News

Ukraine intends to expand its presence in Transnistria by consolidating ties with the Ukrainian ethnic community permanently living in the region. The Chairman of the Ukraine's State Committee for Ethnic and Migration Affairs, Mr. Gennady Moskal, told Infotag that the official Kiev has been lately revising and updating its policy with regard to Ukrainian overseas communities exceeding 25 million people.
In the context of this policy, a special attention will be paid to ethnic Ukrainians living in former Soviet republics, in particular, in the nearby Transnistria which, according to various data, is home to about 200 thousand ethnic Ukrainians. A considerable majority of them have the Ukrainian citizenship.
Kiev is strongly interested in the general census to be held in Moldova and Transnistria in April 2004, for there is a need for knowing the exact number of Ukrainians living on both Dniester sides, Mr. Moskal said.
He emphasized the particular interestedness of his Government in a peaceful and stable development of Transnistria and in soonest-possible resolution of all problems existing between Chisinau and Tiraspol. Along with a natural concern for Ukrainians, this interestedness is explainable also with the fact that in 1992 Ukraine had already come to face an acute problem of refugees from Transnistria, and will be doing its utmost to prevent a repetition of such a disaster.
During his visit to Transnistria, Gennady Moskal had meetings with the representatives of the Ukrainian community, and discussed the development of telecommunication and informatics structures and the Ukraine's proposal to create a long-term education system. In particular, the system includes the working out and realization of a national program of teaching Ukrainian children - from kindergarten to university.
In his words, the existing complex of Ukraine-Transnistria telecommunications - which includes re-transmission of the Ukrainian television, radio broadcasting and communication systems - will very soon resume its further development. To realize this program, the sides are going to engage the technical capacities of the Mayak telecommunication station situated on the Transnistrian territory. The station is powerful enough to ensure delivery of radio signals to any point on the Earth. Currently, the station is practically idling because it has no customers needing its services.

INFOTAG