MP asks relevant bodies to investigate case regarding retransmission of TVR1

Anatol Onceanu, parliamentarian of the Our Moldova Alliance, asks the Prosecutor’s General Office and the Centre for Combating Corruption and Economic Crimes (CCCEC) to examine the provision of the license for the frequencies used to retransmit TVR1 to another broadcaster. In an interpellation presented at Thursday’s meeting of the Parliament, the MP described the sale of the state-owned network No. 2 as illegal, because the Romanian Television Corporation (SRTv) holds a valid license for the given frequencies. He said that the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) put up the network for tender at the direct intervention of a governmental agency (the Ministry of Information Development) and this is a serious violation of the principle of BCC’s autonomy. At the same time, the BCC’s interference in the financial-economic relations between SRTv and the state-owned company “Radiocommunication” constitutes abuse of power, he said. Onceanu asked the General Prosecutor’s Office to give an official assessment of the violations identified and take concrete steps to remedy the situation. He also asked CCCEC to investigate the case regarding the provision of the network No.2 to a recently created economic entity that is barely known on the mass media landscape of Moldova, with founders in an off-shore zone and with dubious capitals that appeared overnight. Onceanu demanded that the BCC present the agreement with SRTv and inform the society about the way in which the given decision complies with the Broadcasting Code and with the relevant international documents signed by Moldova. The BBC put the frequencies used to retransmit TVR1 for tender on July 31, at the request of the Ministry of Information Development, for the reason that SRTv did not fulfil its financial obligations to “Radiocommunication”. Heated discussions among the Councils’ members as well as protest reactions on the part of the society followed afterwards. On September 27, the BCC gave the license for the state-owned network No.2 to the newly set up television channel “2 Plus”, even if SRTv announced that all the financial problems had been solved.