On July 9, the bodyguards of the Premier Greceanii denied access to a team of journalists from TV-Prim station from Glodeni to the meeting of the Prime Minister with local civil servants. Journalist Rodica Nimerenco was pushed by the bodyguards who threatened her with the use of the gun, whereas the cameraman was not allowed to film the premier entering the meeting hall (Media Monitor, July 9).
On July 12, journalists Igor Melnic and Vladimir Thorik from “Moldavskie Vedomosti” were forcibly removed by the bodyguards of the Premier Greceanii and local police from a PCRM electoral meeting that was held in the Palace of Culture in Donduseni (Media Monitor, July 14).
Meanwhile, Moldovan authorities have restarted illegal and anti-democratic practices of denying entry to some journalists into Moldova on various pretexts. For instance, Agerpress agency reporter Gabriel Apetri who was supposed to cover the election campaign and the early parliamentary elections of July 29 was denied entry into the Republic of Moldova on the pretext of not having a medical certificate testifying that he was not infected with HIV/AIDS. According to current legislation, in order to cross Moldovan border one does not need such a document (Media Monitor, July 14).
With regard to these situations of serious limitation of journalists’ rights, the undersigned non-governmental organizations urge:
• the Government of the Republic of Moldova (Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii) and the Communist Party of Moldova (President Vladimir Voronin): to stop limiting Moldovan citizens’ constitutional right to information and journalists’ right of exercising their profession, including by covering the electoral meetings that are public events and not party meetings;
• the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Moldova (minister Gheorghe Papuc) and the General Department of State Guard (head Sergiu Osman): to show legal and honorable conduct by excluding from their activity practices of soviet militia of intimidating inconvenient persons, especially journalists exercising their profession;
• the Border Guard Service of the Republic of Moldova (Director Igor Colenov) and the Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova (General Director Viorel Melnic): to stop abuses and illegal actions on behalf of their employees towards journalists arriving in Moldova to exercise their profession; to start an investigation on the case of denying entry to journalist Gabriel Apetri into Moldova and provide public explanation for this case.
The copy of this Declaration will be sent to embassies and foreign representations in the Republic of Moldova, European and international organizations, missions of monitoring the early parliamentary elections and to the OSCE Special Representative on Freedom of the Media
Association of Independent Press
Independent Journalism Center
Young Journalist Center of Moldova
“Access-Info” Center
Investigative Journalism Center
Union of Journalists of Moldova
Broadcast Media Association
