[Oberlist] MD* news: The Russian factor impact on the informational space of the Republic of Moldova

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----------------------------- Mesaj original -----------------------------
Subiect: News Digest, Vol 17, Issue 1
De la:   news-request at foundation.moldova.org
Data:    Vin, Septembrie 11, 2009 09:11
Către:  news at foundation.moldova.org
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RUSSIA'S INFLUENCE IN MOLDOVA THROUGH MEDIA OVERWHELMING
Foreign Policy Association (Moldova)
Sept. 10, 2009

The Russian factor impact on the informational space of the Republic of
Moldova

**Excerpt from the radio program ?Moldovan Foreign Policy Debates?
broadcasted on Radio Vocea Basarabiei, on August 30, and produced by the
Foreign Policy Association (APE) in collaboration with Imedia News and
Analysis Agency and with the assistance of the German Foundation Friedrich
Ebert Stiftung (FES). The broadcast is aired on Radio Vocea Basarabiei every
Sunday.

Corneliu RUSNAC, journalist Imedia: How does Russian influences in the
media, informational space manifest itself and what could be the
consequences of this kind of influence for the national security of the
Republic of Moldova? And what should the Republic of Moldova do in order to
assure its media security, Mr. Cristal?

Oleg Cristal, Expert of the Association for Participatory Democracy (ADEPT):
I have launched, some time ago, an idea which apparently is not very popular
and I have even been attacked rather strongly. I think that the Ukraine did,
it did well when the government prohibited the broadcast of Russian
television channels on the territory of the Ukraine, and however, I also
believe that they have exaggerated in the case of cable networks. In the
Republic of Moldova we have four state frequencies, foe the moment they
broadcast three television channels, out of which two are foreign. One is
from the Russian Federation and the other one from Romania. Both countries
have important interests in the Republic of Moldova, and if we want to keep
our sovereignty, we should keep track of the informational security, because
these days conventional wars go into history, nowadays there are first of
all informational and economic wars. Thus, it remains to be decided, do we
keep on the state frequencies two foreign channels or not. Besides these
frequencies there are numerous channels broadcasted regionally, TV and radio
channels or cable ones, well, through cable or satellite every citizen
decides what television channels to watch. [?]

Oazu Nantoi, Expert for the Institute of Public Policies (IPP): In this
sense I recall my experience when I was in Israel a few years ago in a visit
to some family friends, as usual, when [my host] was getting everything
ready in the kitchen, I was left in front of the TV with more than two
hundred channels out of which about fifty were Arab. This was in Israel,
which has been in a state of war from its formation, if I am not mistaken in
1948, because I am the same age with Israel. Thus, this is one approach. We
regret that citizens of the Republic of Moldova are being manipulated by
foreign media. And indeed, here we had the war in Georgia in August 2008. In
October 2008 IPP from Moldova produced a poll in which people were asked who
was responsible for the conflict between Russia and Georgia. 20% of the
respondents, I might be wrong, I cite from memory, thus, 20% declared that
Russia was to blame, 32% declared that it was Georgia?s fault, about 10%
declared it was the USA who was responsible, then came NATO and Abkhazia and
I don?t know who else. Therefore, it is indeed the case, as Mr. Cristal just
said, nowadays we are constantly without knowing it subjects of
informational warfare. I remember how the CNN channel reflected the
beginning of the operations in Yugoslavia in 1998 and the war in Georgia,
how the websites were blocked and how difficult it was to find alternative
sources of information. But I would like to mention another thing here, I am
a taxpayer, I pay money to the budget of the Republic of Moldova and in
return I am offered the junk called Public National Broadcasting Company
?Teleradio Moldova?.

Well, we cannot close, prohibit the access of electromagnetic waves of the
channels we do not like, someone does not like Romania, others do not like
Russia, I could have some objections towards the Ukraine where I was born,
but that is, we live in a world of competition including in the
informational sphere. I have no illusions about the potential of the
society, so that the Moldovan state could compete with the US in the
economic area, but we must have a national public television channel which
would offer an alternative to the Moldovan citizen: what happens in
Transnistria, what happens in the relation between Comrat and Chisinau, what
is going on in the relation between Chisinau and Bucharest, why there are so
many unresolved problems during the last 20 years between two neighboring
countries like the Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova, etc. In such
circumstances, I could consider that we have done our homework. We come with
our position, with our view, with our interpretation of different events
that touch upon our national interests. But, yes, there is a problem with
the state in the process of its building as is the Ukraine, as is the
Republic of Moldova, how should they position themselves in regards to the
informational sources of the former metropolis, yes?, to make it more
precise, that treat the CIS area by double standards, as a kind of
unaccomplished states, with a degree of sovereignty determines by the
Kremlin. This is the problem.

But it is the first part of the problem; I see that we should have here open
and competitive mass media, and the citizen should have access to them,
thing that we lack. And after that, we should have the moral right to think
well, whom we restrict access to our informational market. Well, ?a la
guerre comme a la guerre? (at war like at war).

Radu Vrabie, Expert of the Foreign Policy Association (APE): I am not a
specialist in mass media; still, I would say that we have a law stating that
we should have 70% of local product, which makes however, instead of doing
what Mr. Nantoi said, a local public television that would be an alternative
source of information, if does in fact destroy other foreign television
channels that we have, because these local programs implemented now and the
re-transmitted ones, in fact I do not know, I don?t think they enjoy any
popularity and nobody watches local products. Another aspect, besides what
my colleagues have just mentioned, is the fact that we not only are under
the influence of Russian mass media, we are in general within a Russian
information space just like in many other aspects of daily life,
entertainment, I do not know how else to call it. Cinemas, discos, well,
night clubs, malls are places were Russian language is mostly spoken. And I
believe that indeed the government of the Republic of Moldova could pay more
attention to this issue in order to change a little bit the situation,
because many times it is very hard to get to watch a movie in the mother
tongue, the Romanian language. As for the television, coming back to TV, it
is very good that there are many channels, but it is sad that certain
foreign television channels have disappeared, which when present could have
been compared. Now we do not have. And besides the fact that we need public
television, local television in general, we need foreign televisions,
western, in order to be able from the variety of information, to make
certain conclusions.


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End of News Digest, Vol 17, Issue 1
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