The Journalists Union of Moldova decided to inaugurate a public place for open-air debates. The first meeting of the kind will be held on Sunday, December 23, to discuss the statements made by President Vladimir Voronin at his recent press conference as well as other topics. Info-Prim Neo quotes the Union as saying in a statement that such a decision was necessary because the last eight years saw a general discrepancy between the society’s democratic option and the policies promoted by the senior authorities. According to the statement, the public mass media institutions have been practically liquidated even if there are laws and regulatory and supervision authorities. Through usurpation, the government controls all the television channels that broadcast on the national networks. The government’ anti-Democratic offensive during these years has led to the dissolution of the public information, debate and analysis space. The ordinary citizens, the private sector organisations, the Opposition parties, the opinion leaders, the journalists and celebrities cannot find a place in the programmes of the public institutions controlled by the ruling party. The independent press is not powerful enough to cope with the enormous demand for space for free expression on the part of the society. The Union said it filed an application to the City Hall asking it to authorise protests for December 23 and 30. The meetings will take place in the square of the National Opera House in Chisinau between 13.00 and 16.00. In 2008, the open-air debates will have a permanent character and will be held every Sunday. All the people are invited to the discussions. The Journalists Union asks the journalists, the intellectuality, the nongovernmental organisations and unions, the political parties, the representatives of central and local public institutions to take an active part in the events.