Lupu thinks President’s statements about SIS pursue a certain goal

The statements of President Vladimir Voronin that the Security and Information Service (SIS) should combat illegal political and media financing, including from abroad, pursue a certain goal, said Speaker Marian Lupu on Thursday, without telling which exactly that would be. “Time will show which the goal pursued is”, Lupu supplied. According to the Speaker, the SIS, just like any other authority, must act in strict compliance with the law. Any departure from this course must be treated as an extraordinary situation, and that refers not only to SIS, but to any other government institution. When asked whether the President was entitled to make such instructions, Lupu replied that, according to the Constitution, the SIS is an institution which, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration, is well within his legal powers. We have to know in which manner the instructions were made and what form they took before telling whether or not they correspond to the spirit and essence of the law, the Speaker said. According to a communique from the presidential office, at the meeting of the Board of the Security and Information Service, Vladimir Voronin said that the Service has the task to combat illicit political and media financing, including from abroad. A number of political leaders, analysts and journalists have expressed concern that these statements could lead to abuses against political parties and media institutions that incommode the government.