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  • Moldovan enclave wants independence

    Weekend Australian
    June 3, 2006 Saturday
    NSW Country Edition

    Moldovan enclave wants independence

    by Jeremy Page, Richard Beeston



    MOST people would struggle to point out Pridnestrovskaya Moldavskaya
    Respublika on a map, let alone pronounce it.

    Those who can, know it as a hotbed of smuggling, the site of a vast
    Soviet-era weapons dump, or perhaps the home of Sheriff Tiraspol
    football club.

    However, this tiny sliver of land, known in English as Transdniestr,
    is the latest European enclave to make a bid for independence
    following Montenegro's decision to declare statehood last month.

    Igor Smirnov, Transdniestr's ''President'', has announced that its
    550,000 people will vote in a referendum in September on whether to
    seek formal independence from Moldova.

    ''The recent example of Montenegro proves that a referendum is
    becoming a norm for solving conflicts,'' said Mr Smirnov, 64, a
    former metalworker.

    In the unlikely event that Transdniestr wins independence, it would
    become Europe's 19th new country since the collapse of communism in
    1989.

    Montenegro's example has kindled hopes that even tiny enclaves in
    Europe's forgotten corners can still become viable states. The fear
    is that declarations of independence by mini-states could spark fresh
    instability in unstable regions.

    In the Balkans, Montenegro's independence drive is likely to be
    followed by Kosovo, a predominantly ethnic Albanian province of
    Serbia. That could spark moves by the ethnic Serb Republika Srpska to
    break away from Bosnia, and Herceg-Bosna's Croats to join Croatia.

    In the Caucasus, Russia is still struggling to contain the separatist
    rebellion in Chechnya. Georgia is split by breakaway regions in
    Abkhazia and South Ossetia. There is still no resolution to
    Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed enclave in Azerbaijan that is controlled
    by Armenia.

    Transdniestr broke away from Moldova in 1990 and the two sides fought
    a war in 1992 that left more than 1500 people dead. Although never
    recognised internationally, it has close ties to Russia, which helped
    the ethnic Russians in the war and has maintained 1500 troops there.

    Officially, they are there to keep the peace and guard a stockpile of
    40,000 tonnes of weapons stored there in case of a NATO invasion. In
    reality, this remains Moscow's westernmost strategic outpost -- a
    bulwark against the expanding European Union and NATO.

    It is also a haven for money-laundering, smuggling and illegal
    weapons sales.

    Mr Smirnov runs it as a personal fiefdom, financed by local oligarchs
    and propped up by nostalgia for the Soviet Union. It has its own
    currency based on the old Soviet rouble, uses the old Soviet Moldovan
    flag and stages annual Soviet-style military parades. Shop windows
    display tawdry goods from the 1970s and 1980s. The only redeeming
    feature is Moldova's only FIFA-approved football stadium, home to the
    country's top football club, Sheriff Tiraspol.

    Peace talks, mediated by the Organisation for Security and
    Co-operation in Europe, have stalled over Transdniestr's refusal to
    accept autonomy within a Moldovan state. Russia has backed the
    referendum.

    Karel De Gucht, the Belgian Foreign Minister and OSCE chairman, has
    said there is no legal basis for a referendum and urged both sides to
    negotiate.
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