Figures and facts about Transnistrian conflict

[Info-Prim Neo article of the series “20 years of the start of the war. When should we expect peace?”] Repeat from February 27, 28, and 29 [{The armed conflict between the two banks of the Nistru River during several years had been preceded by numerous acts aimed at separating the eastern region from the former Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic and afterward the Republic of Moldova. The secessionist processes were inspired from outside in the context of the national renaissance and self-determination movement of the Moldovan people in relation to the Soviet Union that started to fall apart, Info-Prim Neo, reports, quoting the Chisinau Center of Military Culture and History.}] According to a publication of the Center, anti-Moldovan events supported by Moscow anti-democratic forces were staged in Transnistria in [September 1989]. Afterward, the leaders of the so-called “unified soviet of the staffs” (known under the abbreviation OSTK) and the Communists convened the ‘congress of deputies of all levels’ from the Transnistrian districts and towns in Parcani village of Slobozia district. In the congress, they pleaded for becoming independent from the Republic of Moldova and for not recognizing the legal acts of the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic. Shortly afterward, there were created paramilitary detachments named militia support units. On [March 11, 1991], a civil militia detachment consisting of 200 persons was set up under Tiraspol town executive committee. The members of the detachment wore camouflaged military uniforms without distinctive signs and were equipped with rubber sticks. They guarded the town soviet and were managed by the Tiraspol-based OSTK. Similar decisions were taken by the Dubasari and Rybnitsa town soviets, where there were created detachments of workers to help the militia. They had 300 and, respectively, 100 members. The armed forces of the separatist regime were set up based on these detachments. They were used for different purposes, including to provoke sociopolitical conflicts. By a decision of [May 6, 1991], the so-called supreme soviet of Transnistria, the district sections and other institutions of the Ministry of the Interior located on the left side of the Nistru were separated from Moldova’s Ministry of the Interior. There were created internal bodies and prosecution bodies of the separatist regime. The organization “Patriots of Dubasari” called on the residents of the town and the Transnistrian villages not to obey the Constitution and laws of the Republic of Moldova. Actions aimed at intimidating the Transnistrians and discrediting the official state institutions were taken during the next few months. On [August 19-21, 1991], a coup attempt was staged in Moscow, known as the August putsch. The leaders of the Transnistrian separatist regime offered unconditional support to the putsch organizers. On [August 27, 1991] Moldova proclaimed its independence from the Soviet Union. On [September 6, 1991], based on a decision of the so-called Transnistrian supreme soviet, concerning the measures to defend the sovereignty and independence of Transnistria, there was created the ‘republican guard’. On [September 10-12, 1991], at the instructions of the heads of the Odessa military district and the Russian 14th Army, there was convened the assembly of sergeants and officers, who said that regardless of the decisions of the military authorities, they would take the side of the separatists and would defend them if the situation worsened. As the personnel of the Transnistrian police stations continued to obey the Moldovan legislation, the secessionist forces started to constitute the institutions of a parallel ministry of the interior. On [September 10, 1991], the so-called Internal Division of Transnistria made an order to create a local militia section of the Rybnitsa executive committee. Threats were made against the police and the districts police stations and other bodies of the Ministry of the Interior were picketed. On [September 11], the separatist administration made a decision concerning the armed forces on the territory of Transnistria, whereby the decree of the President of Moldova on the withdrawal of the armed forces of the USSR and the Ministry of the Interior of the USSR from Moldova’s territory was invalidated. The military units of the 14th Army used this ‘cover’ to directly become involved in the conflict with the Moldovan constitutional authorities, on behalf of the separatist regime. Under the pressure of the secessionist bodies, on [September 19] the police station in Rybnitsa was transferred under the administration of the Internal Division of Transnistria. On [September 20], the Dubasari town soviet adopted the decision to remove the district