The Moldovan Union of Journalists (UJM), in partnership with a number of independent media institutions, launched on Monday, May 16, a report of anti-press acts committed by the Communist government during 2001-2008, called “Journalists Indict!”, Info-Prim Neo reports.
The report’s authors indict the Communist government for waging war against the independent press and for violating citizens’ rights to information. UJM chairman Valeriu Saharneanu has told a news conference that the intention of the project is to draw the society’s attention to the fact that the press in Moldova is unable to develop because of an anti-press policy promoted by the Communist government since it took power until present days. The saddest finding of the report is that the official policy in the area of mass media is restricted to disinformation and censorship. “This seal on our reality can explain why Moldova is Europe’s poorest, most corrupt and democratically immature country”, the UJM chairman pointed out.
According to Valeriu Saharneanu, the results of this state policy are that the space for public debates has been maximally limited; the capacity of the free press to produce effects on the public opinion is weakened; the sources of propaganda used by the ruling party and its allies have increased in number and diversity. The report finds that the bodies which are engaged the most in exerting control over the press are the Prosecutor General’s Office, the Security and Intelligence Service (SIS), the President’s Office, the Government, and the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC).
The UJM chairman complained that since 2001 until present the BCC has regarded the independent press with hostility. The Council is guilty of the fact that Teleradio Moldova Company hasn’t yet become a truly public national broadcaster. “We regard this as a crime against the Constitution, of the state and the people, and we are dismayed by the fact that the law enforcement bodies haven’t done anything about that”, said Saharneanu.
At the same time, the journalists warn of unfriendlier conditions for the free press in this pre-electoral year and express their fear that the Communist Party’s craving for power will bear upon them. Val Butnaru, the director of “Jurnal de Chisinau” newspaper, thinks that this year will be extremely tough for the press, giving the agony of the Communist government, which makes it increasingly dangerous. It is now the time that journalists start sending clear messages to the West, which doesn’t understand yet that a latent dictatorship exists in Moldova and therefore is inclined to trust the authorities.
The report “Journalists Indict!” will remain open for the next two weeks. Until May 30, when the UJM Congres is to take place, all the editors and directors of media institutions can contribute to the report.
