Relations between Press and State are still tensioned
“Government leaders prefer little steps over a revolutionary change in their relation with the media. Officials give ingenious responses to the European Council’s challenges to involve civil society in the decision making process. They are appreciated for the small progress they achieve, but, on the whole, the situation doesn’t change very much”, the head of the Association for Participatory Democracy ADEPT, Igor Botan, says.
The cited source mentioned within the frameworks of the “State and Mass-Media” Conference, organized by the “Acces-info” Center that journalists and experts understand very well their responsibilities but do not always know how to promote their interests.
According to the analyst, authorities and the civil society reached a compromise in what concerns the reorganization of several institutions – the Court of Accounts, Central Electoral Commission. At the same time, the opinion of the civil society wasn’t taken into consideration in the sphere of audiovisual, which is very important because of the promotion possibilities this domain offers, but also for its influence on the electoral options and behavior of citizens.
According to the representative of the OSCE Mission in Moldova, Claus Neukirch, the relation between the state and the free press illustrates the democratization degree of the society. In this respect, the conference on November 7-8 represents an opportunity for working out an analysis on how much the reality from the Republic of Moldova corresponds to the standards recommended by the European Council.
The aim of the conference is to frame a set of proposals, which would be handed to the Government and the Parliament, but also initiatives for debates as part of the Standing Committees, the head of “Acces-info”, Vasile Spinei mentioned.