​SOCIALISTS THREATENING WITH MASSIVE PROTESTS IF BAN ON RUSSIAN TV CHANNEL IS NOT LIFTED

The Party of Socialists of the Republic of Moldova (PSRM, headed by non-aligned MP Igor Dodon) is threatening to start actions of protest across the country if the Audiovisual Coordinating Council (ACC) does not cancel its ban on transmitting the Rossiya 24 news television channel in Moldova. The Socialists are demanding also to make ACC Chairman Marian Pocaznoi stand criminal responsibility for excess of position.

Several dozen Socialists and party supporters again gathered before the ACC building in downtown Chisinau on Tuesday demanding freedom of the press, freedom of opinions, no to censorship! and dismissal of Pocaznoi.

PSRM Executive Secretary Vlad Batrincea stated that the media watchdog “is dancing attendance on the pro-Europe Moldovan authorities, who simply shut down undesirable television channels”.

“May be it is in Marian Pocaznoi’s personal interests to fulfill such orders, but this cannot be called democracy, and this is strongly disliked by the Moldovan civil society. Pocaznoi longs to look like a European but he has actually nothing in common with Europe if he violates not solely Moldovan laws and the Constitution but European ones as well, which offence is punishable”, stated Vlad Batrincea.

He reminded that the incumbent authorities have already closed down one opposition channel – the NIT, after which they focused on JurnalTV, which is also very critical about the authorities.

“The authorities already closed the Accent-TV channel, too, so now they have at last embarked on giving short shrift to those Russian channels, which dare speak things disliked by Chisinau”, said the Socialist.

“Why doesn’t the ACC close down retransmitted Ukrainian channels for waging their own propaganda day and night, lying about the events in Ukraine and about the war there? Why doesn’t the watchdog shut down Romanian television channels that promote the stirring up of an inter-ethnic strife here? How much does it cost to close a TV channel? And how much does Marian Pocaznoi earn for fulfilling such orders?” Vlad Batrincea asked during the meeting before the ACC building.

In his words, on Tuesday the Party of Socialists is already holding actions of protest in several other towns of Moldova.