Press Freedom in Romania Diminishing

By: Alison Mutler, Associated Press Writer (AP) Ino Ardelean knew he could get into trouble for reporting on dubious links between Romania's ruling Social Democracy Party and prominent businessmen, but he never imagined waking up in a hospital with a broken jaw.

Now he thinks he should have seen the warning signs: bad-mouthed by two publications that support the ruling party; cold-shouldered at party news conferences; a fellow journalist quitting after threats were made to his father-in-law's business.

On Dec. 3, Ardelean was severely beaten while on his way home from his office at the national daily Evenimentul Zilei.

He was one of 16 Romanian journalists physically assaulted last year -- a wave of violence that is putting the Romanian government in conflict not only with media critics, but with the United States and European Union.

Their judgment of Romania's attitude to free speech, clean government and the rule of law matters more than ever as the impoverished country of 22 million seeks to attract foreign investment and negotiate its way into the prosperous European Union.

The attacks on journalists have drawn criticism from advocacy groups and U.S. Ambassador Michael Guest, who see press freedoms in the ex-communist country shrinking dramatically.

Noting the "striking brutality" of the attack on Ardelean, Guest warned that the Romanian government's response would help shape "our judgments as to how strongly anchored the rule of law is in this country."

After 40 years of communist rule and state-controlled media ended in 1989, Romanians enjoyed an explosion of free speech. But press freedoms have proved fragile, especially in this election year.

Journalists are sometimes sued for libel and hit with huge fines that would take them years to pay off. Many practice self-censorship. Business leaders are hostile to reporters who expose corruption, and it is common for journalists to receive anonymous threats.

Romania isn't the only ex-communist country where government and business have difficulty tolerating free speech. But "The situation in Romania is particularly worrying us," said Robert Menard, general secretary of Reporters Without Borders.

He said Romania was the only candidate for EU membership "where there are such serious problems with freedom of expression."

Violence against journalists sometimes gets scant attention from the Romanian media, where rivalries are rife and economic survival often means overlooking reports that could damage the government.

TV stations and newspapers rely on government advertising and have large debts to the state, which often are forgiven in exchange for favorable coverage, media analysts allege.

President Ion Iliescu immediately condemned the attack on Ardelean. However, Prime Minister Adrian Nastase criticized the attack three weeks later, and only after the U.S. ambassador spoke up. Romania's Press Club ignored the subject of violence against journalists at its annual gala, held days after the attack on Ardelean.

Even foreign-owned media have been subject to government pressure, senior journalists say.

Three journalists at Romania's biggest private radio station, Europa FM, resigned last year, accusing its French managers of pressuring them to report more favorably on the government.

Six journalists resigned from their jobs at BBC's Romanian section in London and Bucharest to protest the firing in November of its most prominent journalist, whose reports were known to have annoyed the government.

Last month, state-financed national television canceled a talk show, citing poor ratings. The show's host said the government had accused it of giving the opposition too much air time.

Also in January, parliament ruled that the government should appoint the board that runs Dilema, one of Romania's most prestigious independent weeklies, which receives public funding. Twelve of its journalists quit in protest and said they would start their own newspaper.

As for Ardelean, he is suing the government and police for $1.5 million, saying they neglected their duties by failing to arrest any suspects in the assault on him.