The Confederation of Independent States (CIS) Parliamentary...

The Confederation of Independent States (CIS) Parliamentary Assembly delegation visited their Moldovan colleague, Ilie Ilascu, in a Transnistrian [Dniester region] prison, and came to a conclusion that his destiny can well be struggled for by the Chisinau legislature who should act in cooperation with international organizations. Moldovan parliamentarian Vitalia Pavlicenco (who, like Ilascu, is a member of the Party of Democratic Forces faction) has refuted this optimistic statement and claimed that Ilascu's health was in a very grave state. Illie Ilascu was arrested and sentenced to death in 1993 by a Dniester local court on charges of committing terrorist acts during the 1992 armed conflict in Trans-Dniester. The actors in this conflict were the governments of Moldova and Russia. The government of Moldova wanted Trans-Dniester to remain part of Moldova, because almost all of the republic's industry is concentrated there and because the majority of the population is still comprised by Romanians. Russia, on the other side, wanted Trans-Dniester to become an autonomous republic. Negotiations to solve the conflict began in April 1992, involving Moldova, Russia, Ukraine and Romania, but did not lead to any results and were recognized as a failure.