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12 February 2012
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Interviews

Gheorghe Russu

Vice-director, The Center for Combating Economic Crimes and Corruption

Parties-Phantoms, Parties - State Institutions, Parties - State Enterprises

Ion PREAŞCĂ

20 parties have registered in the current election campaign. Many people say it is a too big number for such a small country as Moldova. At the same time, much more parties could take part in the election campaign.

Last week illustrated
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Activists launch Moldova’s first ‘Space Camp’ © Susan Coughtrie

EU suspends travel restrictions on transnistrian officials

The European Union Council of Foreign Ministers has extended until February 27, 2011 its travel ban on top officials from the unrecognized Transnistrian Moldovan Republic, but has suspended its validity until September 2010.
INFOTAG, 24 February 2010, 10:19

The Council suspended the travel restrictions in order to thus enhance the Transnistrian settlement process. The Council welcomed the positive changes taking place in this sphere, and appreciated the greater openness to dialog being demonstrated by the new Government of Moldova and the Tiraspol administration.

However, the Council called upon the Transnistrian authorities to resolve the pending problem of Moldovan schools in the region, and to restore the freedom of movement for citizens.

In late September 2010, the European Union Council of Foreign Ministers will consider the effect of the 6-month-long suspension of the travel restrictions and, depending on situation development, will decide about continuing the travel sanctions or on canceling them completely.

As Infotag has already reported, the initiative to suspend the travel restrictions for 6 months was put forward last December by the new Moldovan authorities for the purpose of invigorating the Transnistrian settlement process.

As Infotag has already reported, the European Union and the United States slapped the travel ban on 17 separatist Transnistria leaders in February 2003, subsequently extending it every year. These persons were thus punished for their reluctance to support the international community's efforts aimed at Transnistrian conflict settlement. In August 2004, the ban list was replenished with several more Transnistrian officials who were responsible for intimidating the pupils and teachers of Moldovan schools in the Transnistrian region and for closing down such schools.

In reply, Tiraspol prohibited, in February 2003, the entry to the region and transit via it for Moldovan leadership representatives. As a result, in 2004, e.g., Moldovan Minister of Reintegration Vasile Sova was asked to stand up and leave a stadium in Tiraspol, where he had come to as an ordinary viewer to watch a soccer match. And last autumn, the Transnistrian border authorities did not let Moldovan Prime Minister Vlad Filat enter the region. Filat wanted to watch a European League match at the Sheriff Stadium in Tiraspol.

In March 2009, Tiraspol prohibited over 10 European Union and other officials to enter Transnistria, in particular European Union Special Representative for Moldova Kalman Mizsei, U.S. Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Moldova Asif J. Chaudhry, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Czech Republic to the Republic of Moldova Petr Kypr, and other.

In 2008, the travel ban applied to 19 persons, and first and foremost certainly Transnistrian leader Igor Smirnov. The list includes also his both sons - Vladimir, who heads the Transnistria state customs committee and who is a member of the Transnistrian supreme soviet [parliament], and Oleg - chairman of the GasPromBank board and leader of the pro-presidential Transnistrian Patriotic Party (PPP).

Six persons were subsequently crossed out from the last year's ban list, first of all the then Transnistrian parliament speaker Yevgeny Shevchuk.

 



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