Representatives of civil society called on the authorities to take attitude towards the situation in the Transnistrian region. Members of a number of NGOs are concerned that a new armed conflict may start on the left side of the Nistru, which would be different from that of 1992. Related statements were made in a news conference at IPN.
Arcadie Barbarosie, director of the Public Policy Institute (IPP), said the representatives of civil society formulated a statement on the developments in the eastern districts of Moldova. “The regime from the eastern districts is an instrument used by Russia to exercise control over the behavior and destiny of Moldova. It’s clear that Russia does not want Moldova to strengthen itself as a democratic state, based on the partnership offered by the EU,” he stated.
The representatives of civil society say the actions of the Transnistrian administration fit Russia’s scenario not to allow the state of Moldova to consolidate. “It’s well known that in Tiraspol they started to speak about the so-called bill on the ‘state border’ in 2012. The fact that Yevgeny Shevchuk promulgated this act now shows that they intend to torpedo the negotiations that ensure minimum communication between the two banks of the Nistru,” stated Arcadie Barbarosie.
Viorel Cibotaru, director of the European Institute of Political Studies of Moldova, considers that the Transnistrian administration aims to cause an armed conflict, but this new conflict would be different from that of 1992, given the experience and military equipment of the sides involved. “The imminence of this danger becomes serious. An armed conflict can cover the entire territory of the country,” he stated.
Igor Botan, executive director of the Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT), believes that the only method by which Moldova can avoid the worsening of the situation in the eastern districts is to modernize and Europeanize the country so that the right bank of the Nistru become attractive for those living on the left bank.
IPP program director Oazu Nantoi referred to the June 20 hearings on the situation in Transnistria that will take place in Parliament. “Our interest is for this meeting to have positive results. We formulated the statement after monitoring the situation in the eastern districts for a period. Society should be sensitized. If the authorities do not react in this situation of risk, they should no longer promote pro-European slogans,” he stated.
The president of the Foreign Policy Association Vasile Nedelciuc said he expects the MPs to adopt a decision by which to show that they are devoted to the principles of peaceful settlement of the conflict. The lawmakers should trenchantly demand that the agreements on the Transnistrian conflict signed earlier should be respected. If this is done, things will calm down as Russia will be unable to become involved in the conflict, trying to keep its image as the future organizer of the winter Olympic Games.
