Tiraspol - Moldova - Mafia in Uniform

Transnistria has dismissed earlier speculations that the attack could be linked to the criminal "underworld". They call the attack a "terror act" and claim it was designed to destabilize the region. Without directly accusing Moldova of these attacks, they also mentioned that Moldova is trying to destabilize the situation in the region...



In September anything can happen...

Terror Suspect Detained - He "Acted Alone"

Another suspect has been detained in Tiraspol. They do not say his name or what his motives were, but said he was acting alone and was not connected with any organized group. They said the explosion had nothing to do with Moldovan secret services. The Russian FSB (KGB) helped Transnistria to detain the suspect.

Two schoolchildren found two hand-grenades in Tiraspol on August 16. Police found 4 more hand-grenades and a fuse. They say they don't know how the grenades got there and that they might have been there "for many years". In light of the recent "terror attacks", they ask the public to be extremely watchful and to call the police if they see anything suspicious.

PSDM member detained by Transdniestria special forces
The leader of the nongovernmental organization “Dignitas" Ghenadie Taran, member of the Social Democratic Party of Moldova (PSDM), was arrested by the Transdniestrian special forces on August 17. The reason for the arrest and the place where Taran is detained are not known yet.

According to a statement from the Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Moldova, a group of armed persons entered Taran’s house at about 16:00 saying they are employees of the criminal police. They arrested Taran and searched the house without presenting any warrant. The documents regarding the activity of the organization he heads have been seized.

The version in romanian says that the security services of Transnistria are using the blast in Tiraspol as a pretext for harassing the regime's opposition.

Originally posted by taseg

The version in romanian says that the security services of Transnistria are using the blast in Tiraspol as a pretext for harassing the regime's opposition.

Interesting. I'm not surprised.


Update on the August 13 blast

They say it was an accident. The man who got arrested wanted revenge on his boss after his wife and himself were fired. Two grenades fell out of his bag in the bus without him noticing, and he left the bus 5 minutes before the explosion. I wonder if the six-year-old girl who died might have found the grenades and accidentally triggered an explosion? If this is what really happened, that is...

Transnistria's "President" Igor Smirnov has awarded medals to the FSB (KGB) for solving the case of the Aug 13 bus bombing.

I'm not buying the story about the fallen grenades...
If you loose two 500-800g hand grenades, you are going to notice that... unless the guy had a huge back filled with steel junk etc

Most likely it was internal politics with timing gone wrong, but with the external pressure to Transnistrian government, they try to show a united face by playing this incident down as a one mans solo op.

Originally posted by northwolf

If you loose two 500-800g hand grenades, you are going to notice that... unless the guy had a huge back filled with steel junk etc

Good point I didn't even think of that.

***

And I didn't know that the European Union Border Assistance Mission to Moldova and Ukraine use Transnistrian company Intertelekom as their provider. Intertelekom's CEO, Boris Akulov, used to be Transnistria's minister of information and communications. I hope they don't let all of their phonecalls go through Intertelekom. Unless all they do is ordering pizzas...

Here's some interesting read. Seems like at least as late as in 2001, Tiraspol was an internet-free zone. Now there's lots of propaganda in english online, attemps to raise sympathy for their cause. "The peaceful, innocent underdog against the rest of the world". Their real agenda is of course to be able to continue with whatever they're doing (start reading this thread from the beginning if you don't know) without any interference. And the (non-)voting? They will probably vote to be joined with Russia, and only Russia will recognize it (after all, they paid for it). Remember they secured their finacing of the referendum ("ohhh, so expensive...") with Transnistrian military facilities, factories and stuff?

Edward Lucas: gotcha (reprised) from European Voice - Disinformation flows along the Dniestr river

August 31, 2006


On 17 September a non-country will be holding a non-vote. The non-country is Transdniestria, a strip of land sandwiched between Moldova and Ukraine. The non-vote is a poll about its future – by some counts the 11th since the Transdniestria authorities declared independence from Moldova proper in 1990. But no credible outsiders will observe it. The outcome is not in doubt.

It is also a non-vote because the question is oddly phrased. Voters are asked to support either the leadership’s current line, of independence leading to ‘association’ with the Russian federation, or to rejoin Moldova. That is not a mandate for real talks about the future, but a rejection of them. It’s the same old dreary story of posturing and deadlock.

