Media NGOs condemn Anatol Salaru's actions towards Unimedia and “Timpul de dimineata”

Mass media nongovernmental organizations disapprove of the fact that Minister of Transport and Road Infrastructure Anatol Salaru involved two media outlets - “Timpul de dimineata” and Unimedia into a dispute between the Ministry and the private company Moldavian Airlines, Info-Prim Neo reports. In a statement made public on May 23, the NGOs say that on May 19 Anatol Salaru sued Moldavian Airlines and attracted the two media outlets as co-defendants. Earlier, the private company and Anatol Salaru publicly exchanged replies over the alleged 'monopole' held by the state-run company Air Moldova on the national air market. In a communique issued on April 14, the director of Moldavian Airlines accused the Ministry and Air Moldova of protecting fraudulent schemes. The minister sued the two media organizations for fully broadcasting the communique as part of a report that included both of the positions. The NGO condemn Anatol Salaru's actions and describe them as unacceptable in a democratic society where the press has the right and obligation to inform about issues of public interest, by observing the deontological principles. “We recommend the public servants to be tolerant towards the press criticism, especially during election campaigns,” reads the statement. The statement was signed by the Independent Journalism Center, the Association of Independent Press, the Electronic Press Association, the Committee for the Freedom of the Press, and the Investigative Journalism Center.