Working meeting of political representatives took place in Bender

On November 19, 2024, a working meeting of political representatives in the negotiation process on the Transnistrian settlement from Chișinău and Tiraspol was held in the Bender office of the OSCE Mission to Moldova.

Oleg Serebrian revisited the issue of the eight Romanian-language educational institutions that, despite what was previously agreed, continue to be subjected to unjustified pressure from Tiraspol.

The chief negotiator from Chișinău stressed the existence of barriers to free movement in the Transnistrian region, especially for representatives of the press and NGOs on the right bank of Nistru River. A recent case of curtailment of circulation for a group of writers who intended to visit the „Alexandru cel Bun” Theoretical Lyceum in Bender were mentioned. A similar case involves the employees of the regional TV channel Studio-L from Căușeni, illegally stopped by the force structures in the Transnistrian region. Attention was drawn to the fact that media representatives from the right bank of the Nistru River must have the right to exercise their profession unhindered in the Transnistrian region, just as journalists from the left bank of the Nistru River have the possibility within the perimeter controlled by the constitutional authorities.

In the context of the lack of positive dynamics regarding the respect of human rights in the Transnistrian region, Oleg Serebrian called for an end to the persecutions under the cover of the alleged fight against the so-called extremism and reiterated the call to release Ermurachi M., Dimov Al., Derebcinschii S., Pogorleţchii V., Menzarari S., Malîşev A. and other citizens illegally detained by the Transnistrian structures.

Discussions also concerned the impediments created artificially by Tiraspol to farmers in Dubăsari district. A group of representatives of the owners of agricultural land located after the „Camenca – Tiraspol” route reported on the multitude of difficulties they face as a result of the unilateral measures of the structures in Tiraspol and put forward a series of technical measures to overcome the problems.

During the meeting, Chișinău proposed to initiate a dialogue on issues related to the field of statistical data and the need to connect the methodology for collecting and processing them according to the principles applicable in the European Union, including examining the opportunity to convene experts in the field from both banks of the Nistru River.

Political representatives agreed on the need to convene several meetings of Working Groups with the participation of experts from Chișinău and Tiraspol in the near future.