Joint Control Commission cannot reach compromise

It is more than three weeks since the commander of the Moldovan peacekeeping forces, Colonel Aurel Fondos was stopped at one of the customs posts set up by the self-styled Transnistrian authorities, but the Joint Control Commission (JCC) has not yet identified a method for avoiding similar incidents, Info-Prim Neo reports. According to the JCC member on behalf of Chisinau Ion Leahu, a compromise could not be reached as the Transnistrian side makes foolish proposals, while the Moldovan side wants radical changes. The Transnistrians and Russians propose that the representatives of the Transnistrian militia and Moldovan police should give clear instructions to their inferiors as regards the free movement of the JCC members and military commanders in the Security Zone. “One year ago, all the illegal customs posts of Transnistria, including the post where Colonel Fondos was detained, received extracts from the Commission's documents that define the powers of the JCC members, military commanders and observers. The customs officers there know the given norms, but say they obey only the Transnistrian legislation. Thus, another military ma, a battalion commander of Moldova's peacekeeping forces, was detained on November 5,” Leahu said, adding the certain instructions will not change the situation. The Moldovan side suggested that the military commanders in the Security Zone should be empowered with the right to come to the scene and demand that the person be released unconditionally. Ion Leahu also spoke about another incident that happened in the Security Zone early in November. “The military observers identified a serious violation. Two military cars for transporting munitions on land and water went illegally from a military unit to another. The secessionist authorities argued the two cars were to be repaired and then transferred to the Emergencies Department. Any military car can move through the Security Zone only after the JCC gives its consent,” he said. The three incidents will be discussed in continuation at the next meeting of the Commission that will be held in Tighina on November 26.