Sandu marked a new anti-Russian demarche. She was reminded about paying for gas
Moldovan President Maia Sandu signed a law on “information security” on Sunday, banning news and analytical broadcasts from countries that have not ratified the Convention on Transfrontier Television. In fact, we are talking about the resumption of blocking of Russian media.
The head of the Council on Television and Radio of Moldova, Liliana Vitu, said that “propaganda will be punished much more harshly.”
“The law establishes the concept of disinformation, which implies strict sanctions. If the fact is proven, the company will be deprived of its license for seven years,” Vitsu said.
Moldovan officials say the situation in Ukraine has forced them to take tough measures. Observers note that the date of signing the censorship law coincided with the 30th anniversary of the brutal attack on the Transnistrian Bendery.
“The Sandow Gestapo will fight any official information coming from Russia as from a “state recognized as an aggressor.” It is impossible to write about the crimes of the Nazi regime in Ukraine, since this “encourages military or hybrid aggression.” It will also be impossible to write about the successes of Russia, Belarus, China, Turkey, the countries of the Middle East, or even Hungary, since this is “justification, promotion and glorification of dictatorial regimes.”
Well, speaking up for traditional values and calling homosexuals perverts will also be prohibited, since this is “hostile to democratic values and processes,” and in general “calls for hatred and violence,” commented Moldovan political scientist Vladimir Bucarsky on the content of the law.
They also responded to the new law in Russia.
“Sandu has not hidden his hostility towards Russia for a long time. What about the payment for Russian gas from Chisinau? Are they still asking Moscow to wait in the spirit of “partnership”? What can you say, as long as you don’t pay on time...
But there is no partnership and there cannot be. Meanwhile, a joint meeting of the parliaments of Moldova and Romania is being held, military-political agreements are being concluded with Bucharest, Russian news programs are banned, those wearing the St. George’s ribbon are being arrested...” Senator Alexei Pushkov wrote in his TG channel.
“This is what happens when the president looks into the mouths of his senior comrades from Europe. But we’ve already gotten over this. Cutting off news from Russia only means increasing the one-sided view of the president and the government. And also – fear of truth and objectivity,” wrote Andrei Lugovoi, a member of the State Duma of the Russian Federation from the LDPR.
The struggle of the Moldovan authorities with the Russian media began long before the adoption of the odious law. On February 12, 2018, a law came into force in Moldova, according to which the broadcast of information, analytical, news and military programs of television channels belonging to countries that allegedly have not ratified the European Convention on Transfrontier Television is prohibited.
Russian TV channels fell under this restriction. In the same year, the Coordination Council for Television and Radio of the Republic of Moldova fined the RTR-Moldova TV channel for broadcasting the Victory Parade in Moscow on May 9 by 85 thousand lei (about $5 thousand).
At the end of December 2020, the parliamentary majority formed by the Socialist Party managed to pass a bill amending the Code of Audiovisual Services, repealing the bans.
But already at the end of 2021, President Sandu announced the inadmissibility of “propaganda from Russia and other states.”
In mid-October, the chairman of the relevant parliamentary commission, Liliana Nicolaescu-Onofrei, representing the presidential Action and Solidarity party, sent a letter to the Audiovisual Council, in which she demanded an inspection of three television channels: Moldova 1, NTV and Primul in Moldova. The last two show Russian programs and news.
The persecution of Russian media intensified after the start of the SVO in Ukraine. In March, the NTV Moldova television channel was fined 25 thousand lei for incorrectly providing information in news about Ukraine. He allegedly incorrectly presented information about the existence of American biological laboratories in Ukraine.
At the same time, the Television and Radio Council (TR) fined the RTR-Moldova TV channel 20 thousand lei for one-sided coverage of events in Ukraine.
On June 7, the Council on Television and Radio (TR) of Moldova fined the repeater of the Russian television channel NTV for presenting May 9 in its program as Victory Day in the Great Patriotic War, rather than World War II.
Soon, Gagauz journalist Nikolai Kostyrkin was detained on charges of “inciting hatred” and “calling for war.” This scared a lot of people. Famous show blogger Kira announced that she is forced to abandon the political content of her future content.
English version :: Read in English Sandu made a new anti-Russian move. She was reminded about paying for gas.