[0]

In Virginia, President George W. Bush sending a message of hope and freedom to new and emerging countries (White House photo)

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - On President's Day, American president George W. Bush highlighted the wars for independence, both the original one which led to the self-declared birth of the United States of America and also the current struggles fought by others today to defend their liberty, their people and their way of life.

Visiting Mount Vernon, President Bush Honored President Washington's 275th Birthday on President's Day, Monday.

" - George Washington's long struggle for freedom has also inspired generations of Americans to stand for freedom in their own time," said Bush. "Today, we're fighting a new war to defend our liberty and our people and our way of life. And as we work to advance the cause of freedom around the world, we remember that the father of our country believed that the freedoms we secured in our revolution were not meant for Americans alone. He once wrote, 'My best wishes are irresistibly excited whensoever in any country I see an oppressed nation unfurl the banners of freedom.'

The words of both Bush and Washington echoed in Tiraspol, Pridnestrovie, which successfully held off Moldovan invasion forces in 1992 and has since sought to have its independence recognized internationally.

" - The American president sent an important message. What they went through more than 200 years ago is exactly what we went through less than 20 years ago," said Petru Glachi, a civil society activist in Tiraspol.

" - Just like Bush said, we had to defend our liberty and our people and our way of life. Unlike Moldova, Pridnestrovie is majority Slavic. But even the Moldovans who live here don't want to become part of Moldova. We have never been part of Moldova in the past, and their way of life is different from our way of life. Even the language is different. This is why we fought for our liberty, our people and our way of life, exactly like George W Bush said."

Others agreed: "Just as the United States could declare their own republic without the permission from anyone except themselves, so can we," said another pro-independence youth leader, Oleg, 19. He was two years old when Pridnestrovie - also known as Transnistria, or Transdniester - declared independence on 2 September 1990 during the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Territorial disputes between states

In his speech, the U.S. president mentioned territorial disputes: "States argued over their borders," said George W. Bush, referring to the early days of the American republic. Today, Pridnestrovie is at the same time in history as the United States of America was back then, when George Washington was president. And, just like back then, states argue over their borders: Neighboring Moldova still pursues a territorial claim, which over time will be resolved but which meanwhile is holding back the international recognition of Pridnestrovie as a separate, sovereign country.

The United States of America was also not, initially, recognized by the world as a separate, sovereign country. In the first years, the founding fathers faced economic embargoes and non-recognition, just like an economic blockade today is hurting Pridnestrovie's exports today and the nonrecognition hurts integration efforts with the international community.

Europe, for the most part, kept clinging to a fiction of British sovereignty over its former colonies. Today, many of these same European countries cling to a similar kind of fiction: That Pridnestrovie is part of Moldova, even though it has never at any time in history formed part of an independent Moldovan state.

" - Pridnestrovie was forced into an unholy, unnatural union with Moldova by one of history's worst dictators," says Gladchi. "Joseph Stalin wanted to expand his Communist hell, so he invented a strange state of two sides that had very little in common. That was in 1940. In 1990, when the Soviet Union disintegrated, the two sides both wanted to be free. We declared our independence in 1990, and Moldova did the same a year later. To force us back together would be to insist on the most bizarre, cruel part of Stalin's murderous legacy. Is that what the world wants: Stalinism? I don't think so... Instead, I stand with Bush and his call for freedom."

See also:
» US Defense chief hails self-determination and "the right to choose their own destiny" [1]
» Conflict can be resolved by the creation of a separate state: Condoleezza Rice [2]