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Civic Coalition for Free and Fair Elections — Coalition 2009 is urging the broadcasters involved in covering the parliamentary race to adopt professional standards of correctness, while advising the Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) to react more promptly to violations in the media. The recommendation comes in connection with concerns over the way in which Moldovan audiovisual institutions are covering the campaign that precedes the early legislative elections on July 29. The first three weeks of the race have demonstrated clear political bias practiced by some TV channels in their newscasts and programs, the organization says. Civic Coalition refers in particular to the flagship nightly news broadcast on the public television Moldova 1: “The Mesager news program is continuing to manipulate the public opinion, transforming the main news broadcast of the day into a space for propaganda of the government’s achievements, of messages from the ruling party, and for slandering the opposition.” The Coalition also remarks that a number of television stations, including NIT, N4, Omega and MIR, are distorting the events that occur in the race using a simple formula: the government and the ruling party personify the good, which is worth being endorsed by the voters, and the opposition represents the evil, which must be condemned and punished in the upcoming elections. (Info-Prim Neo)

Premier’s bodyguards barred Thursday a team of journalists from the Glodeni-based “TV-Prim” station to attend a sitting of functionaries from the rayon, with the participation of Prime Minister Zinaida Greceanii. Replying to insistence of reporters to go to the sitting hall, a bodyguard elbowed a journalist and threatened her with his weapon. TV-Prim editor-in-chief Rodica Nimerenco said that she insisted to go in and attend the public sitting. The cameraman was taken by bodyguards to another floor, so that to bar him from recording the least when the premier entered the sitting hall, the TV-Prim chief editor stated. The spokesperson to the Government, Vitalie Condratchi, stated to the Monitor Media Agency that “the access to the meeting in Glodeni was restricted and the journalists should take into account the indications of bodyguards.” (Deca-press)

Marian Lupu, the head of the Democratic Party and formed member of the governing party, declared that “Voronin did good things, as well as many problems”, DECA-press communicates. The declaration was made at an off-line meeting with bloggers from Moldova. “If people want real changes, Voronin should not opt for one of the three supreme state posts after the elections from 29 July”, Lupu specified. He said that “After 5 April, Voronin wanted to take the centre of power to the Parliament” and that “the power needs to be depersonalized”. Asked by bloggers how Vladimir Voronin is as a man, the former speaker mentioned that “he is a contradictory person”, refusing to give more details, because they may be qualified as attack of person. “I do not opt for the post of president of country. If PCRM gathers more than 52 mandates, I will not opt for this post”, Lupu also said. (Deca-press)

The education system has permanently worsened in Moldova during the Party of Communist’s eight years in power, while the education policies pursued by the authorities do not contribute to the development of the youths, the opposition Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova (PLDM) believes. PLDM deputy leader Mihai Godea told a news conference on Thursday that teachers continue to receive the lowest salaries among budget-paid employees. “In order to earn their living, 60% of teachers are forced to work overtime, while 62% of them have been working for more than 25 years. Annually over 2 thousands teachers, usually young ones, quit the profession, which means that now mainly old teachers are working,” Godea stated. According to Godea, the authorities have politicized the education system by attracting many directors of schools and lyceums into the Party of Communists and through ideological corruption of schoolchildren and youths. PLDM deputy leader Mihai Sleahtitchi described as a failure the organization of the baccalaureate examinations in 2009, saying that the Communists are trying to destroy the youth through these exams. (Infotag)

Party of Socialists of Moldova “Patria-Rodina (Motherland)” does not find any argument why national minorities should support those who introduce themselves as democrats — PL, PLDM, AMN and PDM. Patria-Rodina chairman Eduard Smirnov made this announcement at a news conference on Thursday. He noted that liberal parties have never proposed any legislative or public initiative aimed to improve the effective legislation which regulates the rights of national minorities. According to Smirnov, national problems do not appear in a democratic society. He called upon liberals and democrats “not to elbow people behind and not to regard them as second hand because they do not speak Moldovan.” Party secretary Valentin Crilov called upon electors to vote the Party of Communists (PCRM) at the early parliamentary elections on July 29, as this party is capable to guarantee the interethnic conciliation in society. (Infotag)

The agenda on sustenance of agriculture by acting Government has brought great results in the last eight years, Deputy Minister of Economy and Commerce Iurie Muntean, PCRM candidate to the Parliament, told a news conference on Thursday. According to Muntean, starting 2001 the farm land consolidation project was a strategic priority on the agrarian agenda of the ruling party. Hereby, 69 percent of the farm land in Moldova was consolidated until now. This success was due to the tools implemented by the acting ruling, which helped open more than 230 technological stations, this being the best land consolidation method. According to Muntean, 50 technological stations are expected to open this year and the state budget foresees 60 million lei for this purpose. The deputy minister stressed that the acting government has plans to open technological machines stations in every locality in Moldova. At the same time, the land consolidation process was encouraged by massive investments and important subsidies in irrigation, which is now more accessible for consolidated fields. Another instrument implemented by the government is support to young people from rural areas to start up small and medium business. Hereby, about 300 small and medium businesses were sustained in 2008 only. Now the government sustains the Moldovan agriculture through investments and subsidies, with the latter increasing about 60 fold in the last eight years, up to 658 million lei in 2009. (Omega)

“The agro-food market in Moldova does not guarantees the food security of population, but on the contrary, bears some particularities against citizens,” Mariana Ambros, candidate on behalf of the Liberal Party (PL), told a news conference on Thursday, July 9. According to a communication released by PL after the conference, the structure of the agricultural production volume does not provide people with the necessary food products, though farm lands exceed 2.3 fold the requirements to cover the need, so that to guarantee the food security and to meet the physiological consumption norms. The poor absorption power of the market linked to derisory incomes of people enhances the number of people suffering from anaemia, especially among children and women. The underdeveloped quality infrastructure is another negative economic trend signalled by the Liberals. (Info-Prim)

Renovating and modernising the Presidency and Parliament buildings was wanted by the chief of state yet before 2004–2005, when he instructed the executive to work out a renovation project. Vasile Tarlev made this revelation at a news conference on Thursday, July 9. As well, he revealed some “myths” of the communist governance. “Those renovation projects were elaborated, but me as prime minister, I did not accept to release funds from the state budget for the purpose to making very expensive conditions in the Parliament and Presidency, and now you see, they seized the occasion,” Tarlev stressed. Speaking about “myths” of the communist governance, Tarlev revealed that salaries and pensions had been paid before the victory of the communists as well. “The ideological group of the Party of Communists barred me from releasing true accounts on pensions. But the truth is that pensions and wages of budgetary employees were paid before 2001, too, and salaries in the real sector were paid by my cabinet,” Tarlev added. (unimedia.md)

The electoral campaign for the July 29 elections is much more aggressive than the precedent one, particularly in terms of information disseminated by certain electoral contestants. This conclusion was drawn by the Civic Control — Elections 2009 Coalition, which released on Thursday the first monitoring report on electoral campaign. Coalition chairman Alexandr Barbov told a news conference that the systematic use of photos and records featuring deceased Valeriu Boboc by certain parties is ethically unfair, and this makes a negative psychological pressure on population. As well, Barbov noted that the coalitions has been repeatedly notified in connection with the inappropriate conduct of some members of the Liberal Democratic Party of Moldova who asked the young generation to hide the identity cards of their grandparents in order to bar them from participating in the voting. The organisation called upon electoral contestants to refrain from using libelling, aggressive and radical messages and recommended competent bodies to react promptly to breaches of electoral legislation. (Moldpres)