Mirror, UK
May 4 2005

SIMON REEVE visits four countries so dangerous that they don’t
officially exist

Simon Reeve

THERE are almost 200 official countries in the world. But there are
dozens more unrecognised nations determined to become independent.
Terrorism expert SIMON REEVE set out to visit these little-known
countries for the BBC2 series Places That Don’t Exist.

Somaliland

THIS tiny wannabe nation was once “British Somaliland” and today the
locals struggle to understand why their UK friends have abandoned them.

After independence from Britain in the 1960s Somaliland joined
with Somalia to form one country, but then fought a bitter war for
independence during which thousands died.

On the way to Somaliland the film crew and I stopped in the Somali
capital Mogadishu. With no government or police, it is probably the
most dangerous city on earth, and we paid a dozen gunmen to keep
us alive.

Somalia has no government, but is recognised as a proper country.

Somaliland, on the other hand, has a government, a president, a lively
parliament – and functioning traffic lights – but is not recognised
by any nation in the world.

The capital, Hargeisa, where 50,000 died during the conflict, is
being rebuilt with little outside help, and refugees are returning
from camps in Ethiopia.

But lack of recognition means the country has trouble getting
investment or foreign aid to help with terrible drought and tens of
thousands are at risk of starvation.

Somaliland’s president runs the country on just a few million pounds
a year, or “whatever we can get”.

Ironically, because nobody recognises his government, it cannot get
loans, which at least means Somaliland isn’t burdened by the foreign
debt repayments that cripple most African nations.

Transdniestria

SQUEEZED between Moldova and Ukraine, this strange country is stuck
in a Soviet timewarp.

When the Soviet Union collapsed, two-thirds of Moldova wanted closer
ties with Romania and neighbours to the West.

War broke out, and the east split to form Transdniestria, a country
which remains unrecognised by the world.

Today, ongoing tension between Moldova and Transdniestria ensures both
countries suffer. Moldova is officially the poorest nation in Europe,
and I visited a village where men sold their kidneys to buy cows.

Then we crossed the border into Transdniestria – and found statues
of Lenin still standing.

A mysterious firm called Sheriff – headed by former Red Army officers
– runs much of the economy. It is hard to believe many drivers of
shiny new Mercedes in dirt-poor Transdniestria earned their money
legitimately.

Independence Day was being celebrated when we visited. The Soviet-era
army goose-stepped along the main road, and small children in uniforms
sang: “Our army is the best army,” with evident pride.

Transdniestria has a Wild West feel and is a centre for smuggling.
Rumours suggest it is a major producer of illegal arms, and guns from
Transdniestria have turned up in conflicts around the world.

But there are no foreign embassies, and few international agencies
keeping an eye on what goes on in the country.

Even Interpol doesn’t operate there.

And yet as the EU expands, Transdniestria will soon be our neighbour
on the eastern edge of Europe.

South Ossetia, Ajaria, Abkhazia

AFTER the collapse of the Soviet Union three areas of Georgia all broke
away and declared independence: South Ossetia, Ajaria and Abkhazia.

In the ensuing conflicts thousands died and the whole region has
suffered ever since.

We crossed the border from Georgia into South Ossetia, which has its
own government and army.

Tensions are high and the Ossetes are suspicious of foreigners, partly
because my Ossetian government minder kept telling people I was from
“London in America”. After I explained that London was in the UK,
young soldiers shared drunken birthday toasts.

Ajaria, on Georgia’s western Black Sea coast, was a Soviet-era holiday
destination. It is rejoining Georgia, largely because of local anger
at the former strongman dictator.

His son would close the best road every night and race his Lamborghini
up and down the sea front. This did not go down well among locals
earning £20 a month.

Abkhazia may also be a lovely place to visit – but we barely made it
across the border before the Abkhaz government kicked us out.

No Western government operates in Abkhazia, although organised crime
gangs are thought to be based there.

Nagorno-Karabakh

HIGH in the mountains of Muslim Azerbaijan is Nagorno-Karabakh,
a breakaway region that was historically mainly Armenian Christian.

It might be 2005 in the rest of the world, but on both sides of
the border between Karabakh and Azerbaijan young soldiers are still
manning trenches.

We had to sprint across open ground to avoid sniper fire to enter
Karabakh, one of the most depressing places on earth.

Despite mines and war, the people claim they would have the world’s
highest rate of longevity – if only they were recognised as an
independent country.

Although international recognition seems unlikely, wealthy Armenian
exiles in the US still provide massive funding to encourage the
Karabakh government’s claims for independence.

There seems no easy end to the situation. One day war may erupt again,
causing huge problems for the supply of oil from Azerbaijan and the
Caspian region to the outside world.

But perhaps it’s only when oil pipelines are switched off that the rest
of the world will wake to the ongoing crisis of unrecognised nations.

Holidays In The Danger Zone – Places That Don’t Exist, BBC2, tonight,
7.30pm.

–Boundary_(ID_BpEHctSX6kweZv5Awj9/qg)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress