On 9 February 2021, Viorica Tătaru and Andrei Capatarenco, journalists from the Moldovan TV channel TV8, deliberately carried out a provocation on the border with Transnistria. Afterwards, they tried to accuse the Russian peacekeepers of illegal actions, giving the events the appearance of an international scandal
The employees of the mentioned media outlets are authors of the program Dincolo de Nistru (Dniester without Borders). At the moment of crossing the checkpoint near the village of Gura Bicului, they were filming. Russian peacekeepers on duty demanded that they stop filming as it was prohibited.
The Moldovan journalists refused to do so. They insisted that the military respected the Moldovan law on the protection of journalists’ professional activities, which stipulates the right to shoot video footage of the life of citizens in the Security Zone.
We are on the territory of the Republic of Moldova (Chisinau has considered this territory its own for three decades). At the crossing of the Nistru River, in the village of Gura Bicului, we were blocked by so-called peacekeepers. Armed people blocked the way of the vehicle and demanded that we remove the footage or give back the equipment. – said Tataru.
The peacekeepers drew attention to the fact that the Joint Control Commission, which includes representatives from Chisinau, had posted notices at the checkpoint and around the facility prohibiting photo and video recordings. They once again demanded that what had been filmed be removed, but the journalists refused to do so, deliberately creating a conflict situation.
The journalists locked themselves in the car and called the Moldovan police to the checkpoint. The JCC, the Ministry for European Integration and PromoLex human rights defenders (they specialise in ECtHR cases) were also notified.
After two hours, we were released – summed up Tătaru.
We should note that the appearance of such provocations on the border with the PMR, followed by videos on TV, was quite predictable after the victory of the Moldovan president Maia Sandu in the elections. This case can be considered the beginning of a future series of provocations against the Russian peacekeepers in the region, as the pro-Romanian activists will not stop at one incident.