Media NGOs asking the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia to comply with the legislation of the Republic of Moldova

Media NGOs are asking the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia to reject the draft law on modifying and supplementing Law of Gagauzia on Television and Radio, no. 66 of 10 July 2007, which was subjected to public discussions on 24 October 2014[1].
 
We shall mention that the draft law [2] contains a number of proposals that are inconsistent with the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova, the Broadcasting Code, the Law on the Special Legal Status of Gagauzia, the Law on Freedom of Expression, etc. These proposals are aimed at modifying the legal procedure of issuing broadcasting licenses, usage licenses and rebroadcasting permits by transferring it into the competence of the Executive Committee of Gagauzia, as well as at substituting the Broadcasting Coordinating Council’s legal competences related to supervising holders of broadcasting licenses and rebroadcasting permits in terms of compliance with the broadcasting legislation and penalizing them for violations.
 
Also, it is proposed to modify the procedure of selection and dismissal of members of the Supervisory Board (SB) of the regional public broadcaster Teleradio-Gagauzia and to vest the SB with new functions. Thus, it is proposed that SB members be appointed and dismissed with the vote of the majority of the People’s Assembly elected members. It should be mentioned that currently SB members are appointed with the vote of two thirds of the People’s Assembly members and cannot be dismissed.
 
We find unacceptable the adoption of provisions that are contrary to the legislation of the Republic of Moldova and that will lead to substitution of the legal duties of broadcasting regulators. In addition, the modification of the procedure of selection of Supervisory Board members and the establishment of the procedure for their dismissal will reduce impartiality and increase the risk of politicization and manipulation of this authority. Also, the establishment of new duties for the Supervisory Board, in the currently proposed form, will lead to bureaucratization and sometimes boycotting of Teleradio-Gagauzia activities.
 
Signatories consider inadmissible the adoption of the draft law on modifying and supplementing the Law of Gagauzia on Television and Radio in the proposed version and are asking the People’s Assembly of Gagauzia to reject this draft law.