http://www.tiraspoltimes.com/node/865
Basescu win celebrated in Tiraspol and Chisinau On both sides of the Dniester river, the political survival of Romanian President Traian Basescu was greeted with joy. In Moldova, supporters of a union with Romania are among his biggest fans. Pridnestrovie also celebrated because unification of Moldova and Romania almost certainly won't include anything East of the Dniester. By Karen Ryan, 20/May/2007 <http://www.tiraspoltimes.com/photos/romanian_president_traian_basescu_won_a n_impeachment_referendum_and_will_stay_in_office_tiraspol_celebrates.html> Romanian President Traian Basescu won an impeachment referendum and will stay in office. Tiraspol celebrates. <http://www.tiraspoltimes.com/images/redbull.gif> Romanian President Traian Basescu won an impeachment referendum and will stay in office. Tiraspol celebrates. CHISINAU (Tiraspol Times) - Basescu is back! According to exit polling, Romania's suspended president Traian Basescu will remain president after 78.1 % of citizens voted against his dismissal. As reported by Mediafax, 21.9 % of voters approved of his dismissal. The victory of Basescu over parliament was celebrated in both Chisinau, the capital of Moldova, and Tiraspol, the capital of Pridnestrovie - but, just like the two sides of the Dniester are separate in how they govern, they are also separate in their celebrations. And Basescu's win was celebrated for two very different reasons. In Moldova, supporters of a union state between Moldova and Romania celebrated because they see a strong Basescu as their best chances for joining the European Union by merging their country with Romania. Until 1940 and an invasion order by Stalin, Moldova was part of Romania. Now, some in Moldova want to get back to the motherland. In Pridnestrovie, by contrast, the celebration was for the opposite reason. The unrecognized country, which also goes under names such as Transdniester, Transnistria and Transdniestria, see a unification of Romania and Moldova as the best chance to once and for all get international recognition of their freedom. Any unification plans of Moldova and Romania would almost certainly not include Pridnestrovie. The Russian-speaking region has a mostly Slav population and has historically never belonged to Romania or Moldova. At its largest expansion, independent Romania extended only to the Dniester river. Historically, the same is true for independent Moldova. Unification plan excludes Pridnestrovie Yevgeny Shevchuk, Speaker of PMR's Parliament, made it clear that he thinks the best future for Moldova lies in joining Romania. He predicted that Romania and Moldova will finally unify, because the "fundamentals of this matter have already been prepared". Therefore, "Pridnestrovie has every right to make an independent decision regarding its own fate", Shevchuk says. In 2004, the Director of the National Strategy Institute in Russia, Stanislav Belkovski, outlined a plan for Basarabia to become a part of Romania in order to make Pridnestrovie independent and internationally recognized. Basarabia is underdeveloped, from the economy point of view, and, by becoming a part of Romania, there would be a lot of favorable development premises, given the fact of Romania's 2007 entry into the European Union, Belkovski said. In Bucharest, he was asked whether President Vladimir Putin is aware of this plan, and he said "there is no way the President would not know, but he is yet to have an official opinion". He made it clear that Putin would agree with 97% certainty. Stanislav Belkovski said that the European Union wants strong members, without border problems or disputed territorial claims. The Russian political scientist revealed that, from the viewpoint of Moldova, unification with Romania is the realistic only way to join to the EU in the foreseeable future. Romanian reluctance due to Kosovo independence precedent Traian Basescu seems OK with letting Pridnestrovie go its own way as long as it is the price for a unification of the world's two only Romanian countries: Romania and Moldova. He is less keen on Pridnestrovie's independence if it comes about as a result of a precedent-setting "Kosovo blowback" and if a union of Romania and Moldova is not part of the bargain. Basescu made his position on Kosovo clear in 2006. Speaking during a meeting with his Macedonian counterpart, Branko Crvenkovski, the Romanian President came out against independence for Kosovo. He stated that regarding the future statute of the Kosovo province, Romania is against any modification of the present frontiers, and supports a "negotiated autonomy, within the EU autonomy criteria". This is the "optimal solution that will not set any precedent", Basescu believes, referring to the Kosovo Precedent invoked by the unrecognized countries on the post-Soviet space. The Speaker of Pridnestrovie's Parliament, opposition leader Yevgeny Shevchuk, has publicly stated that Kosovo will set a precedent: " - We believe the citizens of this region have as many rights as the citizens in Kosovo, as far as the homologation of the state is concerned," the 38-year old Shevchuk said. As reported by Itar-Tass, Shevchuk says that a solution for Kosovo will also set an international precedent for other unrecognized countries, including Nagorno Karabakh, Abhazia and South Osetia, which could demand and obtain a similar homologation. (With information from Jurnalul National) Published 2006 - 2007 by TIRASPOL TIMES & WEEKLY REVIEW (News Services), a.f.s. ---------------------------- Vali "Noble blood is an accident of fortune; noble actions are the chief mark of greatness." (Carlo Goldoni) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (Jimi Hendrix)
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