Killers of the municipal mass-media reappointed. IPN Comment

The communist councilor Nicolae Motoc made public, at the last week’s sitting of the Chisinau Municipal Council (CMC), an official declaration of the Communists’ Party (CPRM) faction, which ends with direct threats against the municipal radio station “Antena C” and “Euro TV” station. The declaration is using tough expressions as in the documents drew by up the former regime for justifying the deaths of “the enemies of the country”. Similar to those documents, the main argument in this case is “the citizens’ indignation and protest”. Newer and probably more characteristic to the present regime is charging with “xenophobia and encroaching upon the state unity of the Republic of Moldova”. The communist councilors used these and other similar expressions in order to express their disapproval with the way the topics regarding the day of June 22 were treated in media. June 22 is the day when the fascist Germany attacked the former USSR. [“Reliable tools”] At the expressions and real reasons of the declarations we will come back later in order to present an eloquent detail. The young communist councilor Nicolae Motoc, who read with verve the document, did not say much during a whole year at CMC sittings. The last time when he was heard he was asking with the same verve the liquidation of another component of the former municipal media-holding – the News Agency “Info-Prim”. Lacking common sense, without analyses and without a beforehand decision, the factions of CPRM and PCDP of the Council offered to this “young Motoc” the head of the Municipal press agency. Notable in the present situation is the use of the same actors and of the same mechanism used for destroying the other components of the media-holding, considered uncontrollable by the governing coalition. Undoubtedly, the same ending is desired. [Voting machine used as an argument ] “In case if our requests will not be executed, the communists’ faction will initiate the procedure of changing the leadership of “Euro TV” and “Antena C” for not respecting the journalistic ethics and because they are not qualified for the positions they hold” – threaten the communist councilor, who does not have the least idea about the press deontology and its functions. Their greatest and unique expert is the same “young Motoc”, whose relationship with press boils down to the one of destruction tool of “Info-Prim” Agency. It is possible that because of these “details”, Antena C and Euro TV will be blamed of things the democratic society requires from press, for example: “The broadcast chart is full of discussions on interethnic problems; intolerance and national policy is discussed live”. In a democratic society, different from the one the vigilant councilors imagine, the mentioned-above themes are not prohibited, inclusively their discussing live. Namely these are the true functions of free press – to ensure everyone’s right to express freely their opinions and beliefs. The teams of the stations should have been sanctioned only if cases of violating these rights would have been found out. So, the first conclusion is that the communist faction did not use any arguments, because the communists do not need them. Because they are sure that the problem will be solved not on the base of proofs and public interest but by using the voting machine. [Frontal methods instead of elegant scenarios] It is more important to see why now, why in a hurry the communist councilors make a show on themselves and what is purposed. The action must be certainly linked to the visit on the last week of the delegation of the European Parliament headed by Mariane Mikklo, who rendered justice to the civil society and to the international experts in the dispute with the government from Chisinau upon the draft Audiovisual Code. In the joint press-conference, the communist leader Victor Stepaniuc gave understand to the press that the pressure of the international bodies saved Euro TV and Antena C of their imminent liquidation……., as public institutions, of which the governing coalition was sure and was delighted about for some time. Iurie Rosca pledged publicly his word of honor: “you have my word that the station will be privatized”. Communists’ present gesture is a desperate one, because it is dangerous for them in a way and on the other hand it is a time trial. Dangerous because the Occident and USA could punish them for this third attempt to totally subordinate the municipal press, as in the case of “Teleradio-Moldova” Company by imposing a new administration. (The first attempt took place in 2004 by suspending the broadcasting licenses by the Audiovisual Coordinating Council, the second, if it will be proven it failed, by excluding them out of the Audiovisual Code). The blow will be hard for CPRM after those 4 failures in the elections for the General Mayor of Chisinau. But the communist might also lose the next years’ local elections in Chisinau if they will not take over the municipal press now. The gesture is a time trial, because it has to be finished until the end of July, when on one hand the situation regarding the draft Audiovisual Code will clear up and on the other hand, CMC will be on vacation. In autumn it will be too close to elections, to obvious the link between them and changing the leadership and the editorial policy of the municipal press and respectively the risk to be “punished”. In this context, in the near future we can foresee more intense and more focused actions against the two stations. These actions aim at instituting control over the municipal press by changing administrations, if the “more intelligent variant” of privatization did not succeed. [CPRM takes the initiative of PCDP] The action, at first the sight, not very cautious of CPRM can be also explained as an open manifestation of dissatisfaction regarding the way its coalition partner honored its duty on the segment of dividing press – PCDP. And maybe even a provocative action against them. To all appearances, the roles were distributed clearly; PCDP had the mission to cover the process of subordination/destruction of the municipal press as it is at present. They say that also to them Antena C and Euro TV were “promised” after privatization, with the condition they will recognize the incontestable influence of CPRM over “Teleradio-Moldova” and adjacent press segment, which is very large. They counted both on the good image of PCDP in European structures and on their relationships from within the country, especially with the representatives of the intellectuals of the arts, medical, education areas and a part of civil society’s organizations. Though, despite their reputation of irrefutable political technologists, reputation they indeed deserve, PCDP leaders could not cope with the situation. Both in and out the country their game was not successful. Despite all the attempts to preserve appearances like “the expertise of the Council of Europe on the draft Audiovisual Code is favorable for us”, PCDP lost the game and as a result PCRM, which does not forgive this kind of failures, as well lost it. On a lower level, the same role with the same results was given to the PCDP councilors from CMC. All they were able to do was to ensure logistically the administrative, economic and financial harassment of the municipal press, covered by the bombastic expressions the leader of the faction Alexandru Corduneanu likes to indulge in, like “modernization plans”, “European integration”, “transparency and ensuring the right of the civil society to take part in the decision-making process”, etc. Although these actions are disturbing the teams of Antena C and Euro TV, who do not have proper financing and creation conditions for several years, the coalition did not manage to have the desired control over them. The well-known modernization plans with which the stations are harassed are practically similar to the phenomenon of “political-economical vampirism”, through which certain factions from CMC aimed at ensuring, “for free”, the future management of the privatized stations, inclusively using public money and somebody else’s intellectual potential. It is possible that they will not succeed, although it is accepted that the political technologies can also generate other unexpected turns in the future. [In the fight for controlling municipal mass-media the partners jab each other in the rib ] It is not excluded, that the Declaration of CPRM faction has deliberately a provocative character against PCDP partners. The leitmotiv of this action is the nostalgia for the Soviet Union and the inherited values, as well as the worry for the “blames that might be presented to the Russian people”. In case the issue of changing the management of Antena C and Euro TV will be voted, due to the pretext invoked in the Declaration – and the communist will act like this in the near future – the position of PCDP will suffer in both cases. If they vote, they will lose their justification announced for the cooperation with their greatest former enemy and namely the declared desire to unleash Moldova from the influence of the soviet past and Russian present. If they will not vote, the communists will easily find several votes in other factions and in this case they will not recognize any claims of PCDP over the municipal press. It is a possible scenario. Maybe with the hope this vote will not be necessary. Maybe the inadmissibility of political interference in the editorial policy of mass-media is taken into consideration. Maybe they understand that the legislation of the country prohibits dismissing persons appointed on the base of a contest and for a fixed period of time. Maybe they are all “punished”. But in the country where not “Motoc’s head” is wanted, but “Motoc” wants heads, everything is possible. [IPN Note: Motoc is the name of a character of Constantin Negruzzi, a famous classicist of the national literature. Being a symbol of several social inequities of Moldova’s feudal period, he was lynched by the crowd which was shouting “Motoc’s head we want”! ]