TIRASPOL REGARDS AS FUTILE THE ATTEMPTS TO DECIDE TRANSNISTRIA'S FUTURE BY MOLDOVA CITIZENS' VOTES

The proposal made recently by Moldovan President Igor Dodon to hold a nation-wide referendum on Moldova-Transnistria reintegration "goes contrary to the basic principles of democracy and has nothing in common with a realistic mechanism of finding a final formula of a political settlement of the Transnistrian conflict".

That was how the Transnistrian ministry of foreign affairs commented on Dodon's new initiative. The ministry named the referendum idea "a fairly progressive one for the Moldovan political system" and "a new word in Moldova's external policy", but "judging by the recent massive popular protests, it would be more topical to put other questions up for a popular vote - really vital for citizens and related with the definition of a further development vector for the Republic of Moldova itself".

The ministry reminded that over the 28 years of its independence, Transnistria has held 7 referenda on principal state-importance questions, including on the adoption of a course for independence, on adoption of the constitution of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic [PMR], on defining and fixing its further development vector voted for by the Transnistrian population [96%] at the referendum of September 17, 2006 namely for the course for "independence [of Moldova] and a subsequent free accession to the Russian Federation".

"The people of the Transnistrian Moldovan Republic, as the bearer of the sovereignty and the only source of power, have already made their free and independent choice", the ministry wrote.

Concerning Igor Dodon's statement that the referendum will be followed by removal of Russian troops from the region, the foreign ministry reminded that the presence of the Russian military in the region has also been fixed in the PMR on the legislative level proceeding from the result of the referendum of 1995, and that the Transnistrian side stands categorically against the Russian troop withdrawal".