The weekly meeting of the Joint Control Commission was again postponed

Members of the Joint Control Commission met on 5 November, 2020 in Bender, but the meeting was again postponed as they failed to approve the agenda after lengthy discussions.

The Tiraspol Delegation still blocked the inclusion on the Commission's agenda of pressing issues from the Security Zone - presence of illegal "border" checkpoints and armed representatives of other structures not part of the Joint Peacekeeping Forces, impediment of free movement and seizure of citizens.

The Delegation of the Republic of Moldova continued to demand release of all citizens abducted in the Security Zone and lifting of any traffic restrictions in their regard. It was brought on the table that the mother of one of the citizens abducted in Camenca district and illegally detained by the Tiraspol force structures requested the Joint Military Command to establish the whereabouts of her son. The Commission is therefore required to examine any breach of the Security Zone regime as determined by the 1992 Agreement. Entry into this area of the 'mgb' armed representatives and their subsequent illegal actions is a blatant violation of this specific Agreement and denotes defiance of the basic acts of peacekeeping operation.

The Delegation of the Republic of Moldova considers that the inability of the Commission to control the situation in the Security Zone could compromise the existing peacekeeping mechanisms.

During the discussions on the draft agenda, the Delegation of the Republic of Moldova rejected the insinuations of the Transnistrian side and mentioned that on the day of the presidential elections first round the law enforcement agencies had to ensure public order in localities from the Security Zone. 

Given the second round, which will take place on 15 November, the Delegation of the Republic of Moldova called on members of the Joint Control Commission, representatives of Ukraine, the OSCE Mission and the Joint Military Command, to contribute to public order and free movement on the day of the elections. They also called for access of the electoral officials who will go with the mobile ballot box to the two placement centers for elderly and disabled people from Cocieri and, respectively, to two institutions under to the National Administration of Penitentiaries, located in Bender.

Delegation of the Republic of Moldova to the Joint Control Commission