Dniester War Commemorations Highlight Moldova’s Divisions

Moldova on Monday marked 28 years since the outbreak of the Dniester War, when regular army, police and volunteers battled pro-Russian separatists in the breakaway region of Transnistria, on the left bank of the Dniester River.

In front of the government building, a group of about 1,000 people showed their deep discontent with the recent positionings of the pro-Russian President, Igor Dodon, and the Foreign Minister, Aurel Ciocoiu, about the unresolved conflict.

The peaceful gathering was transformed quickly into a protest rally at which some veterans of the conflict almost forced their way into the government building. A man holding a wooden mace broke the glass door at the entrance but was then stopped by the police who formed a human cordon.

The crowd chanted "PD-PSRM, red plague", "Dodon, go to jail!", "Down with the government" and "Thieves!" referencing both the Russian and allegedly corrupt connections of the ruling Socialist Party, the PRSM, and its predecessor in government, the Democratic Party, PD.

Government officials organised another event at a different location to honour the memory of those who fell during the 1992 war.

"We are marking 28 years since the best sons of our people left their families, wives and children to face forces that could not be reconciled with the thought of Moldovans having their own state, and that they wanted to to be masters of their homes," the Prime Minister, Ion Chicu, said.

President Dodon did not appear in public but wrote a message recalling that the war in 1992 had destroyed hundreds of lives and had ruined thousands of people.

"In order not to repeat such tragedies, we must defend our national interests firmly and promote a wise and balanced foreign policy. Our main task is...