Decision to disband Teleradio-Gagauzia Supervisory Board will be challenged in court

The Supervisory Board (SB) of the Gagauz public broadcaster Teleradio-Gagauzia is determined to take legal action against the decision by the Gagauz People's Assembly to dissolve it, if the legislature doesn't revoke its ordinance, Info-Prim Neo reports. SB chairman Mikhail Daradur told a news conference on Thursday that the decision to disband the Board and appoint another one in place is illegal, because the legislation doesn't permit the reformation of the institution on doubtful arguments. To prove that, the solution is to seek justice in court. The attempt to reshuffle the Board disgraces the activity of Teleradio-Gagauzia and introduces censorship at this public broadcasting company, considers SB secretary Andrei Chesmedji. According to Teleradio-Gagauzia president Ecaterina Jekova, the pressures exerted to restructure the Board may impact negatively on the political situation in the Gagauz autonomy. “Reforming the SB is not a solution to the company's problems; for that we need extra money” , says Jekova, adding that the company's budget of 2 million lei is barely enough to cover a half of its expenses, despite airing just 5 hours a day. Mikhail Daradur claims that Assembly speaker Ana Harlamenko, who served for 10 years as Teleradio's president, aims to reassert control over the company. The SB was disbanded for the second time on September 2 by majority of votes (the Communist faction voted against). The members of the Assembly argued the Board groundlessly fixed large salaries for the management of Teleradio-Gagauzia and SB secretary. The Board did not explain why it asked for 4.5 million lei from the 2009 regional budget and made little effort to earn incomes. Also, it did not report how it spent the funds allotted for 2008 and did not formulate the editorial policy of the company. The MPs criticized the Board for not dealing with the violations of the professional standards by the employees of Teleradio-Gagauzia and for not ensuring the impartiality and plurality of the informative materials, etc. On July 10, the People’s Assembly decided to disband the Board, but that decision was cancelled together with all the decisions taken until July 31, when the MPs reached a consensus as to how to distribute the senior posts in the People’s Assembly, after many disputes. Teleradio-Gagauzia was transformed into a public broadcaster following the adoption of a law on television and radio by the People’s Assembly. The law took effect on July 27, 2007.