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Search: transnistria

30 Nov

Well, not really today, but it was about twenty years ago that what we now call (incorrectly, at times) the “frozen conflicts”– the separatist conflicts in Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Moldova– weren’t frozen but were actually brushfire wars before settling into stalemates. Long-time readers of this blog may remember my interest in these conflicts, starting with the ongoing conflict in Moldova over the separatist region Transnistria and moving on to include the other conflicts, including the fight over South Ossetia. This Friday, Columbia University’s Harriman Institute for Russian, Eurasian and East...
30.11.11 | |

16 Jun

...that FIFA forgot,” such as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Gozo, Occitania, Somaliland, and, of course, three-time world (?) champions Padania. (No Transnistria, but Sealand is an Associate Member.) The Viva World Cup is organized by the NF-Board (see also wiki), which may have originally stood for “Non-FIFA Board” but is now referred to as the “New Federation Board.” According to the EUObserver, the NF-Board is also in contact with football associations in Abkhazia and South Ossetia in Georgia, the Basque Country in France and Spain, Chechnya in Russia,...
16.06.10 | |

02 Dec

...relegated to fantasy was most evident by its bizarre clip on the dreams of Japan’s children and the “smiles” it promised to “deliver to 208 countries.” I realize the number of countries in the world is a political issue, but I’m relatively sure even the most inclusive count does not yield 208. Or perhaps Japan has learned something new about Transnistria* and a bunch of other independence-minded places from WikiLeaks… * Edited for stupidity — the original said Moldova. As my co-blogger Chris points out, Moldova already is a country…...
02.12.10 | |

27 Sep

I am delighted to inform our readers that the President of Moldova has bestowed on our own Chris Borgen the Moldovan Medal of Civil Merit — “Meritul Civic”. The medal, the highest civilian honor that the government may award, recognizes Chris’ outstanding work as principal author of the New York City Bar Association study of the Transnistria separatist crisis in Moldova. The full published report is here. The executive summary of the report has been adopted as an official UN document. Moldovan Foreign Minister Andrei Stratan decorated Chris along with...
27.09.06 | |

20 Feb

...a “people.” While there is an open question as to whether the Kosovar Albanians are a nation unto themselves, they are clearly a distinct people from the Serb majority of the rest of Serbia. While this may weaken the case of a legal right to external self-determination, it is nonetheless much stronger than, say, arguments by Transnistrians for secession as they clearly are not a “people” as the term is currently defined in international law. Regarding the second prong, there is a credible argument that the Serbs were responsible for...
20.02.08 | |

06 Mar

...Nations Off. J., Spec. Supp, No. 3, at 5-10 (1920)). We have seen more recent examples of referenda, such as when Transnistria tried to use a plebiscite to claim independence from Moldova and possible unification with Russia. It received no support from the international community for that claim. (This tactical use of referenda seems to be used time and again by secessionist groups supported by Russia.) It is important to keep in mind that the whole population of Ukraine has a right of self-determination, as well, and that includes the...
06.03.14 | |

17 Jul

...mythical Krassnian people into a tapestry that includes references to actual post-Soviet conflicts (such as over Transnistria, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia), metaphysical mysteries, and sci-fi tropes. This passage does a great job of summarizing the feel of secessionist politics: There is no such place as Krassnia. If you were to draw it on a map, right where the borders of Russia, Abkhazia, and Georgia meet, and then fill it in, you’d need a fifth colour. On the other hand, Krassnia is a real place. I know, because I’ve been there;...
17.07.13 | |

09 Dec

I’ve just returned from a week in Brussels where I gave a public presentation concerning the Transnistrian conflict in Moldova, with reference to the various other so-called “frozen” conflicts such as Abkhazia, South Ossetia, and Nagorno-Karabakh. But the word I heard time and again was: “Kosovo.” Monday, December 10th, is the deadline for the negotiations on Kosovo’s final status, mediated by the “troika” of the EU, Russia, and the U.S. As summarized by the Financial Times (via MSNBC.com), based on what was already communicated informally on Friday, on Monday, the...
09.12.07 | |

11 Dec

...Russians. Given Russian support for separatists in other conflicts (Abkhazia, Transnistria, etc.) and their seeming reluctance to use international law as a framework in those cases, it is a bold move to seek the “legalization” of dispute resolution in Kosovo after the breakdown of the troika mediation process. Moreover, in the Reuters report to which Julian had linked, there is mention of Serbia possibly also pursuing suits before US and European domestic courts. I am not sure what such a suit would look like. I think that any attempt at...
11.12.07 | |

18 Dec

...I think you get the picture. This story takes place in Moldova and, no, it is not about Transnistria or the law of secession or anything like that. It is about a Christmas tree. Here’s how Radio Free Europe opened the story: With Christmas just days away, most Western cities are resplendent with twinkling lights, wreaths, and lavishly adorned Christmas trees. [Moldova’s capital] Chisinau, by contrast, conspicuously lacks a tree. In its place: a bitter political feud that is spoiling many a Moldovan’s holiday spirit. The dispute began earlier this...
18.12.07 | |

02 Apr

...did not consent to an alteration of its territory and borders, there could be no legal recognition of Kosovar independence. Gone is the talk of obligations of non-recognition. Now we hear about returning things to their “natural state of affairs.” Natural to whom? This reworked rhetoric is said to be quite popular in Russia and in ethnic Russian communities in other separatist regions, such as Transnistria. But this shift in rhetoric did not suddenly happen due to Crimea. There was the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008. Consider Foreign Minister...
02.04.14 | |

23 Oct

...also supports a separatist group that has seized control of Transnistria, the eastern-most section of the country. (As readers of this blog may know, I was part of a group of lawyers from the NY City Bar who wrote a report on the legal issues related to the Transnistrian conflict and, last year, part of an Open Society Foundations supported study comparing the conflicts in Moldova and Cyprus.) But the heart of the matter is whether Moldova will become more fully integrated into “European” institutions (the EU, first and foremost)...
23.10.13 | |