Translated material
Freedom of speech in Moldova?! No, I haven't heard...
In the spring of 2012, the era of free media ended in Moldova. With the closure of the opposition channel NIT, the country lost the opportunity to learn real news, and not dictated by the authorities.
The trial of the channel, accused of lack of pluralism of opinions, lasted more than six months. The result of ten meetings: the decision of the Coordinating Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting (hereinafter referred to as the CCA) to revoke the license of the TV channel remains in force.
In principle, the result is not surprising and very predictable: the BCC, the judicial system, as well as most other state institutions, have lost all independence and turned into an instrument of influence of certain political groups. Institutions created to be independent, impartial and objective have become tools of manipulation, pressure and intimidation. And the statements of European officials that the protection of human rights should become a priority in Moldova are not a decree for the “owners” of these institutions. European values are only good for policy statements before elections, but in other cases they are a very burdensome thing.
Very contradictory feelings arise when you observe how the current government, accusing the previous one of totalitarianism and infringement of freedom of speech, closes opposition channels, does not give broadcasting licenses to new channels, and is going to introduce censorship on the Internet. We will not talk about how the current government “promoted” the idea of European values and ideals before the elections, and how it abandoned its pretentious declarations after coming to power. Sowing the good, the bright, the eternal was clearly not their goal.
The media, in the hands of the country's rulers, has become a means of manipulation: the less bad things are said about the authorities, the higher the likelihood that people will tolerate these rulers. All the negativity accumulated by the population during the day is smoothed out when watching the evening news about the easy and wonderful life in Moldova.
Unfortunately, not only children believe in fairy tales if they are told by respectable gentlemen and ladies from television screens. Therefore, in order for the myths not to be dispelled, it became vital for pro-government politicians to remove from the “box” everyone who could easily debunk these myths.
The fight against NIT is not so much a fight against the communists as a party, but a fight against dissent, open-mindedness, an alternative view, a fight against the Moldovan people. With the closure of NIT, the Moldovan people lost the opportunity to monitor the work of the three branches of government. In fact, with the closure of the TV channel, the country lost the fourth branch of government - manual media do not represent any value for society; on the contrary, they only have a negative impact, misleading people about the processes taking place in the country.
The system in Moldova is so rotten that any attempts to change the situation, even by those who brought it to this situation, are futile. Statements by European Commissioners and Moldovan officials (even those who sit in Parliament and are not opposition members) will not change the current situation, which is getting worse and worse.
Opposition media that still exist to one degree or another are subject to pressure from the authorities. Jurnal TV is the last remaining TV channel that brings “turmoil” to the masses, discrediting the ruling parties. The channel has not yet sold itself to the oligarchs running the country, and, apparently, has no intention of selling. It is probably for this reason that the ACC started talking about sanctions and the possible closure of the channel.
Another fairly large bone in the throat of the ruling coalition is the Internet space. On February 8, deputies of the Gagauz People's Assembly approved the decision that Internet portals will have to operate only on the basis of a license. I think there is no need to remind that the NSG has become a toy of the Democratic Party since 2012.
NIT was a dangerous and strong competitor for the pet animals of the media magnates from parliament and government, and returning this channel to broadcasting would mean burying these channels and their owners alive. People accustomed to cartoons about a “wonderful life” would be very surprised by the real situation in the country, which biased channels are trying to hide. But these channels, or rather their owners, do not get along with each other, organizing information wars against competitors in a business project called “Moldova”. To drown your opponent in sewage and rise against his background - this is precisely the essence of PR carried out through the media by the main bosses of the country.