Communist opposition demands reversal of recent free market reforms

Alla Mishina, one of the signers of the public petition, delivers the opposition's demands to a PMR police officer in Tiraspol

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - An estimated 100 to 150 protestors took part in the 13 March unsanctioned opposition protest in Tiraspol, capital of Pridnestrovie. After chanting anti-government slogans and protesting against Western style free market reforms, rising inflation and the economic downturn caused by what is seen locally as an economic blockade by Moldova and Ukraine, the mostly elderly protestors disbanded peacefully at 1:40 p.m.

The protest was held in an unauthorized location, but was not interrupted by local law enforcement. Authorities allowed the rally to proceed and did not not interfere with the event. No violence or further arrests were reported.

Earlier, the planning of the public rally, organized by Pridnestrovie's Communist opposition, had briefly landed two of the organizers in court for failing to observe a city ordinance regulating acceptable venues for demonstrations and protest marches. The 72 hour administrative arrest of Oleg Khorzhan and Nadezhda Bondarenko, a former presidential candidate for the opposition-led Communist Party, caused widespread condemnation among their elderly followers.

Ending their public protest, the demonstrators adopted the following resolution. Chief among the demands of the Communist opposition is a reversal of Pridnestrovie's open economy and recent Western-style free market reforms. The Tiraspol Times, committed to plurality and the firm belief that elected officials can be held accountable, reproduces their statement here in full:

To the President of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic,
Igor Smirnov -

To the Speaker of Parliament, PMR,
Yevgeny Shevchuk -

RESOLUTION OF THE MEETING
of citizens of the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR)
Tiraspol, 13 March 2007

Respected comrades!

PMR has already been in existence for more than 16 years. All of you will recall that our republic was founded by the will of the people, as a result of a popular referendum. But some forget what it was called back then: The Pridnestrovian Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic (PMSSR).

Sixteen years ago, we Pridnestrovians believed that we were building a republic for ourselves, constructing a state in which we would live in genuine democracy, with social justice, respect for the working man, and every family prosperous. For this kind of republic, our people were prepared to endure hardships and suffer deprivations, and even risk their lives in war because they believed in the bright future of Pridnestrovie.

Sixteen years ago, we actually did have a state by the people and for the people. There were powerful industrial enterprises, flourishing farms, and qualified professionals. There was enthusiasm of the masses, as well as support from progressive forces outside the borders of the PMR.

The citizens of the PMR entrusted the authority of the state to smooth-talking politicians. But now we see that these persons, elevated by us to a political Olympus, have not lived up to our expectations.

Factories and workshops in Pridnestrovie are being sold to petty private traders. After privatization, many enterprises have closed and workers became unemployed. And in those privatized companies which are still open and operating, on a daily basis the righs of the workers are violated and trade unions are liquidated.

Instead of rich collective farms, Kolkhozes, we now have destroyed farms, with fields overgrown with weeds, farm equipment destroyed, and peasants going hungry... Collective farm land, in spite of the current legislation, has already been sold off. Publicly, the former Speaker of the PMR Parliament announced this when he urged us to agree to the buying and selling of our land!

The fate of Pridnestrovie's pensioners and the disabled is regrettable. That includes the women who sat on the rails, blocking the train to seek the release from Chisinau's torture chambers of our President, Igor Nikolaevich Smirnov. And it includes those men who, following their conscience, left their wives and children and went to the field of battle to protect the freedom and independence of Pridnestrovie. The current authorities are not even taken adequate care of those who were wounded and became invalids from participating in the fighting that protected PMR.

Our children are deprived of their future. With each academic year, the possibilities of obtaining free higher and secondary special education become less and less. Even to send a child to secondary school requires a large amount of money. Nobody seems to care if the parents of the child are unemployed. It is becoming normal to see children who are left with an elderly grandmother while the parents are abroad earning money. Many students today are not only deprived of quality education, but also of valuable nutrition and they suffer from different diseases.

Free medical care is becoming a fairytale. At the hospitals, patients are forced to obtain their own medicines, syringes and other medical supplies. It is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain subsidized medicines in the pharmacies. If you have dollars, it is possible to acquire everything you want, but only the rich have dollars.

The cost of public utilities is increasing. Small increases in pensions and wages are not sufficient to help the citizens fill the gaps in the family budget.
Food prices, basic commodities, and the cost of public transportation are going up...
How does a person survive in such a state if he does not know how to steal or cheat, but only knows how to honestly work, or is already past retirement age?

The central and local authorities, including the President, the government and the leadership of PMR's Parliament, as well as Tiraspol's public administration and the City Council, have told us about "increases" and "improvements". But what we really see is growing unemployment, crime, mortality, morbidity, and improvement of the welfare of a chosen few at the expense of the rest of the population.

