Ion Manole: The settlement of the Transnistrian dispute is a prerogative that is exclusively within the competence of the constitutional authorities of Moldova. Info-Prim Neo survey

Info-Prim Neo News Agency has launched an opinion poll on the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict among leaders of political parties, representatives of the civil society, and opinion shapers from both banks of the Nistru. The survey is aimed at finding out viewpoints that could contribute to the improvement of the present situation. All the participants were asked the same two questions. This time, the answers are given by the president of “Promo-Lex” Association, Ion Manole. [ - How can the Transnistrian dispute be solved in your opinion? In what way, through what mechanisms and during what terms is a settlement possible?] - The settlement of the Transnistrian dispute is a prerogative that is exclusively within the competence of the constitutional authorities of Moldova that must propose solutions (which would strictly meet the international law norms and the interests of the people living in the region) and offer the Transnistria residents the possibility of deciding freely their future. The following conditions should be obligatorily and unconditionally fulfilled in order to achieve this objective: a) to evacuate the foreign occupational military troops and their arsenal; b) to replace the Russian military “peacekeepers” with a civil international contingent; c) to insure free access for representatives of the civil society to both banks of the Nistru; d) to insure free access for journalists to both banks of the Nistru; e) to insure the Transnistrian population’s access to alternative sources of information; f) to work out a mechanism that would insure and guarantee the observance of the human rights in the region (so that the residents and visitors of the region feel protected); g) to involve, consult and multilaterally inform the population about the aspects that influence the situation in the region and their rights de facto. [ - How do you think, how efficient and relevant to the created situation are the actions taken by the administration of Moldova at present? When do you think the effort made by the authorities will begin to produce results and what results we can expect?] - I consider that the steps taken by the present Moldovan authorities lack transparency. The authorities should not ignore the interests of the largest part of the population (including of those that found refuge in Moldova 16 years ago) for the sake of a possible solution. This way, authorities’ efforts risk making the situation of those over 400,000 people living in the Transnistrian region of Moldova more complicated. I think that it is not worth sacrificing the interests of hundreds of thousands of people and their rights for political or group interests. The positive results will appear when the authorities focus more on the individual rights of every person that lives in or crosses this zone. Only by definitive and legal measures, the constitutional authorities could contribute and accelerate the settlement of the Transnistrian dispute, which is, undoubtedly, a purely artificial one.