Non-Governmental Media Organizations are Concerned about the Refusal of the Universul Publishing Company to Print the Acasă Magazine

Moldovan media organizations express their concern about the refusal of the state-owned Universul Publishing Company to print the current issue of the Acasă magazine. The arguments of the publishing company’s manager referring to some technical reasons or debts that the publication allegedly has towards this economic agent sound unconvincing, because in such situations solutions between a beneficiary and a provider may be negotiated without jeopardizing timely appearance of the publication. According to the editor of the Acasă magazine, on December 26, 2017 the magazine’s administration fully paid its debts, but the company still refuses to print the current issue of the magazine.

We consider such attitude to a periodical unacceptable and leading to all kinds of interpretations, especially since, according to the publication, refusal to print the magazine is determined by the exclusion of materials criticizing the government, namely, a fragment of the article by Vitalie Călugăreanu for Deutsche Welle and a caricature by Alexandru Eftode for Radio Free Europe. We note that such actions may be qualified as censorship and deliberate obstruction of media activities, acts that fall under Article 1801 and Article 1802 of the Criminal Code.

We demand the administration of the Universul Publishing Company to provide public explanations regarding this case and to ensure open cooperation with the editorial boards of all periodical publications, without imposing unlawful restrictions, but finding solutions that would not jeopardize their activity.

Independent Journalism Center
Association of Independent Press
Journalistic Investigations Center
Press Freedom Committee
Electronic Press Association
Association of Independent TV Journalists
“Acces-Info” Center