ethnic area, and kept within the borders of the border defined in Pridnestrovie's own constitution.

Historically, armed forces help protect statehood and the sovereignty of new and young states. As the states mature, troop counts can be lowered and some countries - 25 at last count - have even done away with their armies altogether. In its first year of independence, this was the path which Pridnestrovie wanted to take, establishing its own armed forces only as a response after Moldova decided to do the same.

For demilitarization to be effective, it is important to convince not just the leadership of Pridnestrovie but also the people in the street that there is no longer any threat of military action from Moldova. While a threat still looms, volunteers will flock to Pridnestrovie's armed forces to sign up for defending the land which they already fought for in the past and - if opinion polls can be trusted - are willing to die for in the future.

Confidence-building before demilitarization

To create lasting peace among the two sides, demilitarization is a necessary step ... but it is the last step, not the first. Before anyone can discuss demilitarization and be confident of a successful outcome it is necessary to

" - Don't put the cart before the horse," says a leading specialist in peace and future research from a Swedish-based Transnational Foundation, explaining that the first step is to build confidence and a level of trust between the two sides. In doing so, military force can be a deterrent but it must never be viewed as a legitimate way to solve the differences separating the sides.
" - What we need to work with is how to prevent, reduce and abolish violence and war as legitimate means to deal with differences and conflicts."

Lasting peace is created through the continued building of mutual confidence and trust. Only when that happens will it be realistic to start a program of demilitarization, not unilaterally but on both sides of the Dniester. History and international experience shows that this is possible, even in parts of the world which are much more prone to violence and use of military action than Europe. In Latin America, two neighbors - Costa Rica and Panama - have both abolished their armies. There have been no coups or civil wars since then, and no border incursions, with both states respecting the sovereignty of its neighbor.

" - Regardless of whether the goal is unification or a peaceful existence as two independent states, either goal requires confidence building measures. If there is no confidence, the two can never live together in a common state. And living side by side as neighbors, in peace, will also require mutual trust and confidence. Either way you look at it, confidence building measures come first, but this is not exactly what we have seen coming out of Chisinau lately."

In Tiraspol, civil society activist Petru Gladchi agrees and comments that demilitarization is a two-way street:
" - Moldova must demilitarize, too. They have a history of aggression and killings. We don't. They formed their army before we did, and they invaded us. We never invaded them. I am an ethnic Moldovan, but my country is Pridnestrovie and it has never invaded Moldova or any other country for that matter. So if we should demobilize and demilitarize, the least we can ask is that Moldova does the same."

PMR's opposition learning lessons from Asia

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. Forty years ago, in Asia, one of the world's smallest countries declared independence from a much larger and militaristic neighbor. Like Pridnestrovie, where most of the population is Slavic versus just 14% in Moldova, the ethnic composition of tiny Singapore (mainly Chinese) is different from that of its larger neighbor, Malaysia (where most are muslim Malays).

When Singapore declared independence from the larger and ethnically different Malaysia in 1965, distrust was high on both sides of the border. But instead of making a bad situation worse, diplomats and politicians worked around the clock to improve relations:
" - The immediate task of the tiny state in the early independent days was to repair the strained relations created by the separation of Malaysia and Singapore," remembers Lee Khoon Chow, a former ambassador.
" - We had to iron out the soured relations between Singapore and Malaysia after the separation of the two states."

Soon after its proclamation of independence, it looked like Malaysia would not let Singapore continue as an independent state. At this point, Singapore - like Pridnestrovie - was forced to create an army. There was even the risk of war, recalls Lee Khoon Chow:

" - We in Singapore had decided to train its own troops when Malaysian soldiers, who were stationed in Farrer Park camps refused to give way to our growing number of soldiers after independence," says Lee Khoon Chow. "At that time, many were skeptical that Singapore could survive because she had no natural resources, nor market for our goods."

The creation of the Singapore Armed Forces, SAF, helped consolidate the independence of the new country and avoid it backsliding into Malaysia. Today, Singapore describes its armed forces as a deterrent force and a "poisonous-shrimp" - while looking harmless and small, it will destroy any aggressor in a short time, it warns. It is arguably the most modern military in technology in South-East Asia, despite the country's small land mass and population.

Today, with both countries safe in knowledge that the other will respect its statehood, there is no risk of armed conflict between Malaysia and Singapore. They are among each others' largest trading partners and have a healthy, mutually advantageous relationship in trade, tourism and cultural interchange. Years of confidence building measures have paid off, helping to grow the economies of both and lifting them out of their previous state of poverty and structural problems.

The lessons from Asia are not lost on Pridnestrovie's opposition parties. In parliament, opposition leader Yevgeny Shevchuk [2], head of the largest party "Renewal" (Obnovlenie),
" - In our case, we start from the idea that Moldova will geographically remain with us all the time, and we shall be together, either way," says the opposition politician and current Speaker of Pridnestrovie's parliament. "Relying on forceful pressure simply lacks perspective. This is a period which I would like to see in the past as soon as possible, because we need - and so does Moldova - to deal with economic development."

International law: Pridnestrovie has a right to its own army

Under international law, even an unrecognized country such as Pridnestrovie has a right to arm itself and establish a defense force to protect its borders and the inhabitants within them. This principle is codified in the Montevideo Convention on the Rights and Duties of States, an international treaty created in 1933 in Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Among the fathers of the treaty: Then-president of the United States of America, Franklin D. Roosevelt. The United States is still a signatory to the treaty today, along with a number of other countries, and the treaty is the main document governing the creation of new states in international law. Its principles formed a leading role in the shaping of the United Nations Charter.

International law specifically holds that a country does not need recognition by other countries to be a "valid" or "legal" country. It merely has to have a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with the other states. Article 3 of the Montevideo Convention determines that even unrecognized countries are covered by the treaty, noting that "the political existence of the state is independent of recognition by the other states." The same article then proceeds to grant such countries the explicit right to defend itself against agression: "Even before recognition the state has the right to defend its integrity and independence, to provide for its conservation and prosperity, and consequently to organize itself as it sees fit." (Source: Montevideo Convention, Art.3)

There is nothing ‘illegal’ about Pridnestrovie having its own army. It has the right to arm and defend itself, just as the Republic of Moldova also has the right to arm and defend itself. States - whether recognized or not - are juridically equal, enjoy the same rights, and have equal capacity in their exercise. Article 4 of the Montevideo Convention also notes that "the rights of each one do not depend upon the power which it possesses to assure its exercise, but upon the simple fact of its existence as a person under international law," giving small and unrecognized countries the same rights as larger, fully recognized countries as long as both meet the Convention's four basic requirements under the objective test of statehood.

It is unfortunate that small Pridnestrovie has been painted as militaristic, when no proof has ever been put forward of arms production or evidence of any military aggression towards either of its two neighbors, Ukraine and Moldova. At most, the existence of its armed forces is proof that its people feel that their right to self-determination must be defended if ever it becomes threatened again in the future.

For lasting peace to become a reality in this part of South East Europe, demilitarization is necessary. This starts with mutually agreed definitions of confidence building measures which are based on recognized principles of international law and not on the paranoia, phobias or prejudices of one or both parties to the talks.

See also:
» Amid tensions, PMR's armed forces mark 15 year anniversary [3]