On 3 March 2017, the Moldovan National Platform released a Statement expressing concern for the worsening environment for civil society organizations in Moldova and the climate of increasing intimidation against independent media by public authorities.
According to the Statement, independent media outlets and NGOs expressing critical views on the current Moldovan leadership are accused of spreading a “poor image” of public institutions and have been progressively excluded from the dialogue with public authorities. The National Platform also denounces the phenomenon of quasi non-governmental organizations, presenting themselves as the representative of civil society and increasingly abusing the platforms established by Moldovan civil society to pursue their own agenda, through non-transparent and non-inclusive actions and approaches.
Taking into account the issues above and with the aim to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, the Moldovan National Platform calls on:
– Moldovan civil society organizations and media, to respect the principles of transparency, fairness, professionalism and professional ethics;
-Moldovan public opinion, to monitor and prevent governmental actions undermining freedom of expression and association and irrespectful of the rule of law principles;
– to Moldovan public authorities, to restore a transparent dialogue with representatives of all non-governmental organizations and media, irrespective of their expressed opinions.
