In the second quarter of this year, Moldova saw regression in such areas as Broadcasting and Practice that are assessed by the Media Freedom Index measuring media freedom in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries.
In the Practice area, Moldova’s score decreased by 56 points. In a news conference at IPN, director of the journalistic investigations publication “Ziarul de Garda” Alina Radu said there were several cases of abuses. In June, employees of the Ministry of the Interior arrested a journalist working for an information portal. The editorial staff described this incident as well-planned revenge on the part of the Ministry of the Interior as the portal published a number of investigations referring to this Ministry. Another journalist was attacked by a group of masked persons who sprayed his eyes and hit him. The next day, the journalist was insulted and ill-treated by the driver of the service car of a woman MP.
The access to information is another unsolved problem. The experts who compiled the Media Freedom Index invoked the limited access of the mass media to the plenary sittings of Parliament. The state bodies continue to provide incomplete information to the media outlets asking for it. Alina Radu said the newspaper is in litigation with a state institution that provided incomplete answers to three inquiries of theirs. The State Registration Chamber furnishes information for money, while the State Information Resources Center “Cadastru” limited the access to information.
The score in the Broadcasting area fell by 9 points. Media expert Ion Bunduchi said there are two public broadcasters in Moldova – the national one Teleradio Moldova and the regional one Teleradio-Gagauzia. In the case of the national broadcaster, the company’s ombudsman appointed on April 1 during three months didn’t appear in public, while the institution hasn’t had a functional Supervisory Board since last December. As to the regional broadcaster, it continues to be influenced politically. The ex-head of the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia Ana Harlamenco was elected as manager of this broadcaster, while the members of the Supervisory Board was chosen according to political criteria.
According to the Media Freedom Index, Moldova ranks second among the EaP countries by freedom of the media with 1,284 points, after Georgia that scored 1,409 points. Launched by the Independent Journalism Center within the project “Monitoring Media Freedom in the Eastern Partnership Countries”, the Media Freedom Index is compiled based on the assessments of ten independent media experts, with EU assistance.
