International organizations ask premier Greceanai to accredit foreign journalists

The Vienna-based South East Europe Media Organization (SEEMO), a network of editors, media executives and leading journalists from South East Europe and an affiliate of the International Press Institute (IPI), is concerned about the ongoing delay in issuing accreditation to a Romanian correspondent in Moldova, Info-Prim Neo reports. In letter to prime-minister Zinaida Greceanai, SEEMO announces that on 23 July, Lina Grau, correspondent for the Romanian news agency NewsIn, was denied access to a presidential press conference in Chisinau based on her lack of accreditation. Grau, who holds both Moldovan and Romanian citizenship, applied for accreditation as a journalist on 14 April, presenting both Moldovan and Romanian identification documents when doing so. Over three months later, she has not yet received any response.. „SEEMO urges Your Excellency to do everything in your power to ensure that this issue is quickly resolved, especially given that several other journalists have in the past been denied accreditation in Moldova without reason,” reads the message signed by secretary general Oliver Vujovic. SEEMO emphasizes that administrative requirements should never serve to hamper the free flow of news, and must always be dealt with in a transparent manner. SEEMO is a non-governmental organization affiliated to the International Press Institute joining leading journalists in over 120 countries.