EU confirms absence of weapons smuggling

Ferenc Banfi, head of the European Union's Border Assistance Mission (photo: EUBAM)

ODESSA (Tiraspol Times) - No sign of weapons. That is the definitive statement from the European Union, after having monitored the border for nearly a year.

In a press conference in Odessa on 18 October, EU general Ferenc Banfi, head of the European Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM), made it clear that not a single shipment of weapons from Pridnestrovie had been detected.

" - On the basis of our available information it is possible to draw the conclusion that there are no signs of weapons smuggling", stated Banfi.

EUBAM started its operations in November 2005, with more than a hundred international experts on the ground and the collaboration of the border patrols of neighboring countries. After an initial expenditure of nine million euros, no evidence of weapons smuggling or arms trafficking, legal or illegal, has been uncovered and there is no reason to believe that it ever existed at any point point in time.

" - There are no signs of weapons smuggling from the Transnistrian region," repeated EUBAM head Ferenc Banfi, referring to Pridnestrovie by its Romanian name, Transnistria.
" - From the moment of the beginning of the work of the border mission we have found no evidence of any weapons smuggling."

He pointed out that smuggling of frozen chicken is still a problem, and reported that in the first two weeks of October alone, illicit meat smuggling worth $132,567 had been seized at the border. The American-produced chicken products are part of a re-export ring which attempts to evade Ukrainian customs duties.

Border mission termed "a success"

The evaluation concluded that the joint operation was a success due to the improved cooperation between the sides. One of the lessons learned is that even deeper cooperation between the national agencies on both sides of the border will yield good results for future operations. Another is that the growing use of risk analysis techniques is bearing fruit.
" - Risk analysis coupled with good information exchange is the foundation for a modern border control system and the results achieved in this operation demonstrate their value", said Ferenc Banfi.

During the sixteen years since it declared independence, Pridnestrovie - also known as Transdniester - has been closely watched by American, European and CIS observers. Three nations participate in an international peacekeeping missions, while five countries are present in the so-called "5+2" status talks. Despite this international involvement, not a single country has ever uncovered any evidence or facts of any kind that Pridnestrovie produces or exports weapons to the rest of the world.

The recent EUBAM findings, highlighting a complete lack of weapons smuggling, match similar results recently reported by other international organizations. A report recently published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), gives Pridnestrovie - which is called Transdniestria in the text - high marks for arms control. It confirms that the country does not produce weapons, and is not involved in arms smuggling and trafficking of any kind.

In their government-funded survey, British weapons inspectors and arms experts confirm that there is currently transparency and good levels of co-operation with the government of the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica (PMR) in the field of weapons control.

EUBAM seen as positive by all sides

EUBAM, the EU Border Assistance Mission, was launched on 30 November 2005. Part of its mission covers Pridnestrovie.

Its mandate allows it to observe customs clearance and to make unannounced on-the-spot checks at all border crossing points, along the green border, and inland at customs posts and other relevant locations such as the main transit ports.

Founded at the request of Ukraine and Moldova, all parties in the region see EUBAM's activities as helping, not hurting, the moves towards settling the issue of Pridnestrovie's statehood. In Tiraspol, the capital of the country, its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Valeri Litskai, is on record for lauding the positive contribution of EUBAM to clearing up myth and false claims about the alleged involvement of PMR government in smuggling, while EUBAM itself sees its role as a stabilizing factor.

" - Effective border management will contribute to enhanced stability and less opportunities for illicit activity. This should contribute, in turn, to a more favourable political environment for settling this outstanding issue," says an official EUBAM statement related to the conflict, noting that "an overall solution can only be achieved at the political level, to which the EU is also separately contributing, notably by having recently joined the 5+2 negotiations aimed at resolving this frozen conflict."

The EU mission has 158 people working for it, including 101 international experts from 16 European Union (EU) nations and three countries from the Commonwealth of Independent States, CIS. The budget until the end of 2007 (when EUBAM anticipates that its mission will finish) is €20 million.

Although EUBAM only covers land borders, this is the only way for exports to leave the country. Pridnestrovie is landlocked and has no access to the sea. Nor does it have any civilian or cargo airports, and its airspace is controlled by neighboring Moldova and Ukraine. No cargo arrives or leaves Pridnestrovie by air. By a joint agreement with Moldova, following the establishing of a ceasefire that year, no airplanes have arrived in Pridnestrovie since 1992.

Unfounded weapons claims refuted

In a war of words, Moldova has continuously accused Pridnestrovie of being a "black hole" and a center of an arms trade worth a reputed $2 billion. However, on 22 July, Moldova's president Vladimir Voronin referred to the claims using past tense, indicating that the problem - if it ever existed - is no longer an issue.

Voronin's statements followed remarks by former OSCE Ambassador William Hill in Chisinau in June who categorically stated that there is no evidence of any weapons manufacture or weapons export from Pridnestrovie. In a press conference, the American head of the Moldovan OSCE mission refuted all claims of weapons smuggling, noting that the first six months of EUBAM missions had seen no signs of weapons, and that smuggling was limited to an unusually high amount of frozen chicken legs.

In February 2006, an international team of arms inspectors toured factories in Tiraspol and Bender which Moldova claimed were producing weapons. In their report to the international community these observers reported that no evidence of any arms production had been found.

A report by Radio Free Europe attributes the unsubstantiated claims of weapons smuggling to destabilizing efforts by the Moldovan government to increase pressure on Pridnestrovie at a time when the unrecognized country is seeking formal recognition and integration into the international community.

Pridnestrovie has continually denied the allegations, pointing to a complete lack of evidence and the exaggerated nature of the claims.
" - Not a single country in the world sells $2 billion dollars' worth of weapons, let alone undetected. That is a huge amount of money," says Igor Smirnov, Pridnestrovie's president whose current term expires in December. (With information from EUBAM)

See also:
» UN Report clears Transdniester of weapons smuggling;
Praises transparency and co-operation
» Moldova repeats weapons claims against PMR;
now as a "thing of the past"