{"id":442540,"date":"2016-09-16T15:10:18","date_gmt":"2016-09-16T15:10:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?p=442540"},"modified":"2016-09-16T15:25:02","modified_gmt":"2016-09-16T15:25:02","slug":"vlad-plahotniucs-foundation-suspected-using-official-channels-promotion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/vlad-plahotniucs-foundation-suspected-using-official-channels-promotion\/","title":{"rendered":"Vlad Plahotniuc’s Foundation suspected of using official channels for promotion"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

The Foundation of the Democrat oligarch Vlad Plahotniuc, called “Edelweiss”<\/a> otherwise, is in the middle of suspicions of using official channels like state-run institutions to promote its social campaigns. <\/p>\n

On September 13th, Anticorup\u021bie.MD<\/a> published a letter supposed to be sent to the director of Moldova’s main postal service Po\u0219ta Moldovei, Serghei Nastas, saying that all of the postal offices would have to show advertisement for Plahotniuc’s Foundation. The letter dated September 2nd stipulates that the A3 “informative-advertorial material” would be sent to the postal offices through the Center of Processing and Transportation of Mail. Two posters would be placed in the Postal Center, while each postal office would get one poster.
\n\"\"
\nPo\u0219ta Moldovei<\/a> reacted to the allegations of being used as official channel for promotion by informing that it accepted the demand of Edelweiss Foundation to promote the message of the social campaign, like it did several times for campaigns initiated by similar organizations. At first, Elena Dancikova, the head of Marketing Service of Po\u0219ta Moldovei, informed Anticorup\u021bie that the advertisement was placed on the basis of a contract.
\n“We inform that the approved promoting relates to the message of the social campaign and not to promoting the organization, as some media institutions falsely alleged”, specifies the press-release, followed by a list of other social campaigns promoted by Po\u0219ta Moldovei.
\nIt still remains unclear whether the Foundation paid for advertorial services to Po\u0219ta Moldovei or not.<\/p>\n

Another campaign, “Protected families<\/a>“, oriented towards preventing family violence got into the attention of the public opinion.
\nAccording to Unimedia.info<\/a>, several NGOs reported that the campaign used the Child’s Hotline (116111), which belongs to and is administered by the Moldovan Ministry of Work and Social Protection.
\n\"\"
\nThe Ministry reportedly delayed the promotion of the hotline in lack of financial resources, but let NGOs to promote it in activities and materials. <\/p>\n

The representatives of the NGOs think that the hotline, as a public service, shouldn’t be associated with the respective foundation. Moreover, they believe that the Presidential race is not a randomly chosen period for promoting the social campaign. The NGOs demand the competent authorities to retreat the information about the Child’s Hotline from the materials of the Edelweiss’ campaign and not let other public services be used in the interest of private foundations. <\/p>\n

Over the last year, the social activity of Plahotniuc’s Foundation and other associations has intensified, a fact that can be seen from over 21 playgrounds<\/a> founded by him and the up-mentioned project.
\nThe campaign can be taken as a move of image-laundering of conducted by the shady oligarch for himself and the Democrats as a whole, before the Presidential elections. Be it a political move or not, the so-called “Executive Coordinator of the Governing Coalition”, Vlad Plahotniuc, wasn’t afraid to do a voice-over for the “Protected Families” video advertisement:
\n