Opposition MPs seek to adopt a motion on freedom of press and speech

The group of the social-liberal MPs has worked out the draft of a motion on the topic “The Freedom of Press and Speech are suppressed”, which it intends to submit to Parliament. According to the motion’s authors, one of the most alarming involutions in Moldova, in recent years, is the systematic policy of the communist government intended to monopolize the public speech, to limit the freedom of speech using legislative measures or pressures, or economic-financial and administrative interferences, as well as attempt to directly or indirectly subordinate the printed and audiovisual, public and private press. As a whole, these actions might seriously affect the democratic process in Moldova, the authors say. The document shows that the political-governmental interference in the mass-media market manifested itself when allocating funds to government-friendly media; in the activity of the Broadcasting Coordination Council; when applying a differentiated and discriminatory economic-financial treatment towards the media institutions and interference in the activity of certain information media etc. The informative note also reveals that the lack of reaction of the present governors in cases of aggressed journalists and way of encouraging these aggressions show the government’s arrogant attitude towards the press in Moldova. All these actions have resulted in limiting and violating the freedom of speech, which is a serious attempt on democracy in our country and an insuperable obstacle in the way towards European integration. The project envisages that the Prime Minister will personally take under control the implementation of the Law on access to information, as well as of the EU-Moldova Action Plan as regards the commitments made to ensure the freedom of press and speech; the Minister of Interior Affairs will take legal measures to urgently solve and prevent the cases of aggression against journalists and will no longer admit other kinds of abuses against journalists who fulfil their duties; the Government will stop the economic-administrative governmental interferences in developing mass-media market and will respect the principle of the free competition between media institutions. In compliance with the Parliament’s Regulations, this kind of motion is presented to the speaker at a public sitting, being signed by at least 15 MPs and then debated within six days at most. On Friday, March 16, the motion draft was distributed to a large number of opposition MPs with a view to informing them and obtaining their support. Once the minimum necessary number of signatures is gathered, the project will officially be forwarded to the Speaker.