The heroes killed in the Nistru armed conflict of 1992 were remembered in Chisinau on March 2. After the religious ceremony and laying of flowers at commemorative plaques inside the Ministry of the Interior and at the monument to ruler Stephan the Great and Holy, volunteers, service members and police officers marched to the Memorial Complex “Eternity”, where they took part in a commemoration meeting, IPN reports.
Zaharia Sclifos said he commanded the first group that went to the battlefield. “It was hard for me, but it was even harder for my children who remained alone. They remained without their mother and I raised them alone. Many children remained orphans after the war and without a home,” stated Zaharia Sclifos.
“They followed us to the military unit in Floresti. I had a scare every time we went to battle. I never cut the head of a hen in my life and then I had to fire at people. The fact that the war damaged the relations between people is painful,” said Victor Cotloi, participant in the Nistru war.
Iurie Harabadji said he was deployed to fight in Cocieri village of Dubasari district by the Buiucani Police Inspectorate. “We want wars to never happen and no one should experience what we experienced. Sometimes at night, we remember those battles,” he related.
Attending the commemoration meeting, Prime Minister Pavel Filip said remembering the heroes killed in the Nistru armed conflict is the greatest recognition for their sacrifice. A nation does not have present and future if it does not honor its heroes. “We highly appreciate the courage, bravery and patriotism of the police officers, services members, reservists and volunteers who defended the inhabitants from the left side of the Nistru,” stated the Premier.
“The weather in 1992 was similar to today’s weather. The Moldovans saw how the Nistru flowed in a different way. They saw the night in a different way and breathed differently. They simply left home and bid farewell to their families. They went to war unarmed,” said Minister of the Interior Alexandru Jizdan.
President of Moldova Igor Dodon, in a public message, said 1992 was shadowed by awful events on the Nistru, which claimed hundreds of lives and changed the destinies of thousands of people. “It has been 26 years, but we remain hostage to the unsolved Transnistrian conflict that hampers the development of the Republic of Moldova. So as not to become again victims of the confrontations between internal and external forces, we should firmly defend our national interests and promote and pursue a wise and balanced external policy,” stated Igor Dodon.
The Nistru war for defending the integrity and independence of the Republic of Moldova started on March 2, 1992. The war involved about 30,000 Moldovans. This claimed the lives of 300 combatants and over 400 civilians, with several hundred people being injured. Moldova and Russia signed a ceasefire agreement on July 21, 1992.
