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Chisinau, Tiraspol political representatives discuss free movement, observance of human rights on left bank of Dniester at working meeting

18:36 | 17.02.2023 Category: Official

Chisinau, 17 February /MOLDPRES/ - The first working meeting from this year of the political representatives in the process of negotiations on the Transnistrian settlement on behalf of Chisinau, Oleg Serebrian, and on behalf of Tiraspol, Vitaly Ignatyev, took place at the headquarters of the OSCE Mission from Tiraspol today. Attending the event were delegates of the participants in the 5+2 format of talks, the Reintegration Policies Bureau has reported.       

In retort to Tiraspol’s charges on a presumed economic blockade applied to the Transnistrian region, Chisinau’s representatives stressed that, despite the complicated regional context, the enterprises from the Transnistrian region had worked as normal and their commercial relations were not affected. At the same time, Serebrian denied the fact that the negotiations would be in an impasse, highlighting more agreements on the economic segment reached in 2022.       

Deputy PM Oleg Serebrian re-brought to the agenda the issue on the observance of human rights in the Transnistrian region. He said that, following the enforcement by Tiraspol of the so-called strategy of ‘’combating the extremism,’’ persecutions, intimidations, detentions and illegal deprivations of freedom of more citizens had intensified. Serebrian referred to the cases of Glijin A., Pleshkanov V., Pogorletskii V., Zimin A. and others. The Moldovan official stressed the need of intervention with prompt reactions, including with the involvement of the OSCE Mission, in order to ensure the fundamental rights and freedoms in the region. Serebrian reiterated the opportunity to continue the dialogue on this subject at the next meeting of the working groups for human rights.       

The sides tackled also the subject on the barriers to the free movement in the settlements from the Transnistrian region for representatives of the media and associate sector from the right bank of Dniester. Oleg Serebrian asked for removing these hindrances and ensuring the free access of journalists and civil society for the coverage and monitoring of the events and phenomena of public interest from the region.   

The political representatives also discussed the issue of illicit afforestation made on lands within the administrative borders of the Dorotcaia village, eastern Dubasari district, and placed beyond the Camenca-Tiraspol highway and Moldova’s representative asked to cease these illegal actions.    

Tiraspol’s political representative voiced criticism about the amendments recently made to Moldova’s Criminal Code on the incrimination of the separatism phenomenon. Ignatyev described them as ‘’a quite dangerous precedent, meant to impose new measures of pressure and to block the present dialogue channels and the earlier assumed commitments in the process of negotiations.’’     

In its reaction, the Chisinau side said the concerned provisions would not represent an impediment for continuing the interaction in the current formats of negotiations on the Transnistrian settlement. These provisions detailed the applicability of the stipulations of the Article 32, paragraph 3, of Moldova’s Constitution and regulate the ways of response to potential risks and vulnerabilities to the country’s national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Oleg Serebrian underlined that similar articles were stipulated also in the legislation of other countries, including from Europe.     

At a proposal by the Tiraspol chief negotiator to consider possibility of starting eventual ‘’informal consultations’’ in the 5+2 format of negotiations, the deputy prime minister for reintegration specified that the current complicated context of regional security, Russia’s continuous aggression against Ukraine and the lack of clear perspectives to advance to the basket of security issues and on the Transnistrian conflict settlement, made such consultations impossible. Serebrian suggested the maintaining of the interaction in the Chisinau-Tiraspol platforms of dialogue, with the OSCE’s presence and by inviting relevant international experts.       

Photo: Reintegration Policies Bureau

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