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20 Years Later: Moldova

By Global Journalist Staff Posted Apr 13 2010

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A man holds a newspaper with a front-page photo of clashes during a rally held April 2009 in Chisinau, Moldova. According to Reporters Without Borders, newspapers that publish information exposing government corruption face opposition from the administration. AP Photo: Ivan Sekretarev

Moldova declared its independence in 1991, but press freedom still faces significant hurdles to its development. Although it has laws that protect freedom of the press, both Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders named the country's media freedom as “not free” in 2009.

Even though journalists have been able to freely criticize the government, the ruling government is hostile to stories that expose political corruption or break down how politicians make their yearly income. According to Reporters Without Borders, the Jurnal de Chisinau planned on publishing a series of stories on then President Vladimir Voronin's economic assets in April 2009. State-controlled printers stopped the first issue from being printed, claiming that there were technical problems.

During the April 2009 parliamentary elections, the Communist party claimed a victory, but minority parties claimed the election was fraudulent, stirring political turmoil. In the aftermath, Reporters Without Borders reported that some journalists had been arrested without cause; others had faced physical assault. Assailants frequently targeted Romanian journalists.

The main television station, Teleradio Moldova, is owned by the state. According to Freedom House, the current government refuses to allow the station to cover the minority parties.

Media in the eastern Transnistria region, which is autonomous from Moldova, is even more heavily censored and reliant on the government for funding. Private newspapers do exist, but reporters and advertisers connected with those papers are more likely to be harassed.

Although there are many problems, there have been some positive developments for Moldovan journalists. In 2006, parliament passed a law that greatly changed punishments in libel cases. Courts can no longer send defendants to prison for libel, and winners of libel cases can no longer be awarded disproportionate sums of money.