2008 will be a year of resistance for the press – interview with Alexandru Dorogan, chairman of the Independent Press Association APEL. SERIES OF INFO-PRIM NEO MATERIALS “HOW WAS 2007”

[ - Moldova lags behind in implementing democratic standards in the area of mass media. Can you characterise the developments in the area in 2007 and what are your forecasts for 2008?] I think that 2007 saw regress rather than progress in the area of freedom of the media in Moldova. I know periods when the press was much freer, when it worked without pressure, threats and risks of being arrested, mistreated, laughed at. Anyway, to be objective I must admit that positive changes took place at legislative level, especially in the area of broadcasting following the adoption of the Broadcasting Code, when we finally heard national songs on a number of radio frequencies and seriously addressed the issue of own and retransmitted programmes broadcast on TV. But this is the end of the positive development as the current government continues to split, divide and manipulate the media in order to keep about 70-80% of it under control and to be angry that it did not manage to conquer the whole segment. The really democratic governments are strong when they stimulate the existence of a free media, because this is the task of the press – to criticise the government. The strong ones reply to criticism, bring arguments, discuss publicly all the problems, find solutions to crisis situations after the citizens express their opinions. The year 2007 for the Moldovan broadcasting sector meant chiefly the implementation of the Broadcasting Code which, according to the politicians that adopted it, was to bring us closer to the European standards. But these standards remained only on paper. Their implementation, particularly at the public radio and television stations, creates discrepancies between statements and accomplishments, noticed also by internal and external monitors. 2008 will be a year of resistance for the press. I say this for those that will manage to tell the people the truth. [ - What were the most serious violations of press freedom in 2007 in your opinion?] Any violation is serious. During the year, the freedom of the media and the national legislation on the rights of the media have been repeatedly violated and it is difficult to point to the most serious violations of press freedom. However, first of all I would mention the denial of access to events to journalists. The chain is very long - the non-admittance of journalists to the meeting of the head of state with clergy of Balti municipality, the unfounded removal of reporters from courtrooms, the mistreatment by the police of Pro TV reports on duty, the detention of reporters of the channels Pro TV, TV7, DTV when they were trying to obtain information of public interest and the restricted access for Romanian journalists to the yearly news conference held by President Vladimir Voronin. The cases of Antena C, Euro TV, 103.5 FM Balti, when stations popular with the public were replaced despite the public interest, are violations of press freedom typical of Moldova. A flagrant violation of the national legislation and of our citizens’ right to access to information is the halt in the retransmission of TVR1 in Moldova. All these taken together clearly show that the political class takes part in the violation of press freedom in Moldova. [ - What concerns should be high on the Moldovan authorities’ list of priorities in 2008 in order to implement beneficial reforms in the area of mass media?] I’ve got the impression that even if the current administration of Moldova holds a majority, not only in the Parliament, but in mass media too, as I said earlier, it is not very interested in implementing beneficial reforms in the area of mass media. A free press will undoubtedly change the political configuration. A free mass media means a free electorate, people that think and choose, that are not controlled. What government would accept beneficial reforms for mass media? Only a strong and confident one! Therefore, the Moldovan authorities must treat equally the mass media, tolerate the pluralism of opinion that the mass media is obliged to present to Moldova’s benefit. If the government is sincerely willing to follow the path to European integration, it must ensure the institutional autonomy and editorial independence of the public radio and television stations. This would be the litmus test of the political will for beneficial reforms in the area of mass media in 2008.