The Russian TV channels will not be banned in Moldova’s media sphere, but the news, analytical and military programs will be replaced with national products. This is provided in the new Broadcasting Code that was recently adopted in the first reading. Before the final vote, the draft Code was subject to public debates, IPN reports.

Democratic MP Sergiu Sarbu, who is one of the authors of the new Code, said that 68 TV channels broadcast in Moldova. Prime, Canal 2, Canal 3 and Publika TV attract almost one third of the audience. The audience of the public TV channel Moldova 1 represents 16.5%, while of TV7 and TNT Bravo together – 5.3%.

According to Sergiu Sarbu, the new Code does not aim to ban the Russian TV channels. All the channels will continue to broadcast. Restrictions will be imposed only on news, analytical and military programs.

Socialist MP Vlad Batrancea considers the new Code will enable the Broadcasting Coordination Council to intervene directly in the editorial policy of the TV channels. “This is called censorship and leads to totalitarianism,” he stated.

The Council’s chairman Dinu Ciocan said that no one in the CIS now rebroadcasts foreign TV channels. They all broadcast own production. The audiovisual sector of Moldova should also get rid of such a practice.

Director of the Independent Journalism Center Nadine Gogu reproached the draft authors for the fact that they cheated slightly when they said that the bill was endorsed by the OSCE. Civil society noted that the OSCE expressed its concern about some of the provisions and asked that these should be reviewed in the second reading. The Moldovan broadcasters should also create national products. If this provision had become mandatory in 2010, it would have had another impact as the national media market wasn’t then so concentrated and monopolized as now.

The draft authors will ask foreign experts to analyze the bill and propose amendments for improving it. A new round of debates could be held next week.