I have a list of dream destinations for which In Your Pocket will one day publish guides. While Pyongyang tops the list, not too far down is Tiraspol, capital of Moldova's breakaway republic of Transnistria (sorry, Pridnestrovie, as it likes to be called. Names mean a lot in these parts.)
Until we do however, those of you planning on taking a holiday in this would-be country yet to be recognised by the international community will have to make do with the PMR's own travel site, Visit PMR. It isn't all that bad.
For a laugh, you can also try the propaganda-fest that is the breakaway republic's mouthpiece, the Tiraspol Times.
Thursday, March 15
Visit PMR
Posted by Pocket Blogger on Thursday, March 15, 2007
Etichete: Moldova, PMR, Tiraspol, Transnistria
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4 comments:
You know, I don't want to be some kind of boring, party-pooper type, but I have to point out that PMR is evil. This is a place that sponsors weapons trafficking, drug smuggling, disappearances and forced prostitution, with - surprise, surprise, rampant corruption at every level of society. While I realise that there is a temptation to regard it as "zany" or some kind of joke, the place is actually a serious problem, with illegal arms exports turining up as far away as Congo, so it one of those places where jokes are potentially in bad taste. Lonely Planet approaches the whole thing as a bit of a laugh, and it comes across pretty badly. Inyourpocket, being a far superior and better informed publication, needs to rise above the temptation of seeing humour in PMR, because funny it ain't. I've spent more time involved with Trandniestr than I care to mention, and I sure wasn't laughing. Here endeth the lesson.
I have also visited. I spoke to many folks there, including opposition people.
What Boris says is an urban legend. Basically, the "political spin" put out by Moldova.
OSCE and the European Union both say that there is no drugs or weapons smuggling. I would rather listen to them than to Moldova (who has an ax to grind). Or, for that matter, to the opinion of an anonymous guy like Boris who comments in the same vein: Throwing out allegations, but not giving any proof. Stop it.
It is of course possible that Patricia found out more during her single visit to PMR than I did in my forty or fifty, and that the endless reports I have had to draft on the matter are mere fluff compared to her remarks here. To be perfectly honest, however, I doubt it very much, so no, I will not stop it. PMR is a major problem, and needs to be taken seriously. As for evidence - well, even a cursory search on the Internet will provide you with plenty to think about, and the sources have no affiliation with Moldova (nor do I, for that matter). But good luck to you anyway.
We were in Tiraspol two weeks ago for 24 hours. Historical and socio-politic curiosity took us there, but not much conclusions like above can be taken in that short period of time. We didn't have much chance of speaking with locals, and that can bring to fast and wrong statements (despite of the huge anger after being threatened with jail by "border" guards when leaving: we had to pay a big amount of money, despite all formalities where correct...) in such a complex situation with a historic background. But it whas quite inhospit and impressive, and it's not difficult to believe some of the usual acusations over the place. Even if they are unfair.
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