AMN accuses public broadcaster of offering more space to ruling party

The Moldova Noastra Alliance (AMN) has accused the National Public Broadcaster “Teleradio-Moldova” of providing more space in the news bulletins to the Communist Party (PCRM) than to other election runners. On March 25, the party picketed the building of the broadcaster, demanding that the Supervisory Board comes together for a meeting within 24 hours to remedy the situation, Info-Prim Neo reports. The AMN demanded that the Supervisory Board should revise the editorial policy of the public broadcaster, correctly inventory the airtime offered in news programs to the PCRM and exclude the party’s adverts from the company’s advertising volume for payment until the end of the election campaign so as to partially restore the other runners’ rights. The president of the AMN youth organization Sergiu Baltaga said that the senior officials, who are also candidates on the PCRM list, are every day presented in a favorable light in the news bulletin “Mesager”. “Vladimir Voronin is the key figurant. He made a special agenda for the news programs. Some of the events covered are not somehow connected with the post of head of state. The bias in favor of the PCRM has already affected the public opinion and becomes the major method for rigging the elections,” he said. MP Leonid Bujor, candidate on behalf of the AMN, said that Moldova 1 misinforms the people and has been at the PCRM’s beck and call for 18 years already. “This shows that the ruling party has not yet learnt the lesson on democracy and still lags behind in this respect.” Victor Osipov, the spokesman for the AMN and candidate for MP in the next Parliament, condemned the public broadcaster for its editorial policy, saying he is ashamed of having been a member of the Supervisory Board and employee of this institution. “The journalists of Teleradio-Moldova suffer because they have to write untruth,” Osipov said Those taking part in the picket chanted ‘Don’t Misinform the People with the Help of the TV’, ‘Down with the Communist’ and carried placards with the words ‘Moldova 1 = Brainwashing Machine’, ‘Todercan Washes the People’s Brains’ and ‘Moldova 1 at the Communists’ Beck and Call”. In reply, Valentin Todercan, the president of the National Public Broadcaster “Teleradio-Moldova”, said that many lies are told in the election campaign, but the institution’s status does not allow commenting on political parties’ acts. Therefore, all the comments will be made after the election campaign. At the same time, he said that everybody has the right to express their opinions about one thing or another.