What is new, however, is the energetic efforts by the Trandsniestrian authorities to make their case in English, online. When I last visited the Transdniestrian capital, Tiraspol, back in 2001, it was an internet-free zone. Now that’s changed. There’s tiraspoltimes.com (published by an elusive Irishman), pridnestrovie.net, visitpmr.com and transdniestria.com. They are well-written – mostly by native-speakers of English – well-designed, and well-targetted at outsiders whose sympathy with the underdog might lead them to support a self-declared state struggling against the disdain of the international community. What puzzles me, though, is who is behind this.

Click the link to read the full version...

To me this entire Transdniester affair (add to that countless others in CIS countries- Chechnya, Tatarstan, Armenia/Azerbaijan, South Ossetia, Crimea, Lithuania/Kaliningrad) is very reminiscent of post imperial (European empires) strifes for freedom and self government around the world (India/Pakistan, Palestine, Africa, Ireland, etc.). Soviet Union can be considered an empire, and its fall created possibly more problems than it had solved. Much blame is laid on Russia, becuase Russia declared itself a sort of successor to the Soviet legacy (including debt, intellectual heritage, military and scientific R&D). In truth USSR was more or less a wholesome union (unlike the Warsaw pact). There were no official distinctions between ethnicities within the Union, as well as places of residence- the later resulted in what is today Russian ethnicity dominated regions of Kalingrad, Transdniester, Crimea, and South Ossetia. So these questions are not as easy to solve as saying- this part belongs to Moldova, this part belongs to Russia. The fingerprints of USSR will likely remain in place for at least the current generation.

Transdniester conflict will not be solved soon. The news you relay are eerily similar to other such 'autonomous regions'. I for one agree that historical claims to land of some nations (like Israel and Serbia) should matter less than the current situation with an ethnical make up of the country. So these "separatists" in most cases have some credibility. On the other hand, nation states were created for a reason. There is a reason why all 50 states in US stayed together through recent history. A nation must not be allowed to divide based on every minority interest.

And if you support these "separatists" in one part of the world (Palestine, IRA, Basque, Chechnya, Transdniester)- you should more or less support them all- otherwise selective support would appear hypocritical. And if you oppose these "rebels", you should oppose them everywhere. However the sad fact is- nearly every large country involved with these conflicts are acting hypocritically in this sense. Russia opposes the separation of Chechnya, yet supports resistance in Transdniester and South Ossetia. So it has more to do with national interests- and less with ideology which is mostly used as an exuse.


Its best to act as an observer on these matters, because if we start taking one side or the other we will eventually be proven hypocrits. So far Transdniester has proven to be more calm than areas such as Chechnya and South Ossetia- thank god for that. What I do not like however is the lack of negotiation- there only seems to be more and more alienating of each other on both sides. If the radicals on both sides don't lay off their pressure, we could see another South Ossetia here. Thats what you get when you break up an empire.

16th Anniversary of "Independence"

Transnistria celebrated the 16th anniversary of its "independence" from Moldova today. Military parade in Tiraspol...




[edit on 2006/9/2 by Hellmutt]

Transnistria says the NATO exercises Lancer/Longbow-2006 is an escalating threat to its security. They don't believe the exercises are for peacekeeping purposes. They also said that if these are indeed "peacekeeping exercises", then Transnistria should be participating in them. Nine NATO countries and 12 partner states are participating in these exercises. Transnistria will vote for their "independence" on September 17th...

The NATO exercises in Moldova started yesterday (Sept 14). The exercises are due to run until September 29.


Tiraspol To Vote Sunday - Europe is boycotting the vote

On Sunday (Sept 17) Transnistria will vote for "reunion with Russia". I believe only Russia will send observers...

The OSCE's Mission in Moldova has replaced William Hill with a new American Mission Chief, Louis O’Neill. The Mission's credibility as a security actor needs to get restored. The OSCE needs to recognize the conflict’s real nature, or they will continue to fail...

