DISINFO: Western foundations prepare the informative destabilisation of Transnistria
SUMMARY
Western foundations started the informative preparation for the destabilisation of Transnistria. On June 2, the human rights organisation Promo-Lex published an interesting report on the topic “The status of peacekeeping troops in international law: the case of the Republic of Moldova”, whose author is a former spokesperson of the Democratic Party and former professor of law at the International Independent University of Moldova (ULIM). However, in practice, it turned out that he is not a researcher and the report is far from the truth. Its main idea is that Russia is illegally interfering in Moldova’s internal affairs, the peacekeeping operation doesn’t comply with high democratic standards and its format is outdated and requires an update. In general, Moldovan president Maia Sandu took exactly the same stance.
So we have here a typical pro-Western propaganda centre, a so-called “think tank”, a pseudo-organisation created with the money of intelligence services, which exists with the purpose of carrying out information operations and spread propaganda. Those structures usually employ former diplomats or intelligence officers who, after retirement, continue doing their job. The meaning of those “think tanks” is reduced to doing recommendations for politicians and authorities, as well as deceiving the population of the targeted country with all kind of false data, while propaganda is disguised as a real investigation. This is exactly what we see in this case. This propaganda organisation published another anti-Russian story, obviously designed to update the problem of Transnistria and prepare the ground for new provocations. There is no doubt that this rhetoric will be heard soon in the lips of Moldovan officials everywhere.
RESPONSE
Contrary to the claim, Promo-Lex is not a “pro-Western propaganda centre created by intelligence services,” but the main pro-democracy and human rights NGO of Moldova, backed by many high profile international institutions, including the United Nations Development Program. This NGO carried out a study on the Russian peacekeeping force in the Moldovan region of Transnistria under international law, and concluded that it contradicts the principles of peacekeeping and has led to systematic violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
By attacking not only the study but Promo-Lex, this disinformation story attempts to defend this Russian military presence on Moldovan territory.
However, it is clear that the so-called Operational Group of Russian Forces is stationed in Transnistria without the consent of the Republic of Moldova, and is therefore considered a military occupation according to international law. In 2018, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted resolution A/72/L.58 calling for the complete and unilateral withdrawal from the territory of the Republic of Moldova. While then-prime minister Pavel Filip acknowledged this situation and backed the UN resolution, pro-Russian president Igor Dodon rejected it. In 2020, the new president Maia Sandu renewed calls for Russian troops to withdraw from Moldova’s territory.
Maia Sandu and Moldova are frequent targets of pro-Kremlin disinformation. See other examples in our database, such as claims that Sandu handed over the control of Moldova’s Security Council to George Soros, that Sandu began her visit to Kyiv with a Nazi slogan, that Moldova is under external control, or that Moldova’s authorities and their external partners are preparing massive fraud in the upcoming elections.