The Nistru war that started on March 2, 1992 couldn’t have been avoided even if the Moldovan authorities did everything possible to prevent it. Such statements were made in the talk show “Special edition” on Publika TV channel, IPN reports.
The chairman of the 1992 War Veterans Association “Tiras-Tighina” Anatolie Caraman said the separatist forces used as a pretext an accident caused by a minor at a discothèque in Dubasari. “A naughty child took the pistol, went to the discothèque and fired at the people. Our police came to the scene as well as he chief of the Transnistrian militia, who was shot dead by that naughty child. Not we started the war. Russia could not accept losing the former Soviet republics. Thus, that incident at the discothèque served as a pretext. Our administration did then everything possible for the war with Russia to be avoided,” he stated.
Former deputy minister of the interior Ghenadie Cosovan said the conflict actually started before March 2. “Earlier, our police commissariats in Rybnitsa, Grigoriopol, Tiraspol and Dubasari had been attacked. A number of police officers were tortured. One day earlier, the Transnistrian militia shot dead a man. That militia chief came to the scene and expressed his bewilderment at the fact that the victim was shot in the head. The next day he was also killed and the war started,” said the former policeman.
Victor Puscas, who in that period served as the Deputy Head of Moldova’s Parliament, considers that Russian planned beforehand Transnistria’s transformation into a Russian enclave. “A number of industrial units of union importance were concentrated in the Transnistrian region. Gradually, the native people were replaced by Russians brought to work at those companies. Before the war, those who opposed the separatist regime were terrorized and could be even refused to be sold bread and milk. Anyway, I do not agree with those who say that we shouldn’t have fought and should have conceded Transnistria without casualties. We fought for every piece of land. Now, the separatist territory is 7 or even 4 km in width in some places,” he stated
