Justice Ministry in favor of reconciliation between Moldovan Government and Romanian Television Society

The Ministry of Justice of Moldova says it does not torpedo the return of the Romanian Television Society (SRTV) to Moldova with the channel TVR1 and is in favor of an amicable settlement in the case examined by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting a communique from the Ministry. The Ministry specifies that it does not manage the frequencies used in Moldova and cannot influence the procedures for administering and distributing them. “The frequencies are managed by the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC), while the maintenance of the transmitters is the charge of the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology,” the Ministry says in a communique. SRTV lodged a complaint with the ECHR after the Moldovan courts refused to annul the BCC's decision of July 31, 2007 to put the frequency held by the Society up for contest. The Ministry of Justice says the Supreme Court of Justice's decision of July 10, 2008, by which the BCC's decision was upheld, is in force and the frequency cannot be withdrawn from the current holder. As the ECHR's procedures are long, last October SRTV started a procedure to reach an amicable agreement and the Ministry of Justice accepted it. The Ministry says it is in favor of a reconciliation between the Government of Moldova and SRTV if the sides involved manage to identify an acceptable solution. The retransmission of TVR1 in Moldova was halted in September 2007.