Transnistrian regime leaves population without property

The legal status of the property in the Transnistrian region, protection of the right to ownership and identification of causes that lead to the appearance of problems concerning the right to ownership on the left side of the Nistru were the focus of the study “Right to Property in Moldova’s Transnistrian Region” that was presented by the Human Rights Association Promo-LEX in a news conference held at Info-Prim Neo on Friday, February 19. The Association’s chairman Ion Manole said the aim of the study was to assess the state property in the Transnistrian region. Speaking about the start of the conflict between the two banks of the Nistru, Manole said that the Nistru war of 1992 had geopolitical causes as well as economic interests at its origin. The population in the region was manipulated by the Smirnov regime as they assured them that most of Moldova’s property is located on the left bank of the river and that the local residents will only benefit from the separation. In 18 years, the property in this region was appropriated by a small group of people, sold and leased out for 99 years and the population became poorer than it was. Ion Manole considers that the study, which was conducted by well-known experts, will enable the Moldovan authorities to take the measures needed to ensure the right to ownership of the Transnistrians. One of the authors of the study Alexandru Postica said the study reveals a number of classical problems regarding the right to ownership, but focuses mainly on such aspects as the right to own land, the illegal and nontransparent privatization of companies, the violation of the rights of the deportees and the paying back of bank deposits. According to Postica, these problems in the future will become causes for disputes and trials that will affect not only private individuals but also the state Moldova. The experts established that the land in Transnistria is leased out to economic entities, including foreign, for 99 years. But some of the lease contracts are based on the legislation of Moldova. Alexandru Postica said the privatization in the region was illegal because all the Moldovan citizens contributed to the creation of that property and must take part in its denationalization. As to the restoration of the property taken away from the deportees, there is no prospect that these persons will come into possession of the property nationalized in the Soviet period. Ion Manole stressed that the depositors of Banca de Economii living in the Transnistrian settlements that are under the administration of the Moldovan constitutional authorities are marginalized as well. The people there deposited money with banks in Tiraspol, Bender, Dubasari and other Transnistrian towns controlled by the Smirnov regime. The study “Right to Property in Moldova’s Transnistrian Region” was carried out with financial support from Civil Rights Defenders and is available in Romanian, Russian and English on Promo-LEX’s website.