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Promo-LEX Association condemns the separatist authorities for the unilateral and illegal decision to levy taxes for the movement of persons via Moldova’s transnistrian region.

Contrary to the fact that the Tiraspol administration promised recently to cancel the taxes for staying in Transnistria, the movement of the people through Transnistria remains restricted from January 1, 2009. Moreover, the „migration fee” was raised from about 10 lei to 22.28 lei. Therefore, the situation has worsened.

The year 2008 was marked by a relative liberalization of the movement of the people (especially of the Moldovan citizens living in other regions of the country), the tax for crossing the region being abolished. Even under such circumstances, Promo-LEX has earlier described the levying of taxes for crossing the “imagined border on the Nistru” as a serious problem in exercising the constitutional rights as the right to free movement and, respectively, the right to private property are gravely violated.

Thus, article 5, paragraph 1 of the Agreement on the Principles for Peacefully Settling the Conflict in Moldova’s transnistrian region, signed by Moldova and Russia on July 21, 1992, are ignored and disregarded. The actions taken also run counter to the “local transnistrian legislation”, including the intention statements formulated recently by the regional administration.

Promo-LEX notes that the tax is levied in the absence of a clear and predictable “local law”. Furthermore, such a “law” has never been published or made known to the residents of the region or of the country. Last year, there were granted time “concessions” for certain categories of people that visited or crossed the region, but now the situation is uncertain. The fact that some of the controls posts do not levy these taxes is dubious. This shows that there are no clear regulations in the field and this can lead to numerous abuses on the part of the persons that “have the right” to collect such fees.

This unilateral acts by the illegal transnistrian regime contribute to a larger number of persons whose rights in this zone are violated, but also to increased dissatisfaction on the part of the people. Consequently, the region will be further self-isolated, the talks over the settlement of the transnistrian conflict will be negatively affected and the sufferings of the local population will deepen.

Promo-Lex welcomes the Moldovan Reintegration Ministry’s reaction to the created situation and the effort made to establish its causes. In this connection, the Association calls upon the Moldovan authorities and the participants in the talks in the 5+2 format (OSCE, the EU, the U.S., Ukraine and Russia) to step up efforts to identify solutions that would enforce the Moldovan-Russian Agreement of July 21, 1992 and guarantee the right to free movement. Promo-LEX considers that the Joint Control Commission should come together for an extraordinary meeting, with the compulsory participation of delegations of observers on behalf of the OSCE, the EU, the U.S. and Ukraine, to examine the given issue.

Promo-LEX Association has been already informed about such abusive acts and continues to offer free legal assistance to the persons whose rights have been violated in the transnistrian region or in the Security Zone.