The President of Moldova Igor Dodon said the Moldovans in the separatist region of Transnistria have sufficient access to information. The statement was made in a program on Pro TV Chisinau. The authors of a new Sic! article followed the program and said that when moderator Lorena Bogza asked how the voters in Transnistria inform themselves, President Igor Dodon said: “There is Internet, some channels […] We can say there is different propaganda in different countries, but there is access to information”.
The article authors say in reality the situation of the mass media in Transnistria is rather sad. They make reference to Freedom House reports that repeatedly warned that the press on the left side of the Nistru is not free. Most of the media outlets there are under the control of the unrecognized government or the conglomerate of companies Sheriff. Even the Internet about which Igor Dodon speaks is censured. Journalist Sergey Ilchenko in 2015 was arrested for his online postings, while the local KGB warned the public to not to forget about the “Transnistrian statehood” when they post something.
According to the authors, the harassment of inconvenient journalists in Transnistria is well known. The case of Ernest Vardanean was the most resounding one. In 2010 this was arrested for espionage and betrayal. More recently, Alexandr Nikiforov found refuge in Germany to get rid of the pressure exerted by the KGB.
A report by the Laboratory for the analysis of the Transnistrian conflict, to which the article authors make reference, shows only 10-15% of the TV channels in the Transnistrian region are free. The TV landscape is dominated by channels loyal to the regime or Russian channels, such as TV PMR, TV Bender, TSV (owned by Sheriff), Pervyi Kanal and NTV of Russia. The Moldovan TV channels are jammed. It is thus not clear to which “some channels” Igor Dodon referred.
The article says that owing to censorship at the traditional medial channels, an increasing number of people in Transnistria started to look for information on the Internet, but the Transnistrian regime reacted swiftly. The separatist authorities turned their attention to a social forum held in the region and started to clear this of subjects that didn’t suit them.
The given problem is relevant in the context of the planned modification of the electoral system. Igor Dodon wants the Moldovan citizens from the left side of the Nistru to be allotted a particular number of seats in Parliament. Lorena Bogza asked how Moldovan politicians could campaign there and how the voters there could inform themselves. Underestimating the situation of access to information in Transnistria, President Dodon said no problems related to campaigning will be encountered there. “The citizens of the Republic of Moldova who are on Moldova’s territory, which we do not control temporarily, will find out as the other citizens of the Republic of Moldova in other states do,” said Igor Dodon.
According to the article authors, it is worrisome when the President, who is the guarantor of the territorial integrity, compares our citizens in other countries with those who are under the separatist regime. In the same connection, it is said that the Moldovans in other countries do not face the same problems concerning access to information. If we speak strictly about the Internet, the Moldovans in Romania or Italy have access to a wider diversity of information and can express themselves freer.
In conclusion, the authors say the biggest problem is that the seats in Parliament, if we offer these to the Transnistrian authorities when the Moldovan parties cannot campaign there and the voters there cannot inform themselves correctly, will be given not to Moldovan nationals, but to the separatist regime. As long as no free and fair elections can be held in Transnistria, the separatist regime will be able to push its own candidates in Moldova’s Parliament so as to defend its interests from inside.
The full article in the Romanian can be read on sic.md. Sic! is a project implemented by IPN News Agency with support from Soros Foundation Moldova.
