Unfounded Statements Concerning Media NGOs in “Fabrika” Talk Show

The media NGOs’ declaration of February 16 about verbal assault against Publika TV journalists during protests at the Rascani district court in Chisinau was qualified in the “Fabrika” talk show on February 17 as “the first reaction of media NGOs after multiple cases of violence against journalists from Publika TV and other media outlets.” Media Azi points out that this statement is not true.

The Media Azi portal of the Independent Journalism Center alone published, between July 2015 (when protests in Chisinau escalated) and now, 13 declarations, in which media NGOs drew attention to the violation of journalists’ rights and to the need for journalists themselves to abide by professional ethics and not be manipulated by political actors, so as not to attract public disapproval.

It was not the first time when the civil society reacted to assaults against Publika TV journalists, either. During protests on September 6, 2015, when this channel’s team was forced by protesters to leave the site, media organizations expressed their concern about the restriction of journalists’ access to protests in the Great National Assembly Square. Also, in a declaration issued on December 1, 2015, about the incident during the protests at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, when a cameraman of Today.md online television was hit with a fist in the head and the people who disapproved of Publika TV editorial policy swore at the channel’s journalists, media NGOs asked the Ministry of Internal Affairs to investigate this case.

In all those cases, media NGOs appealed to protest organizers to abide by the national legislation on assemblies and the law on the press, which give to journalists the right to attend public events in order to obtain and spread information, make audiovisual records, film and photograph.

For better documentation, we attach the links to those declarations, in chronological order.