It's a tough time for journalists working for the international media in Romania, according to the Economist. A recent article details a number of incidents where journalists have been accused of spying or working for recently suspended then reinstated President Traian Basescu.

The accusations center around journalists allegedly attempting to undermine the current Romanian administration and spread pro-Basescu propaganda in the international media. The Economist mentions Der Spiegel, El País, Deutsche Welle, CNN, The Economist, Le Monde, USA Today and France 24 as some of the news organizations affected. “Their journalists have been accused of being “anti-Romanian agents”, paid by Traian Băsescu, the president, to misinform international audiences,” reads the Economist article. The article suggests that government officials and Romanian news service Cotiadanul are behind the attacks on the integrity of foreign journalists.

Reporters Without Borders and its Romanian partner organization “condemn the climate of intimidation that has developed in recent weeks towards journalists critical of the current political crisis and the government’s actions.” Remarks made by former interim president Crin Antonescu (in picture) on using Romania's Intelligence Services to investigate journalists are, according to Reporters Without Borders, of particular concern. Antonescu said he intends to use the Romanian Intelligence services to “understand the mechanism by which the country’s image has been demolished in two weeks as part of an organized, coordinated and funded action.”

Read the Economist article.

Read Reporters Without Borders.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com 

(photo source: presidency.ro)