Journalists Union will protest against disrupted retransmission of TVR1 in Moldova

The Union of Journalist of Moldova (UJM) will stage a protest on 10 December, on the International Human Rights Day. They will protest against the illegal halt in the retransmission of the Romanian television channel TVR1 in Moldova through the state-owned network No.2. The decision of the Broadcasting Coordination Council to withdraw the broadcast licence of the Romanian Television Corporation is a serious abuse, a fulfilled political order. This runs counter to the Broadcasting Code, to the Law on Transfrontier Television, to the decisions of the Moldovan Parliament and the intergovernmental agreements on the retransmission of TVR 1 between Moldova and Romania, a communique from UJM says. The Standing Bureau of UJM says that this act defies the public interest and the European spirit of the relations between the states and seriously harms the image of Moldova as a neighboring country and partner of the European Union. The abusive decision is one of the Moldovan government’s attempts to limit the citizens’ right to free expression, to keep the mass media under control and to make the national and international sources of information silent, the communiqué also says. The Union calls on the organisations that promote and defend the mass media rights, the organisations of the civil society dealing with the protection of human rights, the democratic political organisations, the faithful viewers of TVR 1 programmes to join the organisers and take part in the protest. The protest will take place in the Square of the National Opera House in Chisinau between 12.00 and 15.00. UJM is a member of the International and European Federations of Journalists and of the Romanian Trade Union Mediasind.