September 2 events held in Tiraspol defy Moldova's sovereignty, opinion leaders

On September 2, it is 20 years of the proclamation of the breakaway Moldovan Transnistrian Republic. The Government of Moldova, opinion leaders and historians condemned the festivities held in Tiraspol on this occasion, describing them as defiance of Moldova's sovereignty. Transnistrian issue expert Oazu Nantoi stated for Info-Prim Neo that the Transnistrian authorities will continue to observe September 2 as Moldovan society became indifferent to the reunification problem. “The so-called Transnistrian conflict has lasted for 20 years not because somebody is mean (it is now fashionable to accuse Russia), but because we are weak, corrupt, do not have dignity of Moldovan citizens and, respectively, are incapable of electing a government that will resolve this dispute,” said Oazu Nantoi. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, Doctor of Historical Sciences Mariana S. Taranu said the self-proclaimed Transnistrian republic appeared as a result of the separatist movement of the start of the 1990s that developed in the Transnistrian towns that were mainly inhabited by Russian ethnics, who enjoyed direct support from the Kremlin.”The main cause of Moldova's dismemberment resides in the Kremlin's wish to maintain its influence in the Balkans, the Transnistrian conflict being a geopolitical one whereby Russia wants to keep Moldova under control and prevent the enlargement of NATO. During 20 years, the self-styled Transnistrian regime has been headed by a restrained group of Russian criminals who usurped the right to speak in the name of the entire population living in the area controlled by them,” said the historian. Mariana S. Taranu also said that the totalitarian regime prevented the population from participating in the political life. “The most important thing is that despite the Muscovite and Transnistrian propagandist machinery, the people living on the banks of the Nistru do not treat each other as enemies. Therefore, it is opportune for the Moldovan constitutional authorities to draw up a program that would help the population adjust to the new political realities in Moldova. The NGOs and mass media should play a major role in this respect,” Taranu said. Anatol Caraman, the leader of the Association of the 1992 War Veterans “Tiras-Tighina”, said the ceasefire agreement of 1992 was unfavorable for Moldova. “The stopping of fighting with Transnistria was the biggest mistake committed by Moldova's first President Mircea Snegur. We could win as many units were leaving the front and running back to Russia. There should have been one more assault. We missed the historical chance, when Russia was weak and disorderly,” lieutenant colonel Anatol Caraman told Info-Prim Neo. The separatist regime controls Moldova's Transnistrian regime, except for the villages Cocieri, Molovata Noua, Cosnita, Pohrebea, Dorotskaya, Roghi, Vasilievka, and partially Corjova. Some of the settlements that are situated on the right bank of the Nistru remained also under the separatists' control. These are Tighina town and the villages Gasca, Protiagalovka, Chitcani, Merenesti, Zagornoe, and Cremenciug.