Moldovan politicians, officials urged not to interfere with media

IDIS - Viitorul" has launched a campaign to gather promises from politicians and government officers that they will not interfere with the work of political journalists.

The campaign is part of an IDIS project - Development and promotion of a modern democratic framework in the Republic of Moldova." At an April 6 event announcing the program, the think tank was joined by three Moldovan NGOs that work to protect the independence of journalists.

"Signing this agreement is a symbolic action," said Cornel Ciurea of IDIS. "It's how you swear loyalty to the altar. This kind of commitment is not a guarantee that this will happen, because politics is tempted to subordinate the media.

"However, it is an attempt to empower commitments politicians make and to draw attention to attempts or successes to draw a media landscape that reflect the political geography of the country."

The event was timed to coincide with the start of an election cycle for local offices in Moldova.
IDIS has also released a "Black Book of Moldovan Media," which documents 40 cases of political and governmental efforts to curb press freedoms that occurred between 2001-2010.

"In most cases described in the report, abuse of power by regulatory authorities was due to ignorance, rather than legal guidelines," said IDIS expert Ghenadie Mocanu.