Transnistrian NGOs are persecuted by local regime, Promo-Lex

A large part of the nongovernmental organizations in the Transnistrian region are fictional, being created controlled or subordinated to the local administration. Only 15% of 1,000 NGOs are active. Among these are organizations that try to solve the problems faced by the communities and their beneficiaries, but they are persecuted by the Transnistrian political regime, the head of Promo-Lex Association Ion Manole told Info-Prim Neo. Many of the active NGOs face intimidation and pressure exerted by the bodies of the Transnistrian administration, especially the security ones. The persecuted NGOs deal mainly with mobilization and communication activities and activities aimed at strengthening confidence between the people living on the banks of the Nistru, have established partnerships with Western organizations or promote the democratic values and human rights, Ion Manole said. The organizations working in the social sector, migration, prevention of human trafficking and ecology are freer in their acts. According to the head of Promo-Lex, the low development level of the NGOs is due to the conditions and environment in which the Transnistrians live, namely the lack of access to information, especially the limited access to the Internet, the lack of alternative sources of information as the mass media is controlled by the regime, the low level of proficiency in foreign languages, the lack of material resources required in the daily activity of the NGO such as computers, Internet, offices, etc. “The Transnistrian administration encourages openly one option – the mandatory and exclusive establishment of partnerships with certain Russian organizations. We encourage all the partnerships, without discrimination. Our colleagues in Transnistria have the right to the same chances and opportunities and we should help them establish such contacts,” Ion Manole said. He also said that the Moldovan constitutional authorities do not have an appropriate attitude and do not take the necessary steps. The cooperation with the Transnistrian organizations should be as close as possible as they are ready to promote the democratization and development of the region, he stressed.