Illegal Moldova roadblock is annexation attempt, says Igor Smirnov

A peacekeeper stands guard in Pridnestrovie's buffer zone on an early January morning (file-photo, ©JB)

DUBOSSARY (Tiraspol Times) - Disregarding the rules of the ceasefire agreement and Joint Control Commission regulations, Moldovan troops unilaterally attempted to set up an illegal roadblock and checkpoint in Pridnestrovian territory on the highway connecting Dubossary with Rybnitsa, two of the major cities in the north of the country.

The illegal checkpoint aimed to halt all traffic, in effect attempting to cut the unrecognized country - which is also known as Trans-Dniester or Transnistria - in two.

A police clash between Moldova and Pridnestrovie occurred near the town of Dubossary controlled by the government of Pridnestrovie in the early hours of Saturday, when both sides called 80 and 100 police reinforcements to the scene respectively. International observers and peacekeeping commanders deterred the incident from escalating. The tense standoff between the two sides was defused only with the intervention of the multilateral peacekeeping force.

The illegal checkpoint was dismantled, and Moldova was told to abide by the rules of the ceasefire agreement and the regulations governing the buffer zone which is administered by the Joint Control Commission, in place since an unsuccessful invasion attempt by Moldova in 1992.

Pridnestrovie's president, Igor Smirnov, called the event "an attempt by Moldova to annex part of our territory."

Among the instigators of the Moldovan action was the self-appointed leader of the Moldovan Helsinki Committee, Ştefan Urîtu. Eye witnesses at the scene reported that when representatives of the four-nation multilateral peacekeeping force arrived to mediate in the conflict, Ştefan Urîtu frantically started chanting angry slogans, yelling: “Russian occupants, get out of here, go home!”

The PMR Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that the move is a provocation by Moldova aimed at destabilizing the situation and discredit the ability of the peacekeepers to maintain stability.

The Foreign Ministry also called on Russia and Ukraine to take the necessary measures to strengthen the peacekeeping operations in the region, the Echo of Moscow Radio reported. The ministry said that the incidents on the border with Moldova had been instigated by Chisinau, whose aim was to worsen the crisis in the relations between the two countries and to discredit the current form of the peacekeeping operation.

No official statement from the Moldovan government in Chisinau was available.

New checkpoint to appear in conflict zone after clash

The joint commission overseeing the ceasefire between Moldova and Pridnestrovie ruled Saturday following the clash in the post-Soviet conflict zone that an additional peacekeeping checkpoint be set up in the area.

The Joint Control Commission, involving representatives of Moldova, Pridnestrovie (Transnistria), Russia, Ukraine, and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which has been working to resolve the conflict, held an extraordinary emergency session this weekend and also decided that military observers would patrol the area.

" - Seeking to promptly resolve the incident by peaceful means, the delegations [from Moldova, Transdnestr, and Russia] and Ukrainian and OSCE representatives in the JCC have decided to remove all additional Moldova and Transdnestrian checkpoints in the area by 4 p.m. local time [2 p.m. GMT] January 13," a spokesman for the commission told Tiraspol Times.

A temporary peacekeeping checkpoint will be set up before January 18.

Pridnestrovie, which has a largely Russian-speaking population and has historically never been part of Moldova, declared independence in 1990 during the general breakup of the Soviet Union. Moldova, which never recognized the independence declaration, fought a brief but bloody war in 1992 in a failed attempt to take control of the territory. Since then, an uneasy ceasefire has held, but Moldova still has not relinquished its territorial claim despite nearly 17 years of de facto independence in Pridnestrovie, which meets the requirements for statehood under international law. In a September 17 plebiscite, more than 97% of the population of the new and emerging country voted in favor of independence, and 94% turned down a proposal for unification with neighboring Moldova.