Alexandru Tanase: Source not the press should be punished when calumnies are made

Minister of Justice Alexandru Tanase believes the press should not be attacked for disseminating statements considered calumnious or denigrating. Only the author of the statements is to blame. Contacted by Info-Prim Neo, the minister said no action against the press is justified as it does nothing but make public information made known by others. “There are certain exceptions, when the media institution adds its own comments. If the judgments are valuable, there are no reasons to hold somebody responsible. But when the press issues calumnies, the targeted person has the right to complain. As to the statements made by former Voronin’s adviser Sergiu Mocanu, all the objections should be directed towards the source,” Alexandru Tanase said. The minister stressed he does not believe that there are possibilities and instruments for attacking the press in the present, democratic Moldova. It was possible during the Voronin government, but now the judges cannot be influenced or forced to take decisions against the press, the minister said. In a news conference on Wednesday, businessman Vlad Plahotniuc warned he may sue both those who denigrate him and those who disseminate the related information, multiplying its effect.