police section and to create the Transnistrian district militia section. On [September 22], the Camenca district police section was also taken over by the secessionists. On [October 1, 1991], a conciliation agreement was signed to remedy the situation in the conflict zone. Points 3 and 4 of the protocol envisioned suspending the decisions on the creation of illegal state institutions and transferring back the existent bodies under the state administration. Protesting against these decisions, workers from Dubasari and Rybnitsa took steps to intimidate and blackmail the police officers who remained faithful to Moldova. The illegal actions became more and more violent. On [October 16, 1991], an explosive device with nitrotoluene was thrown in an office of the Dubasari district police section. Nobody was hurt. On [October 2, 1991], the Transnistrian executive adopted resolution No. 20 on the reorganization of the town militia division of the department of internal affairs, based on which the local police were placed outside Moldova’s jurisdiction. On [December 1, 1991], the separatist forces held so-called presidential elections. Armed persons and paramilitary groups intimidated the population and the police officers working in Transnistria and took steps to create parallel military bodies. Before the ‘elections’, armed separatists exerted pressure on managers of the local administration bodies working on the basis of the Moldovan legislation. On [November 27, 1991], six persons with Kalashnikov guns appeared in the building of the local soviet of Teia village of Grigoriopol district. They demanded that the soviet employees immediately organized propagandistic activities for the ‘presidential’ elections. The locals were threaded that by a bullet would be found for every person after December 1. The same persons warned the local administration that elections for Moldova’s President would not take place in the village on December 8. In the evening of [December 1, 1991], the bridge over the Nistru near Gura Bacului village was blocked. Two buses and a minibus with 20-25 ‘agitators’ arrived in Malaiesti village. The locals decided not to react to that demonstration of force and did not go to vote. Intimidation actions took place in practically all the villages of Grigoriopol district, including Speia, Butor, and Taslac. In the [December 7] meeting of the Bender town soviet, the separatists decided to close the police station in Bender. In two days, the police station was surrounded by guard members. Attempts were made to transfer the commissariat from the Ministry of the Interior of Moldova to the secessionist administration. The same day, an armed attack was staged on the building of the traffic police, its chief being physically abused. On [December 13], the police station in Dubasari was informed that it would be attacked. The Transnistrian guard members prepared for assault. Policemen of the Ministry of the Interior’s Guard and Patrolling Service were sent to provide support. Nor far from the traffic police post located at the intersection of the Dubasari-Rybnitsa-Grigoriopol road, armed guards opened fire at a group of police officers. Three policemen - Ghenadie Yablochkin, Mihail Arnaut and Valentin Mereniuc – were killed on the spot, while Gheorghe Casu died in the hospital later. Another nine police officers were injured. The four killed policemen were the first victims of the Nistru war. On [December 14, 1991], the guard members attacked the police force in Dubasari town. During the events, there were detained 34 guard members. Two machine guns, 20 Kalashnikov guns and military equipment were confiscated from them. During about four months, from [December 10, 1991] until [March 1992], the guard members staged 57 criminal acts against the police as a result of which four policemen were killed, 13 injured, while 40 maltreated. Since March, the guards-merchants and the Cossacks managed by the Transnistrian leaders constantly made attacks on the legal bodies of Moldova. The paramilitary units launched an offensive on the building of the police in Dubasari, arresting 34 police officers. In the evening of [March 1, 1992], the Cossacks attacked the police station and took 32 policemen and two officers on probation hostage. On [March 2, 1992], armed guard members and the Cossacks patrolled the Tiraspol-Dubasari road, blocking the bridges over the Nistru towards Vadul lui Voda, Lunga and the Dubasari hydroelectric plant. They also blocked access to the bridges in Bender, Rybnitsa and Camenca. The posts of guard members and militiamen were equipped with armored vehicles of the Russian army. Sixteen armed guard members arrested six employees of the Bender police stations at 8pm. On the night of [March 3], the Cossacks and guard members prepared an assault on the Bender police