Staff of “Antena C” Radio fears liquidation

The employees of “Antena C” radio station disapprove the intentions announced by several authors of the draft Audiovisual Code (AC) regarding the possibility of transforming this municipal radio station into a subsidiary of “Tele Radio Moldova” (TRM). In a declaration addressed to the Parliament, the staff of this institution expresses concern regarding the fact that this perspective was announced only 1-2 days before the approval of the draft AC by the Parliament, without a public debate on the possibility of including local public broadcasters into TRM, including with the staffs of the institutions affected by this provision and representatives of the civil society. According to the authors of the declaration, the persons proposing this version “are hiding behind the back” of the expertise of the Council of Europe (CoE) saying that this is a European norm. In fact, the European experts said, being asked about this issue, that they proposed them as personal suggestions. Also they pointed in the expertise of CA to the lack of settlements regarding local public broadcasters, emphasizing the necessity of ensuring their survival as truly independent broadcasting organizations. “We consider that privatizing “Antena C” and the recent proposal of transforming the radio station into a subsidiary of TRM will lead sooner or later to the liquidation of the municipal radio station. It will happen because as a local bureau, as the experts of CoE also suggest, “Antena C” will be imposed to broadcast local programs only several hours a day. During the rest broadcasting time it will be imposed to re-broadcast the programs of the national station”, the staff of the municipal radio station underline. They notify that in the context of the recommendations of the CoE the state is obliged to undertake active measures for the development of the audiovisual field and to ensure the vitality of this process until a maximum diversity will be ascertained, through the functioning of numerous independent stations and programs which would represent the whole society. The staff of the institution compels Parliament’s attention that as an alternative and objective source of information, “Antena C” activated during 8 years, serving the population of Chisinau and of 2/3 of country’s territory. “We believe that the relationship of “Antena C” and “Tele Radio Moldova” will not be benefic for the society, because as a result of reducing station’s broadcasting hours, thousands of citizens of the Republic of Moldova will be deprived of an important source of information. We are convinced that for the wellbeing of the population and if Moldova wants to have correctly informed citizens as well as in the context of European Integration, “Antena C” must remain an independent public institution”, the signers of the declaration emphasize. The staff of the radio station will further announce if it will use all the legal procedures in order to protect the statute of independent public institution, soliciting at the same time the Parliament to postpone making a final decision concerning the draft AC and deciding upon this issue at the next sitting, afterwards organizing supplementary public debates.