The Moldovan parliament approved on Thursday under two readings a bill envisaging restrictions for Russian television channels.
The parliamentary majority represented by the Democratic, People’s European Party adopted a bill banning the broadcasting of the Russian news in the territory of Moldova, as well as other analytical, information and military television programs.
The amendments allow the country to broadcast only information and analytical programs which are made in countries which ratified the European Convention on Transfrontier Television, Deutsche Welle reports. Russia signed the document in 2006, but it failed to ratify it.
The amendments to the Moldovan Broadcasting Code provide for fines of 70-100 thousand lei (€ 3,500- 4,900) for violations.
It took MPs three hours to discuss the bill. There is hardly a word about the ban on broadcasting Russian programs or Russian propaganda in the document, but its supporters used Russian TV as an example of propaganda examples. In protest, the opposition Communist faction left the room without waiting for a vote.
The Socialists who are for the Eurasian way of the country, remained, but refused to cast their votes. As a result, he document was backed by 61 deputies out of 87 present.
As reported earlier, in the latest episode of the TV program Gathering Place hosts Olga Belova and Andrei Norkin mocked at Belarusian president Alyaksandr Lukashenka for his willingness to improve relations with the EU. Ms Belova repeated several times that Lukashenka acted as a ‘whore wife’. Later she added that his behaviour bore a strong resemblance to that of a lady belonged to ‘the oldest profession in the world’.
