   
|
|
MOLDOVA
The Constitution and the law provide for freedom of
speech and of the press, although with some
restrictions. The Government does not abridge
freedom of speech, and the print media express a wide
variety of political views and commentary. National
and city governments subsidize a number of newspapers,
but political parties and professional organizations,
including trade unions, also publish newspapers.
Most newspapers have circulations of less than 5,000.
Although the
number of media outlets that are not owned and operated
publicly by the State or a political party is growing,
most of these “independent” media are still in
the service of a politician or political movement,
commercial interest, or foreign country, and secure large
subsidies from these sources. There are several
independent radio stations, including a religious one,
with some rebroadcasting from Romania and Russia.
There are two independent television stations in the
Chisinau area and one in the city of Balti. The
Government owns and operates several radio stations and a
television channel that covers most of the country.
A number of local governments, including Gagauzia,
operate television and radio stations.
The
Constitution restricts press freedoms, forbidding
“disputing or defaming the state and the
people” and political parties that
“militate” against the country’s
sovereignty, independence, and territorial
integrity. These restrictions lack implementing
legislation and are not invoked. The press law
includes an article that allows public figures to sue for
defamation without distinguishing between their private
and public persons. Criticism of public figures has
resulted in a number of lawsuits, and as a consequence,
journalists practice self-censorship. In cases
where suits have been filed against journalists and media
organs, the plaintiffs usually lose. There is no
freedom of information legislation, and journalists and
ordinary citizens often have difficulty obtaining
information from government organizations.
The Government
does not restrict foreign publications. However,
foreign publications do not circulate widely since they
are very expensive by local standards. However,
Russian newspapers are available, and some publish a
special Moldovan weekly supplement. The country
receives television and radio broadcasts from Romania and
Russia. A very small number of cable subscribers
receive a variety of foreign cable television programs.
Of the two major newspapers in Transnistria, one is
controlled by the regional authorities and the other by
the Tiraspol city government. There are also
independent newspapers in Tiraspol and the northern
Transnistrian city of Ribnitsa. The latter two
criticize the regime from time to time and have been
harassed by the separatist authorities. Other print
media in Transnistria do not have large circulations and
appear only on a weekly or monthly basis.
Nonetheless, some of them also criticize local
authorities. The one independent television station
is trying to enlarge its broadcast radius, but currently
is producing less than 10 hours of programming per
week. Resistance to this move comes from the local
official Transnistrian television station, which
previously had enjoyed a virtual monopoly of advertising
revenues. Most Moldovan newspapers do not circulate
in Transnistria. Circulation of all print media in
Transnistria is hampered by the closed nature of society,
as well as by the local economic crisis, which is more
severe than in the rest of the country.
The Government
respects academic freedom.
Commentary
One could agree that, in general, “the [Moldovan]
Government does not abridge freedom of
speech.” However, it does not mean that our
government is acting in accordance with all the
principles that are vital to the development of
independent media and freedom of information. As
the only owner and operator of the only TV and radio
stations that cover most of the country—the National
Television and the National Radio—our government
still controls a major flow of news and opinions in the
Republic of Moldova (“R.M.”). One might
even speculate upon a sort of government’s monopoly
in the broadcasting field of the R.M., since presently
there is no other radio and TV stations that can have the
entire population as an audience. For example,
having the National Television at his disposal, President
Lucinschi is promoting intensely and successfully the
idea of changing the Constitution in favor of giving more
power to the President. One who does not support
this idea could rarely express an opposite point of view
through this channel. Even members of the
Parliament’s ruling faction are complaining on this
matter.
On the other
hand, some journalistic and NGOs have been working on a
new draft law that, if adopted, will be less restrictive
to press freedom. For example, it does not contain
the very disputable article about forbidding
“disputing or defaming the state and the people of
R.M.” And the draft law makes a distinction
between a public and a private person while allowing
public figures to sue journalists for
“defamation.” Also, it provides the
needed regulation on access to information both for
journalists and ordinary citizens. Currently, this
draft is submitted to Parliament, and one can hope it
would be adopted by the end of this year.
It is true
that most of our independent media “are still in the
service of a politician or political
movement.” This situation is not going to
change, and it even will be getting worse unless some
major changes happen in the Moldovan economy.
Consolidation of the independent media in our country is
more an economic issue than a political one. Being
very small and poor, our market cannot be a reliable
source of advertising for newspapers, radio, and TV
stations. Given the fact that most urban people
remain emotionally linked to Russia and the Russian
language, some major Russian (former Soviet) newspapers,
radio, and TV stations have no difficulty in maintaining
their monopolistic position in the advertising market of
the R.M. That is another problem of a great concern
for everyone who are planning to run an independent media
outlet, especially if we are talking about broadcasting
Romanian (official) language programs. Some
regulatory measures were undertaken by Parliament to
establish a certain proportion of Romanian language
broadcasting in the R.M.
Related to
“independent newspapers in Tiraspol and
Ribnitsa” which allegedly “criticize regime
from time to time,” one must know that they can only
criticize some political figures, “some
mistakes,” but not the entire regime. They are
not risking to speak against so-called
“Transnistrian Moldavian Republic,” or to
express some doubts about Milosevic’s conduct, or to
show sympathy with NATO’s enlargement, or even to
support R.M.’s demand for the withdrawal of Russian
troops from its territory. Recently, local KGB
arrested the Novaia gazeta newspaper’s entire
circulation without any reasonable explanations. It
is the third time that the local KGB arrests this
newspaper’s circulation, and nobody can stop
it. One could think that the true reason for that
is to intimidate the editor-in-chief, known as a moderate
politician, who is trying to bring together Chisinau and
Tiraspol and who therefore ran (unsuccessfully) for the
Moldovan Parliament in 1998.
Nicolae Negru
Editor-in-Chief
Media in Moldova
|
