A memo on the freedom of the press in the Republic of Moldova, for May 3, 2022 – May 3, 2023, was launched today in connection with World Press Freedom Day. The authors note that in 30 years of the institution of World Press Freedom Day, despite the ratification of international treaties and the constant signaling of the obstruction of the media’s access to information of public interest, the journalists continue to face abusive practices on the part of the authorities, IPN reports.
In a press release, the Independent Journalism Center says the memo condemns the abuses committed by ill-intentioned political players against the press, primarily at regional and local levels. Besides the challenges related to the security of the press, which existed before the war in Ukraine started, the military aggression generated new factors of risk to the media, such as the obstruction of cybersecurity of a number of media outlets and the danger to which the war correspondents expose themselves.
Also, the reduced press resilience to crisis situations, lack of financial sustainability, obstruction of the right of access to information and erosion of public confidence in in information are only some of the serious problems that affect the mass media, which were signaled by the Independent Journalism Center and other media NGOs.
The signatories said that Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine unveiled the vulnerability of Moldova’s information space to hybrid threats, noting that the authorities should improve the intervention mechanisms and policies so as to remedy the situation.
The memo contains recommendations for the protection of the free media addressed to the Government and Parliament, such as to improve the decisions-making process of the Audiovisual Council so as to protect the public from war propaganda without affecting the freedom of the media, to institute efficient mechanisms for ensuring media ownership transparency and to improve the legislation on the access to information.
World Press Freedom Day is annually celebrated on May 3.