station. The streets were patrolled throughout the night. At 11pm, the guard members attacked the military unit of the Civil Defense General Staff. The fighting between the guard members and the police lasted for three hours. The guard members were defeated. Several residents of Dubasari district and guard members were killed. Dozens of persons were injured. On [March 4, 1992], six armed guard members attacked a mobile police post in Bender. They injured police officers, took their car and went to Tiraspol. There they attacked a team of doctors of the local police station and took their car too. On [March 6], a group of guard members entered the rented territory of the auto police station of the Patrol and Guard Service and destroyed several vehicles. On [March 7, 1992], armed guard members caught several guards of the auto police station in Bender and took several safes with documents and files out of the building. Afterward, they set the building on fire. When the firefighters arrived, the building was destroyed almost completely. On [March 12, 1992], guard members detained two employees of the Buiucani police station. The police officers were dispossessed of guns and identification papers and were intimidated. Afterward, they were released together with the car and the two offenders they were escorting. On [March 13, 1992], a group of women in Parcani village, helped by about 300 Cossacks, launched an attack on the military unit of the 14th Army. The publication of the Chisinau Center of Military Culture and History says this act was orchetrated by officers of the Army. In the evening of [March 14, 1992], guard members and Cossacks who controlled the Tiraspol-Rybnitsa highway opened fire on a group of 15 police officers of the Ministry of the Interior of Moldova near Roghi village. A machine gun fired on a bus with civilians going from Rybnitsa. Eyewitnesses said the bus was used as a shield as the guard members and Cossacks were sure the police officers would not shoot at a civilian unit of transport. There were 33 Ukrainian tourists in the bus, heading for Turkey. Both of the drivers of the bus were Turkish men. Twenty passengers got to Rybnitsa. A seriously wounded woman was rushed to the town hospital. The Moldovan police transported two injured guard members to the hospital in Criuleni, where they were given first aid. On [March 15, 1992], the Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov signed a decree to create a state commission for the social protection of servicemen and demobilized persons. The act was aimed at gaining the servicemen’s sympathy. On [March 17, 1992], there was adopted the Law on the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova. The law said that the armed forces of Moldova aimed to defend the state in case of aggression and to ensure the inviolability of the republic’s airspace. On [March 20], based on Article 4 of the Law on the Armed Forces of the Republic of Moldova, President Mircea Snegur took up the duties of supreme commander of armed forces of Moldova in order to operatively coordinate the fighting involving police officers, carabineers, volunteers, and reservists. At the OSCE Summit in Helsinki the same day, a quadripartite mechanism was created to regulate the military conflict in the Transnistrian region. It consisted of representatives of Moldova, Romania, Russia, and Ukraine. After Moldova joined the UN, on March 2, 1992 Moldova’s President Mircea Snegur sent a telegram to the UN secretary general, informing him about the acts of the separatists and asking the UN to contribute to ending the military conflict. On [March 28, 1992], President Mircea Snegur declared a state of emergency on the country’s territory. The Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of National Security and the units of the National Army were to take immediate measures to liquidate and disarm the paramilitary units based on the left bank of the Nistru and to identify and arrest persons who committed crimes against the state institutions and the peaceful population. On [March 29, 1992], Prime Minister Valeriu Muravski issued an ultimatum to the secessionist groups, demanding that they yield up the guns within two days. On [March 31, 1992], the Parliament of Moldova constituted a special commission to propose solutions for improving the situation. It consisted of representatives of all the parliamentary groups, empowered to formulate proposals for peacefully settling the conflict, based on the international norms and standards. The situation worsened when Russia became directly involved in the internal affairs of Moldova, by sending Russian Vice President Aleksandr Rutskoi to Tiraspol. The Russian official pronounced openly in favor of involving the Russian army in the conflict, arguing the Russian citizens living in the