For the 14 years something like a totalitarian criminal-bureaucratic, dictatorial regime was established here, where the population is headily degrading and the power fully belongs to one person and is not under control of either local or international community. No, it’s not about the Russia of Stalin or the Germany of Hitler. It’s about present Prednistrovian Moldavian republic (PMR).

Today representatives of the Prednistrovian public organization “Fund of human rights and efficient politics” told at a press-conference in Kyiv about very unsatisfactory status of human rights in the PMR.

The main problem of the catastrophic situation in Prednistrovya, in the opinion of Oleksandr Radchenko and Mykola Buchatsky is the anti-national policy of the PMR president Ihor Smirnov. According to human rights activists, the numerous fixed facts of the acting electoral code violation and electing I. Smirnov for the third term in contrary to the Constitution that was passed during the all-national referendum in 1995 give all reasons to consider Smirnov an usurper of power in the unrecognized republic.  

“Having come to power under the slogans of the region’s population defense of the nationalism threat and having promised to gain international recognition, Smirnov did no one effective step for actual defining the state status of Prednistrovya”, – they say.

The participants of the press-conference make the acting president responsible for violating the most precious human’s right – the right for life. According to M. Buchatsky, the president didn’t take proper measures to avoid the fratricidal war of 1992 or stop it before active military operations in Bendery. “The war where only from the Prednistrovian side more than 800 people perished was used by Smirnov to strengthen his personal power”, – he stressed.

Among “achievements” of the acting power the human rights activists singled out the horrible situation with keeping the social-economic rights of the PMR population in the middle nineties. At that time the monthly salary of education and medicine employees was 3-4 USD and some technical workers earned for month the sum equal to 1,6 USD. Inflation of that period reached 2000000 per cent. 

Such economic showing made the PMR a real “champion”. Because of poor nourishment, lack of medicines a considerable quantity of people died. But the PMR power concealed form the world’s community the catastrophe initiated by it.

Because of unfavorable economic situation connected first of all with the high level of unemployment (in the PMR it is the highest in the world), dozens or maybe hundreds of citizens have to look for means for living outside the region. A great quantity of people, according to the representatives of “Fund of human rights and efficient politics”, who leave the country looking for job because of the power inactivity, disappear without a trace or perish. But no one looks for them.

Very often the citizens of Prednistroya become victims of people’s traffic, go in prostitution or become members of criminal groups. And the PMR power still today tries to conceal from the world’s and local community the real amount of unemployment and takes no measures to correct the situation. 

According to M. Buchatsky, the power of Prednistrovya effects discriminating policy regarding the people of Moldavian nationality. Nowadays in Prednistrovya all Moldavian schools are closed, preceded by the pressure on their chiefs and pupils.  

One shouldn’t mention the freedom of speech and religion in the PMR. According to O. Radchenko, all mass media without exception are under control of the power. “There’s no openness”, – he says desperately. On the official level only Orthodox Church is supported by all means, which is subordinated to the Russian Orthodox Church and actively supports the regime of Smirnov.  

Independent branches of power, judging from the words of the Prednistrivian guests, remain a utopia for the republics citizens. The cabinet of ministers at the president is just a deliberative body, local power bodies are deprived of any real power authorities at all, and judicial power is completely subordinated to the executive power.

According to Oleksandr Radchenko, even most of public organizations function under the direction of the Ministry of state safety (MSS). The human rights organizations are being pressed. As the representatives of the Fund told, apartments of the human rights organizations leaders were repeatedly inundated at night with concentrated vinegar essence, the “public organizations” members controlled by the MSS of the PMR beat the human rights activists, organize arsons of their apartments.  

“People live in poverty and are deprived of civil rights”, – O. Radchenko stressed. The human rights activists addressed Ukraine as one of the guarantors in the negotiations on regulating the Prednistrovian conflict with the request of stirring up together with Russia and OSCE the efforts directed to quick and final settlement of the conflict.

They also addressed with the request to support the initiative of “Fund of human rights and efficient politics” to prepare and perform in the near future a seminar aiming at studying numerous human rights violations in the PMR to inform the international community at last about the actual situation and take measures to prevent from further human rights violation in Prednistrovya.

Olena Holiuk
RUPOR