{"id":375251,"date":"2014-01-14T13:55:40","date_gmt":"2014-01-14T13:55:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.moldova.org\/media-freedom-is-under-attack-in-moldova-241088-eng\/"},"modified":"2014-01-14T13:55:40","modified_gmt":"2014-01-14T13:55:40","slug":"media-freedom-is-under-attack-in-moldova-241088-eng","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/media-freedom-is-under-attack-in-moldova-241088-eng\/","title":{"rendered":"Media freedom is under attack in Moldova"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Media regulatory body in Moldova – the Audiovisual Coordinating Council (CCA) – excluded three TV stations from the list of mandatory channels that have to be retransmitted by private cable service providers.<\/p>\n

Accent TV, RTR Moldova and respected Jurnal TV are the channels affected by the decision of CCA. Jurnal TV did not receive any prior notification about their exclusion from rebroadcasting cable networks.<\/p>\n

Jurnal TV journalists have organized protests on Monday and Tuesday in front of the CCA headquarters calling on the regulatory body to restore their presence nationwide.<\/p>\n

The protesters chanted “CCA, go out,” “Freedom of Press,” “No censorship.” According to them, the decision is an attack on freedom of expression in Moldova that “would lead to the breakdown one of the few media outlets that has the guts to tell the truth.”<\/p>\n

CCA claims that “there is no list of mandatory retransmitted channels on the territory of Moldova,” therefore, Jurnal TV is not liable to being compulsory retransmitted.<\/p>\n

Media organizations in Moldova took note of the CCA decision and the statements issued by the affected media channels, which consider that bilateral contracts with cable networks have been violated and the move is politically motivated.<\/p>\n

“The signatory organizations call on the CCA to apply the legal tools to oblige the cable service provides to restore the retransmitted channels as it was before December 31, 2013,” seven media watchdogs said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n

Moldovan politicians have also reacted to the exclusion of the three channels.<\/p>\n

Socialist Igor Dodon said the move is politically motivated because there are elections ahead.<\/p>\n

“Jurnal TV is an inconvenient TV outlet for the oligarchic government, that is why it risks to be shut down,” Igor Dodon said. “The parliamentary elections are close, those governing are afraid they might lose and will brutally fight against all those who criticize them. They will put down TV stations, will buy votes, will try to forge the elections and will hit into opposition parties.”<\/p>\n

Reformatory Liberal Party issued a press release stating that excluding some media outlets from nationwide presence can affect their financial stability.<\/p>\n

“The exclusion of Jurnal TV from the mandatory list of several cable networks is a direct attack at the financial capacities of that outlet and restricts the access to information of thousands of viewers of Jurnal TV,” the statement said.<\/p>\n

The international watchdogs have also reacted to this decision.<\/p>\n

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovi\u0107 said that the hasty exclusion of three TV channels from several cable networks could hurt media pluralism in Moldova.<\/p>\n

“The unilateral decision to stop retransmission of these three channels can curb media freedom and limit media pluralism in Moldova, not least since these channels were known for their critical reporting on the current government,” Mijatovi\u0107 said. “I call on the authorities and the regulatory body to immediately look into these matters in order to preserve media pluralism in Moldova.”<\/p>\n

The U.S. Embassy in Moldova has also expressed its concern regarding to this situation.<\/p>\n

“These exclusions limit the Moldovan people’s access to different viewpoints and damage the media environment,” the embassy said in a statement. “This seems to be the latest action in a disturbing trend where media outlets disappear from the airwaves for less than transparent reasons, as we saw in 2012 with the withdrawal of NIT’s broadcast license. This is not the media environment that Moldovans deserve.”<\/p>\n

The statement added that the U.S. firmly believes that the “media environment reflects a diversity of views and perspectives, and allows for opposition voices to be heard.” They call upon the authorities in Moldova to make sure the operating environment for all media outlets is fair, transparent and without favoritism.<\/p>\n

EU Delegation to Moldova calls on authorities to analyze the situation “very carefully” and make sure that media pluralism is ensured.<\/p>\n

