Transnistrian young men in very difficult situation: study

The young men from the Transnistrian area, who are citizens of Moldova, are in a very difficult situation, as they are recruited in illegal paramilitary units. Despite the national legislation, they are forced to enroll and to swear the oath to an anti-constitutional regime. The conclusions are drawn up in a study called “The Military Duty of the Inhabitants of the Transnistrian Region of Moldova,” launched Wednesday by the “Promo-Lex” association, Info-Prim Neo reports. The president of the association, Ion Manole, says the state, the young recruits are citizens of, is considered the number-one enemy of the self-styled Transnistrian state, a reason why the youths are educated to be intolerant, to hate and to disregard their own country. “The youths from the Transnistrian area are between two perils, between two possibilities to be penally punished,” Ion Manole says. According to the Transnistrian legislation, the youths can be sanctioned for shirking from the military service. At the same time, according to the Moldovan Criminal Law, they are liable to 5-10 years of jail for participating in illegal paramilitary formations, yet those legal provisions are not applied by the Constitutional authorities. According to the research, they enroll, in the Transnistrian army, people with criminal antecedents or sentenced conditionally and men with severe health problems to insure the military structures with a large number of soldiers. Instead, they not recruit the relatives of dignitaries and businesspeople. “The number of military in Transnistria is exaggerated, related to the human and economic potential of the area,” Ion Manole says. According to him, the Moldovan Army has a contingent of 6,500-6,600 people (a decreasing number because of the military reform), while the Transnistrian army has some 5,000 people. That is each 111th inhabitant of the area is a military, while in the rest of the country – each 538th inhabitant. The general state in the military units is characterized by numerous acts of violence, disorder and corruption. The people enrolled in the paramilitary units are abused, tortured, are extorted money from and forced to work, the research shows. “Promo-Lex” considers that, in order to insure the observance of the Moldovan citizens' rights in the area, the Constitutional authorities should ease the access of the Moldovan citizens to the state's institutions and mechanisms. First, the territorial principle according to which the youth are enrolled should be removed, Ion Manole considers. In this context, Feodor Banari, a resident of Bender, says his son, a graduate of a military college in Chisinau, is denied the to be registered by the Military Commissariat from Anenii Noi. The solution he is suggested is to become and official resident of Anenii Noi district. Representatives of the Moldovan Defense Ministry deny to apply this principle. “If such cases are discovered, that I see as violations, measures will be taken,” colonel Sergiu Gutu said at the study-launch, promising to deal with Banari case. The “Promo-Lex” association has been carrying out defending and promoting the human rights especially in the Transnistrian area since 2004. The study “The Military Duty of the Inhabitants of the Transnistrian Area of Moldova” appeared with the support of the Swedish Helsinki Committee and SIDA.