Stronger international ties to secure Pridnestrovie's place in the new Europe

New flowers bloom. As democracy has grown in the world, the number of fresh new countries have been increasing for the past fifty years. And the pace is accelerating: Two dozen new ones have sprung to life since 1990 alone.

In international law one generally recognizes only the government which exercises effective control over a territory. This, in Pridnestrovie's case, is the democratically elected government chosen by its people. But don't tell that to Moldova: Still pursuing a stale irredentist claim after nearly twenty years, Moldova would like nothing better than a new go at a military invasion, preferably under NATO- or UN auspices this time so that they themselves don't have to spill the blood.

And then there's the OSCE and the Council of Europe, two groups that oscillate bafflingly between refusing to recognize Pridnestrovie as a country and pressing demands on it. It's no wonder that they call the conflict "frozen": Apparently nobody passed these guys the memo explaining that you can't make demands of an entity you don't recognize.

On its own accord, however, Pridnestrovie is seeking stronger international ties and its rightful place as a good partner and neighbor in the new Europe. Unable to state its case and with no proof for any of its allegations, Moldova's propaganda campaign against Pridnestrovian independence is crumbling under its own lack of arguments. At the same time, the government of Pridnestrovie has made the issue of stronger international relations one of its main foreign policy objectives.

To Pridnestrovians, it is completely clear what their country is and which government they live under. But the less informed international community is sometimes in doubt. To put the issue to rest once and for all, let's hear from the experts.

Can a government be a government and then not be a government under international law? We checked a text from Oxford University by Dr Stefan Talmon, the top authority behind the seminal work Recognition of Governments in International Law. And here are his words:

" - with respect to effective but unrecognized governments in situ, it is obvious that it is not recognition that makes the government a government in the sense of international law but that the government is a government in international law because it is effective, i.e. fulfills the main criterion for governmental status."

Or, in other words, the validity of a government under international law depends on whether or not it actually governs the country. It does not depend in the least on international recognition or lack thereof. So according to Oxford, whose verdict matches conventional international procedure as per the Montevideo Convention, Pridnestrovie exists under international law and its government is valid because it is the sole effective government of Pridnestrovie.

This view is supported by, among others, Switzerland's Directorate of International Law which is the Federal Administration’s center of competence for general public international law. It's official position is that "The formal recognition of a state presupposes that the state in question truly meets the requirements of international law in the matter of statehood. The prevailing doctrine imposes three requirements: a national territory, a citizenry and a state authority, i.e. an internally and externally effective and independent government embodying the sovereignty of the state. The sole criterion for assessing the quality of statehood in this context is the actual situation on the ground ('principle of effectiveness')."

Pridnestrovie has its own Central Bank, Judiciary, Army, Police, Border Patrol, Health Service, Education System, Tax Collection, a flag, its own postage stamps, national currency, license plates, passports, a Constitution, and an active, market based economy. More than a decade and a half after becoming independent, Pridnestrovie has proven its viability as a nation. Among other things, it has:

• A defined territory, effective control of all of this territory, a government and a population
• Democratically elected president, parliament and local authorities
• Laws, a Constitution, and an independent judiciary
• Viable, self-sustaining economy
• Economic, cultural and political relations with other countries
• Law enforcement, border control and armed forces
• Observance of contemporary social and ecological standards
• Modern state-provided educational system
• Healthcare and a social safety net
• Freedom of press

A quick review of other countries in the world reveals that Pridnestrovie is much more of a nation than, say, some of the failed states in Africa. In terms of nation building excellence, the little country has even outdone is larger neighbor on the other side of the Dniester River: As shown by the fact that even ethnic Moldavians in Pridnestrovie have no wish to become part of Moldova.

Now, in Pridnestrovie, the little country is asking if it isn't about time that the world recognizes the achievements of its multiethic population. And to those who still want to prolong the charade of pretending that Pridnestrovie is somehow part of Moldova, Pridnestrovie reminds them that this was never even the case to begin with. So instead of playing a game of make-believe, real world diplomacy calls for both maturity and realism. When the artificially created "MSSR" finally broke, it dissolved in two and each new nation found freedom on its own, independent terms.

The achievements of the people of Pridnestrovie demands admiration and respect, not condemnation and a closed door. On the ruins of a failed Soviet model and in the face of a much larger neighbor's hostility, the Pridnestrovian people tirelessly constructed a dynamic, well functioning country ... an effort in successful nation building which required lots of hard work, but which didn't avail itself of any IMF or World Bank funding, nor any USAID experts or UN troops. That is not to say that Pridnestrovie lacks international relations. On the political, cultural and especially commercial level, Pridnestrovie maintains contacts with 99 different countries in the world. Some of them have opened representations in Tiraspol, the capital of Pridnestrovie. In 2004 the Chamber of Industry and Commerce of the Russian Federation inaugurated its permanent mission. OSCE, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, also maintains an office and a permanent delegation in Tiraspol.

Nevertheless, there are those who — inadvertently or with malice — play into Moldova's hand and shun Pridnestrovie. That's an act of diplomatic apartheid; a humanitarian crime against a population which is twice as big as that of Iceland and a dozen other nations. On what moral grounds can you justify treating an entire people as if neither they nor their country exist?

Pridnestrovie, located squarely in the middle of the new Europe, is not a "black hole" unless someone actively decides to make it into one. A reservation won't exist unless you put up a fence and decide to treat it as a pariah, shutting the door and calling the country a rogue state. But that's not diplomacy. Diplomacy is the art of mending fences, not erecting new ones.

What is needed now is just a mature approach and someone with enough bravery to discard the shrill Moldovan propaganda which, after all, has already been proven baseless. In the words of former British Foreign Secretary Morrison: "Recognition of a state should be accorded when the conditions by international law are, in fact, fulfilled and that recognition should not be given when these conditions are not fulfilled"
(source: House of Commons, vol.485, col.2411).

WHAT'S RELATED: International Recognition: Facts and consequences Background analysis: PMR's sovereignty in international law Definition of Pridnestrovie as a country International Relations more...

EXTERNAL LINK: State sovereignty of PMR under international law (pdf)