“This situation raises serious concerns on the basic question of European values and their realization,” the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova, Pirkka Tapiola said. “I call on the authorities to look into this situation very carefully and to take all necessary steps to ensure that media pluralism in respected in Moldova.”
\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>Media regulatory body in Moldova – the Audiovisual Coordinating Council (CCA) – excluded three TV stations from the list of mandatory channels that have to be retransmitted by private cable service providers.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":375250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-375251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-society"],"content_social_share":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Media regulatory body in Moldova – the Audiovisual Coordinating Council (CCA) – excluded three TV stations from the list of mandatory channels that have to be retransmitted by private cable service providers.<\/p>\n

Accent TV, RTR Moldova and respected Jurnal TV are the channels affected by the decision of CCA. Jurnal TV did not receive any prior notification about their exclusion from rebroadcasting cable networks.<\/p>\n

Jurnal TV journalists have organized protests on Monday and Tuesday in front of the CCA headquarters calling on the regulatory body to restore their presence nationwide.<\/p>\n

The protesters chanted “CCA, go out,” “Freedom of Press,” “No censorship.” According to them, the decision is an attack on freedom of expression in Moldova that “would lead to the breakdown one of the few media outlets that has the guts to tell the truth.”<\/p>\n

CCA claims that “there is no list of mandatory retransmitted channels on the territory of Moldova,” therefore, Jurnal TV is not liable to being compulsory retransmitted.<\/p>\n

Media organizations in Moldova took note of the CCA decision and the statements issued by the affected media channels, which consider that bilateral contracts with cable networks have been violated and the move is politically motivated.<\/p>\n

“The signatory organizations call on the CCA to apply the legal tools to oblige the cable service provides to restore the retransmitted channels as it was before December 31, 2013,” seven media watchdogs said in a joint statement.<\/p>\n

Moldovan politicians have also reacted to the exclusion of the three channels.<\/p>\n

Socialist Igor Dodon said the move is politically motivated because there are elections ahead.<\/p>\n

“Jurnal TV is an inconvenient TV outlet for the oligarchic government, that is why it risks to be shut down,” Igor Dodon said. “The parliamentary elections are close, those governing are afraid they might lose and will brutally fight against all those who criticize them. They will put down TV stations, will buy votes, will try to forge the elections and will hit into opposition parties.”<\/p>\n

Reformatory Liberal Party issued a press release stating that excluding some media outlets from nationwide presence can affect their financial stability.<\/p>\n

“The exclusion of Jurnal TV from the mandatory list of several cable networks is a direct attack at the financial capacities of that outlet and restricts the access to information of thousands of viewers of Jurnal TV,” the statement said.<\/p>\n

The international watchdogs have also reacted to this decision.<\/p>\n

OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Dunja Mijatovi\u0107 said that the hasty exclusion of three TV channels from several cable networks could hurt media pluralism in Moldova.<\/p>\n

“The unilateral decision to stop retransmission of these three channels can curb media freedom and limit media pluralism in Moldova, not least since these channels were known for their critical reporting on the current government,” Mijatovi\u0107 said. “I call on the authorities and the regulatory body to immediately look into these matters in order to preserve media pluralism in Moldova.”<\/p>\n

The U.S. Embassy in Moldova has also expressed its concern regarding to this situation.<\/p>\n

“These exclusions limit the Moldovan people’s access to different viewpoints and damage the media environment,” the embassy said in a statement. “This seems to be the latest action in a disturbing trend where media outlets disappear from the airwaves for less than transparent reasons, as we saw in 2012 with the withdrawal of NIT’s broadcast license. This is not the media environment that Moldovans deserve.”<\/p>\n

The statement added that the U.S. firmly believes that the “media environment reflects a diversity of views and perspectives, and allows for opposition voices to be heard.” They call upon the authorities in Moldova to make sure the operating environment for all media outlets is fair, transparent and without favoritism.<\/p>\n

EU Delegation to Moldova calls on authorities to analyze the situation “very carefully” and make sure that media pluralism is ensured.<\/p>\n

“This situation raises serious concerns on the basic question of European values and their realization,” the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova, Pirkka Tapiola said. “I call on the authorities to look into this situation very carefully and to take all necessary steps to ensure that media pluralism in respected in Moldova.”
\n <\/p>\n

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