The administration of the public TV channel Moldova 1 rejected the request to offer the opposition an hour of airtime a week made by the Party “Action and Solidarity” (PAS) and the Political Party “Platform Dignity and Truth” (PPPDA). A response that was placed on www.trm.md says that in accordance with the legislation and the status of the TV channel, the activity of parties will continue to be covered in an objective and equidistant way, without any discrimination, IPN reports.

The administration of Moldova 1 noted that it unconditionally respects the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and the national legal framework on the mass media and will continue to do so. “The status of the public TV channel is regulated directly by the Broadcasting Code of the Republic of Moldova, while articles 50 and 52 of this Code contain imperative norms concerning the editorial independence of the company, which is regulated by law,” reads the answer.

The public TV channel’s administration underlined it will allow no pressure and interference in its activity and editorial independence, regardless of the authority or party exerting these. “In the nearest future, there will be staged a meeting with leaders or representatives of parties to discuss methods of cooperating in the future. Starting with next week, representatives of extraparliamentary parties will be invited to the program “Moldova live”,” it said.

Earlier this week, the PAS and PPPDA requested the administration of the public TV channel Moldova 1 to offer the opposition an hour of airtime a week. The leaders of the two parties said that if an answer is not provided by September 22 or a negative answer comes, the PAS and PPPDA will resume protests on September 24.