Kosovo and Transdniester both reject "political games" over their independence

After 17 years, citizens of still-unrecognized Transdniester say they are "tired of being pawns in a strange geopolitical game"

TIRASPOL (Tiraspol Times) - Kosovo Liberation Army veterans and student activists have called for protests against the "political games being played with the Kosovo people."

They are upset with the delay in Kosovo's proposed independence, and angry that their small would-be state is being used as a ping pong ball in a global game of power politics involving Russia, the United States and the European Union.

As reported by Reuters, Russia blocked Kosovo's bid for independence from Serbia on Friday at a G8 summit on the Baltic coast, in a public setback for Western leaders who support it. Putin rejected the West's case that Kosovo was a unique case and stated that Moscow would take it as a precedent under international law.

" - No one can name for us a single difference", Putin said while comparing Kosovo to Abkhazia, South Ossetia, Trandniester and Nagorno Karabakh. So the ruling should be universal.

Is he "playing a strange political game?" Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, is in charge of the world's largest country.

" - If we come to the conclusion that the principle of a nation's right to self-determination is more important than territorial integrity then we will have to stick to that principle all over the world," the Russian leader said.

Tiraspol residents "tired of being pawns in strange game"

In Tiraspol, parliament had already appealed to the international community to recognize Transdniester's 17 year old de facto independence. Since it declared independence in 1990, the unrecognized country has operated on its own as an separate state with occasional support from Ukraine and Russia at various times.
It has not been recognized by either of these two, but meets the requirements for sovereign statehood under international law.
Although its full name is the Pridnestrovskaia Moldavskaia Respublica (PMR), it is known officially as Pridnestrovie and unofficially under names such as Trans-Dniester, Transdniestria and Transnistria.

Just like the population of Kosovo is tired of being used in a geo-political game, similar sentiments are heard in Tiraspol and other cities throughout the length of Transdniester.

Speaking to The Tiraspol Times on Friday, local resident Yuri Tsibenko, 32, said: "Talk is cheap. We want to see action."

" - Enough already," said another resident who wanted to be identified as Neelitarnyy Pridnestrovets. "Pridnestrovie only matters to Russia as a military base. We are tired of being pawns in this strange geopolitical game."

" - At some point in time, sooner rather than later, you've got to say enough is enough, Transdniester is independent," added Petru Gladchi, a local civil rights activist, while echoing similar words by U.S. president George W. Bush over Kosovo.

Independence seen as inevitable

Unlike Kosovo, Transdniester is not the subject of a United Nations resolution and does not need UN Security Council approval to become independent. It is already de facto independent and only needs the recognition of a number of other countries in order to formalize this into de jure independence.

Kosovo, on the other hands, is a more difficult situation because its current status was created by the United Nations and it therefore requires a UN vote in order to become independent, experts report. It is widely expected that Russia will veto a move to declare Kosovo independent without Serbia's consent. China, which has a similar concern over the de facto independent country of Taiwan, is closer to the Russian position than to the position of the U.S. State Department which insists on independence for Kosovo "come hell or high water."

France, another UN Security Council member, supports the principle of self-determination over the conflicting principle of territorial integrity. Nicolas Sarkozy, the newly elected French president, told journalists that he believes that Kosovo's independence is "inevitable."

An EU statement said Kosovo "remains the most urgent political problem in the Western Balkans."
" - In the interest of the stability of Kosovo, Serbia and the entire region this issue must be settled soon," it said.

In a similar vein, it is generally agreed that it is also in the interest of the stability of Transdniester, Moldova and the region that this issue be settled quickly as well. Locals in Transdniester merely ask that the same standards and values be used to settle both conflicts, and that their bid for independence will be considered as equally "inevitable." (With information from Reuters)

See also:
» Kosovo double standards lead to criticism; new Transdniestria comparisons
» Transdniester and Kosovo should be treated the same, says Putin
» Lessons from Kosovo