Different non-governmental organizations, the OSCE, representatives of the European Union, the United States reacted on the removal of TV channel Jurnal TV, and of other two channels, from cable packages of broadcasting services providers.

Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, called on the regulatory institutions and bodies to respond immediately to the problem, in order “to preserve media pluralism in the Republic of Moldova”. “A unilateral decision to suspend the retransmission of the three channels can limit the scope of freedom of press and media pluralism in Moldova. These TV channels are known for their criticism of the current government”, said Mijatovic.

“Such actions limit the access of Moldovan citizens to various points of view and cause damage to the media. These recent cases look like the continuation of an alarming trend of mass media disappearance for unknown reasons, as the TV channel NIT vanished in 2012, deprived of the license for broadcasting. Moldovan citizens do not deserve such a situation in the media field”, says the press release of the U.S. Embassy.

The Head of the European Union Delegation to the Republic of Moldova Pirkka Tapiola expressed his view as well. The Ambassador of the EU demands the Moldovan authorities to respect the pluralism of opinions and ensure the freedom of press in Moldova.

“In my estimation, current developments are very serious. These are not just the matter of the Jurnal TV. The Accent TV and RTR Moldova are in a similar situation. The European Union stands for media independence and pluralism of opinions. I think that we have very serious reasons for concern in terms of observance of European values and principles. Basing on these values shared by the EU, I ask the Moldovan authorities to consider very carefully the situation and take all the necessary measures to comply with these values and to ensure the pluralism of opinions”, the Ambassador of the EU said.

In turn, local non-governmental media organizations (NGOs) expressed their concerns about the exclusion of a number of channels from the packages of cable operators. They appealed to the Coordinative Council on Broadcasting (CCA), which is the protector of public interest in the field of television and radio broadcasting, demanding to apply legal mechanisms and to compel cable operators return the TV channels on mandatory retransmission – as it used to be prior to December 31st 2013.

Apart from this action, the NGOs appealed to the Competition Council with a demand to investigate the alleged cartel agreement, illegally concluded by a number of companies and/or persons, aiming at elimination from the TV and radio market of several TV channels and radio stations. The statement of the NGOs reminded media outlets that they ought to provide objective and comprehensive coverage of the conflict between the broadcasters and the distributor companies.

One should remind that on the night of January 12th, about 10 cable operators terminated the broadcasting of TV channel Jurnal TV. The biggest provider of TV distribution services Sun Communications removed Jurnal TV from its basic offer, but kept it available for clients of its more expensive TV packages. The operators didn’t cite any specific reasons, nor commented on the situation with Jurnal TV.

Such actions of the operators instigated protest actionof the TV channel’s stuff and of a number of civic activists near the building of the CCA. Previously two other TV channels – RTR Moldova and Accent TV – were removed from the cable package of National Telecommunications Operator “Moldtelecom”. The Parliamentary Commission on Mass Media reported that it was going to discuss the situation.

EaP Media Freedom Watch