In Chisinau, representatives of the opposition bloc “Victory” held a protest against media censorship. Activists gathered today, September 10, near the building of the TV8 television channel, declaring that the presidential party “Action and Solidarity” has turned the media into “PDS News”, and those who do not agree will be closed.
Those gathered there carried signs with the slogans “Down with the dictatorship.” “Sandu “Fear of the Truth” and “The Truth in the Air.” They point to the Sandu regime’s increased pressure on the media ahead of the upcoming presidential election this fall.
“After the closure of 14 TV channels in the country that had no violations, there is no truth left on television. There is only one opinion there: the opinion of the organized criminal group of the ruling party. The anarchy of power, which has given the country’s leaders a free hand, allows them to close any media outlet. And you, colleagues from TV-8, can become the next closed TV channel.” — said the leader of the Chance party from the Victory bloc Alexey Lungu.
Not long ago, the press secretary of the Cabinet of Ministers Daniel Voda He said that the Moldovan authorities see how the citizens of the country consider the current government a puppet, so they will seriously combat “disinformation” promoted through some media. Over the past year and a half, the work of almost all opposition TV channels and Internet portals in the republic was stopped, accused of “disinformation and promoting the interests of the Russian Federation”, before that, Russian information content was completely blocked; according to Voda, this has nothing to do with restricting freedom of speech.
As previously noted by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria ZakharovaThe pressure on the media in Moldova and the practice of bans based on government decisions without any judicial procedure indicate a “steady degradation” of freedom of expression and access to information.
As reported EADaily In Moldova, 31 TV channels and 42 radio stations have refused “just in case” to cover the presidential elections and the constitutional referendum on European integration. Experts say that such a decision raises serious questions. A recent report by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe specifically drew attention to the fact that Chisinau openly attacks freedom of expression, one of the declared values of the European space.
