Moldova to boycott meetings of peacekeeping command body

Moldova's delegation to the Joint Control Commission (JCC) will boycott its meetings until the two men arrested on March 2 by the Tiraspol regime are released, JCC Member Ion Leahu told Info-Prim Neo. He said the Moldovan delegation would return to the JCC meetings only after the release of the Corjova mayor and councilman. Ion Leahu recalled that such boycotts had been used on earlier occasions, in connection with disputes related to the Romanian-teaching schools in Transnistria and the farm plots east of the Dubasari-Grigoriopol roadway. “Those boycotts used to be effective, since Russia, which considers itself to be the biggest peacekeeping actor in this area, has been keen to show everyone that the peacekeeping mission works well and plays a positive role. And since the meetings are disrupted, it means that something went wrong and this affects the reputation of this operation and Russia's pride in general”, stated Ion Leahu. Moldova's delegation to the JCC is composed of 7 members, Transnistria's delegation has 9 members, Russia's has 4, and Ukraine and OSCE delegate 2 members each. In a statement released on Thursday, March 3, the Moldovan delegation condemned the actions of the Tiraspol authorities as serious violations of human rights and fundamental liberties, and as offending Moldova's officials symbols. On Tuesday, March 2, Valeriu Mitsul, the mayor of Corjova village, and local councilman Iurie Cotsofan were arrested by the Transnistrian militia as they were participating in a commemorative event dedicated to the Nistru war, which started 19 years ago on that day. They were arrested for a term of at least 7 days for the “illegal practice” of carrying a Moldovan flag and also for opposing the arrest. It was reported that the flag which they carried was thrown to the ground and torn.