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Communist and Social Democrats came together in Tiraspol to demand the head of PMR President Igor Smirnov and early elections

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - At a large protest rally held in Tiraspol this Saturday, supporters of two leftist parties demanded the resignation of Pridnestrovie's President Igor Smirnov and called for early elections to be held for both president and parliament.

The protest rally was organized jointly by the Social Democrats and by Pridnestrovie's largest Communist Party, the successor to the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU).

Neither of the two parties have substantial voter support and they are not represented in Parliament. Together, they represent between five to ten percent of the local electorate. Nevertheless, Saturday's protest managed to draw a larger-than-expected crowd estimated by one source at around 1,000 people and by the organizers themselves at between 2,000 and 3,000 people.

Local news agency Lenta PMR stated in its coverage that the opposition rally was the largest that Pridnestrovie had ever seen in the young country's 18 year old history.

No support for Moldova

At the protest rally against the Smirnov government, numerous red-and-green national Pridnestrovie flags could be seen next to the traditional red Communist flags as well. However, not a single Moldovan flag could be seen at the protest. The Moldovan flag is legal in Pridnestrovie but is not very popular with anyone, not even with the ethnic Moldovan minority who for the most part supports independence to a degree which is comparable with the support seen in other segments of the population.

Saturday's anti-government protest was peaceful and civilized, with merely angry words against the government but no violence of any kind. No police interference was noted at any time during the event. There were no arrests either, and free political expression is legal in Pridnestrovie.

This year's protest followed a similar meeting held in mid-May 2007, where the PMR Communists for the first time joined forces with former MP Aleksandr Radchenko and his Social Democratic Party of Pridnestrovie. As in 2007, the two parties accused the Smirnov government of negligence and demanded better wages. This year, they also called for the president's immediate resignation and for early elections to be held for the presidency as well as for the unrecognized country's 43-seat Parliament.

In favor of independent statehood

The protesters did not call for an end to Pridnestrovie's de facto statehood or for unification for Moldova, although the Social Democratic Party - alone among the nine political parties in the country - has at times shown a willingness to discuss options with Moldova that could involve a confederation model, thus ending today's status of actual independence which Pridnestrovie currently enjoys.

The Communists, as well as other parties and the majority of voters in general, are staunchly opposed to merging with Moldova or giving up Pridnestrovie's quest for internationally recognized statehood. Although disagreeing with Igor Smirnov on issues such as open free market reforms and liberalization of the economy, Pridnestrovie's opposition parties fully agree on the continued need for independence and sovereignty of Pridnestrovie.

Regardless of political views, they all share the vast majority sentiment of voters who in a September 2006 independence referendum soundly rejected unification with neighboring Moldova.

Pridnestrovie, also known as Transnistria or Transdniester, declared independence from the Communist-dominated MSSR (Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic) in September 1990, following a surprise win earlier that year of forces opposed to the Communist Party in the region's the first-ever democratic elections: Coming as a shock to local Communist leadership, Smirnov beat his official challenger, the First Secretary of the city’s Central Party Committee, Leonid Tsurkan, by a 2-to-1 margin. (Photos: New Region)

See also:
» Opposition and pro-government parties battle each other for voter support [1]
» Communist opposition demands reversal of recent free market reforms [2]