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Valeri Litskai, Foreign Minister of Pridnestrovie: "Minorities have a right to be heard at the United Nations"

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - Claiming that Moldova is a threat to security and stability in the region, PMR's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Valeri Litskai, explains that a recent United Nations petition aims to show who initiated the 1992 war between the two sides, and who was responsible for turning an estimated 100,000 Pridnestrovie-residents into refugees.

Earlier, the "Commonwealth for Democracy and Rights of Nations" between Pridnestrovie, South Ossetia and Abkhazia issued a joint petition to the United Nations. This was in direct response to a joint Moldovan-Georgian proposal to introduce the issue of frozen conflicts on the UN General Assembly's agenda.

" - This is the first time Georgia and Moldova tried to manipulate the international community into having the UN impose sanctions on unrecognized countries. Unlike other international organizations, the UN has the option of applying pressure both militarily and through economic sanctions. We were forced to make a joint petition which is now introduced in the UN, urging the General Assembly to initiate discussion of the issue while taking into account our position as well."

Unsurprisingly, Moldova feels that Pridnestrovie - and not Moldova - is a threat to security and stability in the region. But officials in Tiraspol point out that small and landlocked PMR has never attacked anyone, and that its foreign policy is merely aimed at securing the independence which 97% of voters approved in a recent 17 September 2006 referendum. In the same vote, 94% of the local population refused unification with Moldova. Even the vast majority of local ethnic Moldovans are in favor of independence and opposed to a joint state between the two sides of the Dniester. Historically, Pridnestrovie has never been part of Moldova, and unlike Moldova, it has a Slavic, Russian-speaking majority.

It is telling, believes one analysts, that of the approximately 100,000 refugees in 1992, only about 1% went to Moldova. The other 99,000 fled to Ukraine and Russia.

Let both sides be heard

Stressing that it is important for both sides of a conflict to be heard, Pridnestrovie - which is internationally known as Transdniester, or Transnistria - has asked for equal time in the press to let the world know how it feels about who iniated the military conflict of 1992.

" - Moldova attacked us, simply for wanting the same thing that Moldova had: Freedom and independence as a sovereign country," said Litskai, himself a pre-1990 refugee from Chisinau.

" - When we saw the MIG 29 bombers attacking our civilian neighborhoods and killing our people indiscriminately, we merely responded. We never invaded Moldova, and we never attacked them. But we were forced to defend our declaration of independence, just as any other country in the world would defend its own independence, too, if attacked by another state."

In Litskai’s opinion, the memorandum revealed the true picture of the conflicts: wars and blockades imposed by Chisinau and Tbilisi. He feels that a close examination of the cold, hard facts will reveal who is a threat to security and stability in the region, and who has ignored minority rights and human rights. He also defends the right of small countries and minorities to be heard at the United Nations.

" - The facts furnished in the document are meant to trigger the mechanism of UN sanctions which will not however be targeted against Tiraspol. I feel that the UN’s stance on frozen conflicts has changed. As result, the accusers – Moldova and Georgia – could become the accused. This caused these two states to recall their proposal. The issue of post-Soviet conflicts was not raised at the UN General Assembly this year, as Moldova had originally planned, and this was in part caused because of the memorandum of the unrecognized republics. This is the first step toward the international rostrum and international recognition,” the Foreign Minister said. (With information from PanArmenian.net)

See also:
» United Nations petitioned by Pridnestrovie, two other unrecognized countries [1]
» U.N. plea: "We are not a threat to anyone" [2]