"Peacekeepers must leave", says Moldova's foreign minister

With no loss of lives for 14 years, the existing peacekeeping format ranks among the most successful in the world

NEW YORK (Tiraspol Times) - Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign and European Integration Minister Andrei Stratan has expressed concern over what he calls "the inefficiency of the existing peacekeeping mechanism in Transdniestria".

His comments were part of a talk given at the 61st UN General Assembly session on Tuesday, the press service of the Moldovan Foreign Ministry told the press.

Without providing any details of just how he thinks the peace should be kept, he merely spoke in favor of replacing it with a vague "multiethnic peacekeeping mission with an international mandate."

" - But hold on here for a second," says Anatol Tarlev, a translator in Chisinau. "The existing peacekeeping mission is already a multiethnic peacekeeping mission with an international mandate. Either the minister doesn't know what he is talking about, or he is trying to deceive the United Nations. One of the two."

Peacekeeping in the buffer zone between Moldova and Transdniester is monitored by the Joint Control Commission, a tri-lateral peacekeeping force and joint military command structure. It was established when Moldova's president signed a cease-fire agreement on 21 July 1992 and consists of troops from Moldova, Transdniester and Russia, as well as Ukrainian military observers. Moldova currently supplies 403 men to the force, Transdniester 411 men and Russia just 385 men. Moreover, the OSCE also has a local observation mission and participates in all Joint Control Commission meetings. The current peacekeeping mechanism is a multi-state mission equipped with an international mandate, which began deployment on 29 July 1992.

Undisputed success

When compared to other peacekeeping missions - such as Kosovo, or the UN mission to Lebanon - the multinational force on the Dniester is an undisputed success story. In its fourteen years of operation is has acted within its mandate and has prevented further blodshed in the disputed region.

Thanks to the presence of the international team of peacekeepers there has been no flare-up in hostilities and no further loss of lives since 1992. The facts speak for themselves, says a peacekeeper on active duty in the buffer zone: "I know of no other peacekeeping mission anywhere in the history of the world which has such a stellar record."

In 1992 Moldova initiated a military conflict by sending troops to enforce its territorial claim over Pridnestrovie, starting a brief war which ended with more than 1,000 dead and resulted in a ceasefire agreement which has held till now.

" - We are forced to keep the peace," says Tarlev. "Both Moldova and Transnistria participate with troops in the current format, so one way or the other, they are forced to get along. The participation of the Russians, the Ukrainians and the OSCE makes sure of that. No one can start shooting, not ever again."

Pridnestrovie - also known as Transdnister, or Transnistria in Romanian - declared independence in 1990. Moldova never recognized the validity of this independence declaration and sent troops to enforce what it sees as its righful sovereignty over the territory. Since its 1992 defeat it has continued to press its territorial claim and has engaged in an information war aimed at isolating Pridnestrovie internationally.

An independence referendum was held in on 17 September, with 97.1% of voters supporting continued independence. In a second question, only 3.4% of voters approved the possibility of abandoning Pridnestrovie's de facto independence and instead yielding to Moldova's territorial claim and becoming part of the Republic of Moldova. A full 94.6% of the electorate rejected unification with Moldova. Voter turnout was 78.6%. (With information from Interfax)

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» Moldova wants int'l peacekeepers to leave