First reactions to lawsuit filed by Teleradio-Moldova and its president against two Supervisory Board members

The national daily “Timpul” offers to provide the court and the analysts Veaceslav Ionita and Igor Munteanu, who are members of the Supervisory Board of the Company “Teleradio-Moldova” (TRM), with materials about the activity of the national public broadcaster published after the incumbent TRM president Valentin Todercan was appointed, Info-Prim reports, making reference to a statement issued by the daily. The statement says that the given materials can be used as evidence in the lawsuit filed by Valentin Todercan against the two Supervisory Board members. The editorial staff of “Timpul” says it follows the given process in trepidation. “Our publication knows from its own experience how independent the justice in Moldova is. That’s why we will follow attentively and will monitor the trial. We consider that the ones that started the trial should be held accountable and this trial should change into a public lawsuit of the Moldovan society against the Communist government that controls all the media outlets in the country,” the statement says. The team of “Timpul” says that after the new Broadcasting Code was adopted and Valentin Todercan was named as president of TRM, “this institution continued even more zealously the soviet practice of brainwashing and misinformation. It continues to serve the power, not the public as it should. Todercan should be suspended for the period of the trial.” Another statement on the same topic issued by the Moldova Noastra Alliance (AMN) says that the legal action taken by Valentin Todercan against the Supervisory Board members Igor Munteanu and Veaceslav Ionita is the result of the fact that the new composition of the supervisory body tolerated the deviations within the institution for too long. According to the AMN leader Serafim Urecheanu, the fact that a member of the managing personnel took legal action against the representatives of the hierarchically superior body over their opinions shows that TRM is beyond the law. “Everyone has the right to appeal to the court, but in this case Mr. Todercan disrespects and avoids the superior body, reasons for which he should resign as president of Teleradio-Moldova, which indeed continues to manipulate the people and to serve the Communist government. I think that the members of the Supervisory Board Igor Munteanu and Veaceslav Ionita in the study “Teleradio-Absurdistan or stolen reform in the public company”, presented a competent and absolutely legal viewpoint that is justified and necessary because they are defenders of the public interest,” the cited source said. AMN is ready to present the results of the monitoring on this subject to the court and appeals to those that have similar information to offer it to the court in order to prove that the critical assessments of the two Supervisory Board members are justified. TRM and Valentin Todercan took legal action against Veaceslav Ionita and Igor Munteanu as well as against the Institute for Development and Social Initiative (IDIS) “Viitorul” and the radio station “Vocea Basarabiei” (“Bessarabia’s Voice”). The Supervisory Board members were sued for co-authoring a study called “Teleradio-Absurdistan or stolen reform in the public company”, while IDIS “Viitorul” and “Vocea Basarabiei” for publishing and broadcasting it. The plaintiffs demand 2.6 million lei for damages overall.