Chisinau interim mayor to punish functionaries refusing to discuss with journalists

The interim mayor of the capital Vasile Ursu will punish the functionaries that refuse to offer information to mass-media. A statement in this respect he made during the first edition “The Hour of Press”, which was held Wednesday November 8 at the City Hall. According to Ursu, he intends to periodically meet the journalists to explain “on good authority” what actions local authorities take for the people’s welfare. The meetings are intended to avoid misinterpretations in the press caused by the fact that the journalists do not always understand correctly the actions of the public administration and mirror them from their point of view. Moreover, Ursu asserts that the journalists must not allow themselves to comment on the local authorities’ activities, but only “to reflect them correctly”. Referring to the possibility of closing down the municipal stations “Antena-C” and “Euro-TV”, Ursu declared that the law allows local authorities to have mass-media bodies, so that he does not see why they could be closed. At the same time, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the fact that the journalists of the named channels allow themselves “to spitefully reflect” the events, suggesting that “mass-media bodies must tell the truth without making comments, without giving a mark”. Ursu said he feels frustrated when “people that are working for 2-3 years and understand nothing in the field they reflect, give a mark to a man having a 20-30-year experience”. He asserts that many reporters try to politicize, but they must not do that, because he does not want any politics, “population has to do the marking and not mass-media”. At the same time, interim mayor is available to actively co-work further with the media representatives, affirming he will punish the functionaries that refuse to talk to journalists. He was surprised by the journalists’ affirmations, according to which the most reserved for discussions are the head of the general dwelling-communal and administration Division Mihai Solcan, followed by head of the public transport and communications Division, Veaceslav Tarna, and by other functionaries that refuse to give information relying on deputy mayor Veaceslav Iordan’s interdiction to discuss with mass-media. Ursu gave assurances that these meetings with the press, which will be regularly held, are not part of an electoral scenario.