A draft Law developed by Yevgeny Shevchuk might constrain Media in the Transnistrian Region

Media Azi spoke with media expert Luiza Dorosenco, Director of the Media Center in Tiraspol, about the impact that this draft law might have on the region’s mass media.

- Ms. Dorosenco, how is this initiative motivated and how timely is this draft law?

- In my opinion, the authors of this draft law should have come up with relevant arguments explaining why this issue is currently important for the region. I have found no such arguments. It is relevant only on paper, and there is no confirming evidence. In fact, the text of the draft law is incomplete, as it doesn’t even have a glossary explaining the very term “defamation.” In the absence of such explanations, the term could be interpreted in different ways, depending on everyone’s intentions.

- Won’t the fact that the term “defamation” is not explained in the draft law and is prone to interpretation affect limitation of freedom of expression of journalists in the region?

- Such a danger exists. This draft law might constrain mass media, which definitely involves limitation of freedom of expression. But I believe that the draft law proposed by Yevgeny Shevchuk is directly related to elections, because the region has unofficially entered the campaign for presidential elections of December 2016. One can already see a fierce confrontation between the media controlled by the region’s leader and those funded by the so-called holding “Sheriff.” If this law is adopted, it might constrain mass media, for example, the media outlets that will broadcast materials criticizing Shevchuk. Thus, the work of these media could be suspended for the duration of criminal investigation, meaning that they won’t be able to work during the election campaign, even if they are later exculpated.

- A news portal of the region wrote that some non-governmental organizations from Tiraspol welcomed this legislative initiative…

- I’d like to see the list of such organizations, how many and which exactly they are… We, for example, didn’t even know that such a draft law was registered. It seems that some organizations were better informed than we. Also, I don’t think that the draft law will be adopted, given that there is opposition not only among media outlets, but also among their owners. Yevgeny Shevchuk proposes lots of legislative initiatives, but not all of them are supported by the region’s MPs.