In the period between March 17 and June 1, Tiraspol set up 37 illegal fixed, mobile and pedestrian checkpoints in the Security Zone, said Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration Cristina Lesnic, who noted that these acts are nothing else but hampering of the access of people from 11 settlements that are under the constitutional jurisdiction of the Republic of Moldova. The official requested Tiraspol to unconditionally remove the illegally placed checkpoints and to restore the free movement of the Moldovan citizens on both banks of the Nistru, IPN reports.
In a press briefing, Cristina Lesnic said these are the villages of Cocieri, Corjova, Molovata Noua, Pohrebea, Varnița, Copanca, Hagimus, Hârbovăț, Fârlădeni, Talmaza, and Chircăiești.
“The attempts by military observers of the joint peacekeeping forces to travel to the scene to document those events were thwarted by the Transnistrian side. The gravity of the situation resides in the fact that the setting up and presence of these illegal checkpoints, the refusal to remove them, the blocking of military observers’ efforts continue to generate risks to security and unbalance the monitoring mechanism,” stated Cristina Lesnic.
She also said that the ban on entering and leaving the Transnistrian region announced today has increased tensions in the region and on the right bank of the Nistru. The people need to travel to work so as to feed their families, to see a doctor or have other urgent necessities.
“We call on Tiraspol to refrain from the punishment of those who stated their dissatisfaction by free protests and to examine their approaches,” said Cristina Lesnic, calling also upon the mediators and observers of the 5+2 format to take note of the unilateral actions taken by Tiraspol and to intervene to eliminate them.
Also today, Democratic MP Alexandru Jizdan told a press briefing that the unilateral setting up of the 37 illegal checkpoints in the Security Zone during the state of emergency and their maintaining are an illegality and a serious violation of human rights. “The attempts to defy the peacekeeping operations on the Nistru and the deterioration of the situation in the localities of the Security Zone by hampering the free movement and the military observers’ visit for documenting the incidents are an abuse and a serious violation of all the regulations and statutory arrangements,” stated the MP. According to him, from the parliamentary platform Tiraspol is requested to review its decision in relation to the citizens from both sides of the Nistru within three days and to return to the peaceful Transnistrian settlement process.