Annals of Cold War II Part 2: At Ground Zero in Moldova

September 15, 2006


A new American chief has just taken over at the OSCE’s Mission in Moldova, scene of a “frozen conflict” orchestrated by Russia on what has now become the border of NATO and the EU. From 1993 to date, the OSCE has attempted in vain to resolve the Transnistria conflict. It is not just the fact of that failure, but the particular ways and means of that failure that have contributed to discrediting this organization as a security actor.

Led by U.S. diplomat William Hill for a record-breaking period of more than six years until August 2006, the OSCE’s Moldova Mission has accumulated considerable political and conceptual ballast that the new Mission Chief, Louis O’Neill, will have to clean out in order to restore the Mission’s credibility.

[---]

The OSCE will continue to fail unless it recognizes the conflict’s real nature: An inter-state conflict in which Russia has seized a part of Moldova’s territory by military force and installed its political and administrative appointees there. The ongoing “negotiating process” and diplomatic terminology long associated with it are obscuring that reality.

Click the link to read the full version...

Tiraspol is on a charm offensive. A handful of new english-language websites are posting lots of propaganda these days. They are trying to paint a better picture of Transnistria without the mafia, arms and people trafficking elements. They are also falsifying reports and articles. Fish and flowers...


Roses are red and violets are blue. People are supposedly singing and dancing in the streets, and they only want their "freedom"...

The non-vote has been held in Tiraspol. Not surprisingly they voted for Russia almost 100% , but only Russia will recognize it. So, what will happen now? For how much longer are they going to drag this out? Now they got a pro-Russian PM in Ukraine as well. While "Stop contraband!" Yulia Tymoshenko has disappeared from the scene. The show goes on and it's business as usual in Tiraspol...

Originally posted by Hellmutt
The show goes on and it's business as usual in Tiraspol...

It seems that they'll get away with it in the end...

A Tiraspol-based special-purpose military unit has been sent to either Abkhazia or South Ossetia on a special mission. They are travelling undercover as "football players"...


Related ATS Thread:
Abkhaz Leader Has Ordered Army To Sink Any Georgian Ships In Its Waters

Foreign companies are involved in Transdniester smuggling. Large amounts of money from drugs and arms smuggling are being laundered.

Viktor Bout's (in this article called "Viktor But") main source of arms is Transnistria. And what about Al Qaeda's (and PKK's) presence in Transnistria? You thought I was joking, right? They are honored guests (with cash). Sophisticated weapons and equipment are nice, but training is very important as well...

Red Mafiya

Global Politician: Roots of Islamic Terrorism: How Communists Helped Fundamentalists

9/11/2006


a KGB officer, Viktor But (Victor Bout), flew arms to the Taliban until 2001.

[---]

But has 250-300 employees, probably mostly Russians, Ukrainians, and Armenians. According to a Russian newspaper, the Komsomolskaya Pravda, But's main source of arms is Transdnestria, the Moldovan slice of land occupied by Russian army and administered by Soviet-nostalgic communists. (BBC 27.2.2002) This is also where terrorists of the Turkish PKK have found refugee. According to Jane's Intelligence Review, February 2002, "Pakistani smugglers with ties to Ukraine" escorted possibly up to 200 al-Qayda militants to Ukraine. The "Pakistani smuggler" was, however, But's associate, and the destination probably Transdnestria.

[---]

The But affair may have required from Russia more than just diversion in the media. In mid-October 2001, tension between Russian and Abkhazian border was very high, and experts predicted an "anti-terror invasion" of Georgia by Russian forces. This did not happen, however, as suddenly everything cooled down. At the same time, Russia's foreign ministry had protested The Washington Times' report about al-Qayda's arms trade relations to "Russian mafia", asking for exchange of information between security services. (RFE/RL Russian Federation Report 1.10.2001; DN 16.10.2001) When the But affair was discussed in public, in February 2002, Georgia invited US military assistance. This caused a fury in Russia, but unexpectedly, the Kremlin appeared paralyzed to react.

Related ATS Threads:
WAR: Global Arms - Trafficking Network Designated by US (Viktor Bout)
Abkhaz Leader Has Ordered Army To Sink Any Georgian Ships In Its Waters (Georgia, Abkhazia, South Ossetia)
WAR: Radioactive Rockets 'For Sale' To Terrorists (Alazan rockets from Tiraspol)