(IJC/IFEX) – The following is a 27 March 2007 declaration by IJC and other organisations: Statement of Media Development Organizations on Attempts to Suppress Freedom of Expression Chisinau, 27 March 2007 – We, the undersigned non- governmental media organisations, express our concern over the police actions on 27 and 28 March 2007, aimed at suppressing […]
(IJC/IFEX) – The following is a 27 March 2007 declaration by IJC and other organisations:
Statement of Media Development Organizations on Attempts to Suppress Freedom of Expression
Chisinau, 27 March 2007 – We, the undersigned non- governmental media organisations, express our concern over the police actions on 27 and 28 March 2007, aimed at suppressing freedom of expression.
We condemn the arrest, on 27 March at 11:00 a.m., of the ProTV Chisinau television crew (Maia Andrushca, reporter, and Nicolae Cebotari, cameraman), and of the DTV television crew (Tatiana Gavrilitza, reporter, and Vitalie Sircu, cameraman), as well as the detention of 15 members of the Liberal Party, various “Hyde-Park” NGO representatives, and the chief-editor of the newspaper “Literatura si Arta”, Nicolae Dabija. We also condemn the fact that employees of TV-7 (Petru Tergutza, reporter, and Iurie Cutzu, cameraman) were threatened by police officers, who prohibited them from filming events at the central police station.
The crews of ProTV Chisinau and DTV television stations were transported in police vans and threatened by the law enforcement officers. After half an hour, the journalists were released, though the footage shot by the DTV crew was destroyed.
These media professionals were merely performing their professional functions when the police officers impeded the journalists from filming and the Liberal Party members from laying down flowers on the street. The incidents took place on Bernardazzi and Armeneasca streets.
On 28 March, in the districts of Balti and Edinet, 2000 copies of the weekly Balti-based newspaper “SP” were confiscated.
In both cases, employees of the Interior Ministry were responsible for the persecution of journalists. It is remarkable that police officers threatened journalists with physical punishment, denied the detained journalists access to legal representation, and damaged their equipment.
We consider these actions to be attempts to intimidate the press and to prevent it from carrying out its duty of informing the population, as well as an attempt to suppress critical voices. We consider it imperative that an article be included in the Criminal Code calling for the punishment of persons who deliberately hinder mass media activity and intimidate citizens for expressing criticism.
The Independent Journalism Center in Chisinau calls on the authorities in Moldova, international bodies, diplomatic representatives, civil society, and institutions protecting journalists, to condemn these attacks on the media and the continuous degradation of freedom of speech in Moldova.
Signed by:
Independent Journalism Center
Independent Press Association
IMPACT Media Agency
Committee for Press Freedom
Broadcasters’ Association “APEL”
Center of Journalism Investigations
Journalists’ Union of the Republic of Moldova “Acces-info” Center
