The Broadcasting Coordination Council (BCC) will penalize the stations Bas FM and Bas TV from Basarabeasca district for broadcasting a video, at the request of the Basarabeasca mayor’s office, by which the people were urged to support the holding of the referendums in Gagauzia, which were declared illegal by the central authorities. On February 28, the Council examined a challenge about the broadcasting of the video from the Basarabeasca Police Inspectorate, IPN reports.

The BCC said that by broadcasting the video, Bas TV and Bas FM violated the Law on Advertising, which says that the videos running counter to the legislation and the state interests cannot be aired. Bas TV director Vladimir Topal argued that the channel has a contract with the mayor’s office, by which it pledged to transmit its announcements without bearing responsibility for their content.

BCC chairman Marian Pocaznoi said the broadcasters are responsible for what they air. The members of the Council recommended the stations to review their contracts with the local authorities and to specify in them that they will not broadcast videos that do not obey the law.

The BCC decided to inform the Competition Council. After the Council pronounces on the issue, there will be taken a decision as to what penalty to impose on the two stations.