Public television and radio directors fired in attempt to make the stations more impartial

Today, the new Council of Observers fired Valentin Todercan, the head of Moldovan Public Television and Radio, and Adela Railean, the director of Moldova 1, the country's public television station.

Six new members (out of nine) were appointed to the Council recently.

The Communist opposition has accused the ruling Alliance of political persecution, but coalition heads hailed the Council's decision as a move toward making the public stations more impartial and more independent.

Mr. Todercan and Ms. Railean have often been accused of having close ties to the Party of Communists. Reports by independent media organizations established that, while the Communists were in power, the public television and radio stations were used to polish the ruling party's image and to criticize the opposition. For example, the stations spoke very little about the mass repression campaign that followed after the April 7 protests in Chisinau.

After the Alliance came to power, the two stations, especially public television, continued to generally praise the Communists and harshly critize the Government, generating accusations that, although the Party of Communists lost the elections, it maintained control over an important media outlet that is very popular with Moldovans, especially in rural areas.