Civil society worried about involutions in Moldovan Media legal framework

The civil society expresses its concern regarding the recent amendments to the media legislation in the RM, a joint declaration of several specialized NGOs states, cited by Info-Prim Neo. The statement, signed by the Independent Press Association, the Journalists’ Union of Moldova, the Press Freedom Committee and the Independent Journalism Center, points out the following shortcomings of the latest amendments to the legislation: the rush adoption of the Audiovisual Code (AC), a version disapproved by the civil society; the transformation of the municipal “Antena C” and “Euro TV” stations into territorial subsidiaries of the “Teleradio” Company; the lack of a ceiling for settling compensations in libel cases, a disadvantaging situation for journalists. The Declaration’s signers blame the Parliament for organizing debates over the draft AC in a “formal manner and in a hurry”, just a day before its examination in the Parliament’s sitting, “without giving the Media NGOs a chance to see the text proposed for adoption”. This is, according to the signers, “one more proof revealing the Parliament’s faked co-operation with the civil society.” As regards the transformation of the municipal broadcasting stations into TRM’s bureaus, as the AC requires, the civil society warns that it will lead to “centralized editorial policies, censorship and to the disappearance of alternative sources of information.” The authors of the Declaration are also concerned by the Civil Code’s 16th article, which provides for compensations in libel cases. The lack of a ceiling while establishing the amount of moral damages endangers journalists, because the criteria for settling fines “are general and ambiguous, thus allowing potential misinterpretations, abuses and pressures over the mass-media,” the experts say. In conclusion, the signers NGOs “call for the Parliament to show honesty in its relations with the civil society and to ensure a simulative legal framework for the independent media’s growth.” Previously, a Memorandum signed by 8 specialized public associations stated that “the civil society wasn’t involved in drafting the AC”. At the same time, the Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), welcomes the Serbian President Boris Tadic’s refusal to promulgate legislative amendments to the Broadcasting Law passed by the Serbian Assembly. According to SEEMO Secretary-General, Oliver Vujovic, if the Law would have entered into effect, it would “jeopardize freedom of expression and seriously limit the right to fair proceedings and the use of legal remedies.” This way, the Serbian President took into account the recommendations on the disputed Law formulated by the Council of Europe, OSCE, “Reporteres sans frontieres”, etc. The AC of the RM passed the Parliament’s final reading on July 27 and was promulgated by the Moldovan President a week after.