Transnistrian region must be protected. Moldova’s administration sent letters to the President of Russia and the Russian Congress of People’s Deputies, asking that they take attitude to the statements made by Aleksandr Rutskoi in Tiraspol. Thus, foreign factors became involved in the conflict. During several meetings, the ministers of the interior of Moldova, Russia, Romania and Ukraine discussed and approved a series of principles concerning the peaceful settling of the conflict. A joint commission was set up that was to initiate the process of disarming the sides involved in the conflict. On [April 1, 1992], Moldova’s Parliament adopted a decision on the peaceful settling of the conflict. The Moldovan police tried to liberate Tighina (Bender), which was controlled by the secessionist forces. Eight police officers were killed. The same day, Russian President Boris Yeltsin issued decree No. 320 to transfer the Soviet military units that were on Moldova’s territory under the military administration of Russia, neglecting thus the decree of the Moldovan President and stopping the process of organizing the military units. On [April 2, 1992], General Iuri Netkacev, commander of the 14th Army, issued an ultimatum to Moldova’s President Mircea Snegur, asking that the Moldovan forces pull out 15 km from Tighina. On [April 10, 1992], by presidential decree No. 87, the minister of defense was empowered to call up officers and sub-officers in reserve in case of necessity and if they agreed. On [April 14, 1992], there was constituted a new Supreme Security Council that was managed directly by the head of state. On [May 12, 1992], Mircea Snegur requested Russian President Boris Yeltsin to pull out the 14th Army from Moldova’s territory. He also sent a message about the involvement of the 14th Army in the conflict to the UN secretary general. On [May 21, 1992], the Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov issued a degree whereby the 14th Army was transferred under the jurisdiction of the breakaway republic. A company of the Russian military unit based in Parcani village entered the war. Starting with [May 23, 1992], the Transnistrian paramilitary units stepped up the fighting. The 14th Army started a direct and open aggression. The separatist forces, in cooperation with the 14th Army, launched a large-scale military operation against the Tighina police station in order to liquidate it. By presidential decree No.159 of [June 16, 1992], Ion Costas was dismissed from the post of defense minister. On [June 24, 1992], the President of Moldova made the following appeal to the peoples, Parliaments and Governments of other countries: „…in this tragic moment for the destiny of our state, we call on the peoples of the world to intervene by all the means possible to end the aggression launched by the Armed Forces of Russia”. On [July 21, 1992], the Presidents of Moldova and Russia signed in Moscow the Convention on the principles of peacefully settling the armed conflict. On [July 27, 1992], there was set up the Joint Control Commission that was empowered to supervise the situation in the conflict zone. It consists of three delegations that represent Moldova, Russia and the Transnistrian administration. Ukraine and the OSCE Mission to Moldova act as observers within the Commission. On [July 29, 1992], General Pavel Creanga was named minister of national defense. In accordance with the additional protocol of the Joint Control Commission, peacekeeping forces and a group of observers were deployed in the conflict zone on [July 31, 1992]. They were to ensure the ceasefire, withdraw and disarm all the military units and maintain peace and the rule of law in the conflict zone. Moldova created three motorized infantry battalions of the peacekeeping forces in Cocieri, Varnita, and Cosnita. On [July 28, 1992], a demining company was included in the peacekeeping contingent. There were demined 71.9 km2 of land and destroyed 4,080 explosives. A Security Zone was set up along the Nistru River. It is 225 km long and 15-21 km wide. The three contingents of the peacekeeping troops managed by the Joint Control Commission represent the Joint Peacekeeping Forces that include 1,200-1,300 servicemen. The military units of the Russian contingent are based in Bender (with a subunit in Dubasari town), of Moldova – in Cocieri, Cosnita, and Varnita, while of the Transnistrian administration – in Dubasari, and Grigoriopol. There are 15 joint posts that work under unilateral or mixed regimes. In order to settle the Transnistrian conflict, a 5+2 negotiation format was created in 2005. It includes the conflicting sides Moldova and Transnistria, Russia, Ukraine and the OSCE as mediators, and the EU and U.S. as observers. The talks were halted in 2006 and resumed officially in November 2011. [Irina Ursu, Info-Prim Neo]