Firm on freedom, PMR President seeks peace, mutual respect

In a candle ceremony for victims of the 1992 war, President Igor Smirnov calls for peace and mutual respect

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - In a public meeting with political parties and citizen groups, President Igor Smirnov called for peace and mutual respect between his country and the Republic of Moldova. At the same time, he defended his country's claim to independence, reminding everyone that the voters in the 17 September independence referendum rejected unification with Moldova by a margin of 94.6%.

The meeting was held in Tiraspol, the unrecognized country's capital, and included a candlelit moment of silence in remembrance of the nearly 1,000 victims whose lives were lost in the 1992 war with Moldova over the disputed territory.

President Igor Smirnov stated that Moldova and Pridnestrovie are two different societies which should live independently, in peace and mutual respect. "However, as long as there exists the economic blockade and no railroad passenger communication, there is nothing to speak about with Chisinau", he said, referring to the measures taken earlier this year by the Moldovan authorities in an attempt to get Pridnestrovie to halt its pursuit of independent statehood.

The Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica (PMR) is called Pridnestrovie for short and known informally as Transdniester or Transnistria. It declared independence on 2 September 1990, but its independence was never recognized by Moldova which fought a war in 1992 to impose its jurisdiction of the territory which is nearly twice the size of Luxembourg.

Meeting participant: "Get rid of Smirnov!"

According to Moldovan news agency Infotag, the meeting with President Igor Smirnov was attended by the leaders of the People's Patriotic Party, Breakthrough (a political party and youth organization), the pro-presidential Respublika party, the Liberal Democratic Party and the country's largest opposition party, Renewal (Obnovleniye). Representatives from civic organizations such as the Union of Russian Communities, Union of the Moldovans, and the Union of the Ukrainians also participated.

Smirnov thanked them for their help and active participation in the preparation and holding of the 17 September independence referendum, and emphasized that now that the Russian State Duma has recognized the referendum, it is necessary to focus on raising the young republic's international image.

This led to a comment from at least one of the participants, who contacted The Tiraspol Times after the meeting:
" - If we are serious about making ourselves known with a good image internationally, the best thing we can do is to get rid of Igor Smirnov," said opposition activist Aleksander Simonenko. "His time is up and we need a new and younger president."

Although he enjoys a high level of personal popularity among domestic voters, Igor Smirnov is seen as an authoritarian leader by Moldova and by many of Moldova's supporters in the West. At Moldova's urging, a number of countries have put pressure on Transdniester and Igor Smirnov in the past two years, starting with a travel ban in 2004 and culminating with a number of customs restrictions which were introduced in March. The measures, which were aimed at punishing its elected leaders and bringing the unrecognized country under Moldovan jurisdiction, have had the opposite effect and foreign analysts now see Igor Smirnov as the likely winner of re-election in December's presidential race.

Four candidates have announced their intention to run for president. (With information from Infotag)