CHISINAU, February 9 Moldovan TV channel REN-TV Moldova fined for 30 thousand lei (1.6 thousand dollars), including for the lack of news from Ukraine, the corresponding decision was published on the official website of the Council for Television and Radio Broadcasting of the Republic (STR).
Earlier, Vice Speaker of the Moldovan Parliament, Vice Chairman of the ruling Action and Solidarity Party, Mihai Popsoi, said that he would not like to see Russian federal TV channels in the country, allegedly because of propaganda. Speaking about the closure of six opposition TV channels in the country, the politician said that such a decision was made belatedly and it was necessary to suspend the broadcasting of the channels at the beginning of 2022. He also blamed them for «propaganda by silence», since the channels allegedly did not cover the situation in Ukraine.
«The media service provider violated several provisions of the law… In some cases, the REN-TV Moldova TV channel received a public warning. A fine of 30 thousand lei was also imposed… In five news releases in a week, there was nothing said that takes place on the border with Moldova, in neighboring Ukraine,» said Aneta Gonta, Vice-Chairman of the STR.
At the same time, she clarified that within five days, 57% of the TV channel's news were devoted exclusively to international events, including the United States, Brazil, Peru, the Czech Republic, and Colombia.
«But there was no information about Ukraine, Russia or Romania. This is the lack of correct information,» Gonta added.
The TV channel REN-TV Moldova, in addition to programs of its own production, rebroadcasts the programs of the Russian TV channel REN-TV.
Moldovan authorities on December 16 suspended the license of the opposition and leading Russian-language TV channels Primul in Moldova, RTR Moldova, Accent TV, NTV Moldova, TV6, Orhei TV, which allegedly cover information about events in the country and Ukraine in bad faith, explaining this decision as a risk of disinformation . The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Moscow views Chisinau's decision as an act of political censorship. The Russian Foreign Ministry added that such actions are an outrage against the principle of media pluralism and a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of access to information, and Moscow also qualifies this as «a cynical infringement of the rights of national minorities.»