The authorities always try to convince us that there is no money for social services, neither in the national budget of the republic nor in the local government budget. But the citizens of the PMR repeatedly ask this question: Why have our basic industries been privatized? And no convincing answer has been given.

It would seem that the majority of MPs don't care about the plight of the people or the state.

The current electoral system makes it possible for someone to be elected to Parliament with the support of just 12-15% of the voters. The will of the remaining 85% is currently ignored.

All of this has forced us today to go to the rally.

We demand the following from the national and municipal leadership:

- Don't increase the price of staple foods and essential goods and services, including public transportation;

- Don't deprive citizens, veterans and the disabled of accrued work related benefits and privileges;

- Don't reduce the budget for secondary and higher education within the PMR;

- Ensure real delivery of public services for which money is charged from the population on a regular basis;

- Stop reckless privatizations which threaten to undermine the economic safety of the republic;

- Put a halt to workforce reductions and layoffs in PMR companies, regardless of their type of ownership;

- Implement free health care and free medicines to the disabled, war veterans and workers according to the PMR Constitution;

- Ensure real social protection for those segments of the population which find themselves below the poverty line. Wages and pensions of PMR citizens must not be below subsistence level;

- Modify the election laws of PMR in order for Parliament and local councils to truly be composed of people who represent the will of the majority of voters, rather than money-bags who buy their voices.

Furthermore, we learned that actively participating organizers of this rally, which expresses the legitimate demands of the people, were brought to the Tiraspol police headquarters, among them some who are elderly and infirm. Communist Party leaders Oleg Khorzhan and Nadezhda Bondarenko were not only detained but subjected to 72 hours administrative arrest. They are held in Tiraspol Police Headquarters. We demand the immediate release of these comrades!

This resolution is adopted unanimously by the participants in the meeting.

As instructed by the participants in the protest meeting, PMR citizens, this resolution is signed by
S.A.Timokhin,
O.V. Leontiev,
A.V. Mishina.

Representatives of Dniester law enforcement received the petition, promising to bring it to the attention of both the President and the Parliament.

As in Russia itself, Pridnestrovie's Communist opposition has its strongest support among the elderly; mostly retired pensioners who with nostalgia remember their simpler, easier life in Soviet times. This left wing opposition has the support of approximately 8% of Pridnestrovie's population, based on results from the country's December 2006 election.

Opposition from the right, too

It is not only from the two left-Communist parties that the government of Igor Smirnov faces criticism and opposition. Since 2005, a powerful opposition movement has begun to emerge on the right, too. The free market, pro-business opposition of liberal democrats is less loud, does not stage public protest, and doesn't get its leaders arrested. But in terms of influence, it is more powerful and seen as the most serious threat to Smirnov's presidency.

This opposition, led by the "Renewal"-party and its young, charismatic leader Yevgeny Shevchuk, obtained surprise victories in both the municipal and legislative elections of 2005. The pro-business party today controls Parliament, and has introduced a series of sweeping, Western-style market reforms. Among other changes, it wants a prime minister, less presidential power, and full control over the national security services, long headed by Vladimir Antufeev.

As reported by the Economist Intelligence Unit, recently, there has been a remarkable political resistance that has manifested against the power of the former director of security service, MGB – a few years ago this would have been unimaginable. In particular, the Speaker of PMR's Parliament, Yevgeny Shevchuk, aroused a fuss on 27 September 2006 when he asked the permanent Committee for Defence, Security and Peacekeeping to prepare, in one months time and in collaboration with the security service, to report on all activities. Since its creation, the Ministry for the Security of the State (MGB) has never produced a budget or a report on its past activities.

Yevgeny Shevchuk wants to clear up some considerable factors of political fossilization, economic stagnation and the inability to make headway because of the manifested recession due to the introduction of the new customs tax by Moldova and Ukraine, seen widely as an economic blockade and responsible for a drop in exports which in some sectors reached 40%.

The right wing pro-business opposition pushes for deeper market reform and a more dynamic policy in the development of new initiatives in field of industrialization and trade, while the elderly and the left are centered around the Communists and their demands for a return to a Soviet-style welfare state. In the middle, President Igor Smirnov - considered more of a father figure, rather than a strongman - is seen as attempting to broker a compromise.

All three sides agree on the continued independence and quest for internationally recognized sovereignty of Pridnestrovie, also known as Transnistria as well as variations of the name, such as Transdnestr, Transdniestria and Transdniester. Regardless of political views, they all share the vast majority sentiment of voters who in September's independence referendum resoundly rejection unification with neighboring Moldova.

See also:
» Communist protesters detained for 72 hrs; refuse to move rally
» Communist Party accuses Smirnov's government of negligence