Political party calls BCC's moratorium on license renewal unlawful

The Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) committed an illegality by imposing a moratorium on awarding licenses for the broadcasters in Moldova, - stated Lib-Dem leader Vladimir Filat at a news conference today, Info-Prim Neo reports. The president of the Liberal Democratic Party said the national legislation, including the Broadcasting Code, doesn't provide for such a procedure, and PRO TV should have its license automatically extended not for a month or two but for another 7 years. Filat believes this moratorium is yet another mechanism for putting pressure on the press, including on PRO TV. “Broadcasters will be intimidated throughout the election campaign with the possibility of losing their licenses”, he maintained, assessing that roughly 10 broadcasters will have to renew their licenses in the immediate future. “The imposition of this moratorium demonstrates that the BCC is strongly influenced politically – it awards licenses whenever it wants and whenever it is told to, or doesn't award any out of the same considerations”, declared Filat. Lawyer Alexandru Tanase, who is also the vice president of the party, says the BCC doesn't have the legal authority to suspend the application of the Broadcasting Code, and labels the actions of the regulator as a “scheme” meant to add pressure on the media. On December 19 the BCC postponed license renewal procedures until after the 2009 legislative elections. “All the broadcasters whose licenses are due to expire, will be able to operate freely during the campaign”, said BCC chairman Gheorghe Gorincioi, after announcing the moratorium. The license of PRO TV Chisinau expires on December 23. The possibility that the channel would be unable to operate during the election campaign generated a wave of warnings for the Moldovan authorities – from media NGOs to European Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.