The ZdG exhibition “Corruption and War”, opened by Ziarul de Gardă at the National Museum of History, was visited on Thursday, December 15, by the President of Moldova, Maia Sandu. During the visit, Maia Sandu spoke about the importance of the work of investigative journalists in the fight against corruption and expressed her gratitude for the work done by journalists in the fight against corruption.

“I want to say that you are doing a very good job. I want to congratulate you for your consistency and your persistence and your courage. Obviously we have an obligation to try to create good conditions and to provide security for those who are engaged in these investigative and exposing acts of corruption. And I want to repeat here what I said at the Anti-Corruption Conference in Washington about how important the contribution of investigative journalists is in uncovering corruption, in informing people and thus strengthening popular support against corruption,” said Maia Sandu.

At the same time, the head of state reiterated the importance of continuing the fight against corruption and punishing those responsible for acts of corruption in order to restore people’s sense of justice. In this context, Maia Sandu said that Moldova enjoys international support in the fight against corruption.

“Of course, we in Moldova have witnessed great acts of corruption, which have caused great damage to the state budget, to the property of the state of Moldova, to businessmen who worked and earned honestly, to the trust of citizens and to the image of Moldova. Hence our desire to combat and punish, first and foremost, the high level of corruption. Obviously political will is not enough, it is very important, but it is not enough. It is also important to have the responsibility of the institutions that have, according to the law, the prerogative to sanction corruption. We have support from the international community, from certain countries in the fight against corruption and the fact that two people from the big corruptions have been included in the sanctions list speaks of the fact that there is confidence in the government’s efforts to fight corruption and reform justice. There are others who need to get on these international sanctions lists, but most importantly, these people need to be sanctioned here at home, to restore people’s sense of justice and get their money back,” the President said.

During the visit, Alina Radu, director of Ziarul de Gardă, told the President about the problems faced by the journalistic profession, including limited access to information, the effects of the crises of recent years on journalism in Moldova, as well as the security of investigative journalists and the lack of action by the authorities responsible for ensuring public security.

“I would like you to know that investigative journalists still do not have full access to databases, that we as investigative journalists still pay for information to government institutions and access is not easy anyway. I regret to report about this degradation of attitude towards journalists, not from the authorities, but from corrupt politicians who can afford to take messages about journalists to the dogs. Here I understand that the role of the authorities could be through an analysis of these speeches, through some actions, because let’s admit that today no one is cutting off our heads, even if he said so, but it creates an attitude in society that you can say that to a journalist at any time and it creates a message of hatred that, one day, could lead to some probable actions”, said Alina Radu.

Thus, in this context, Maia Sandu spoke about the need for the authorities to take action to ensure the safety of journalists, but also about the need to identify ways to ensure that quality media has a chance to survive.

“I agree that law enforcement needs to step in or at least react to the complaints you have made. So that is paramount, the safety of the people. On the economic side, things are a bit more difficult, because because of this barbaric war of Russia against Ukraine, our economy is suffering significantly. This is a reality we have to live in, we have to find the best ways to cope, to move forward and, yes, to make sure that quality media has a chance to survive and continue to work”, said the Moldovan President.

On 9 December, International Anti-Corruption Day, Ziarul de Gardă inaugurated the exhibition “Corruption and War”. The exhibition, hosted by the National Museum of History, will run until 29 December 2022, inclusive, and is open to anyone curious to learn about the impact of corruption in Moldova and investigative journalism.

The exhibition frames more than 100 exhibits from the national and international press of 2022, bringing visitors face to face with the direct questions: is corruption a cause of war? Could fighting corruption prevent wars? Can there be peace without integrity and transparency?

The exhibition is divided into several zones: the Corridor of National Corruption, the Circle of War, the Moldovan-Russian Caracat and the Tunnel of Light. The exhibits represent press articles, documents, images, photos, diagrams, collages made by ZdG and other editorial offices in Moldova and around the world.

It is suitable for groups of pupils, students, librarians, families with children, but also for anyone interested in the current situation in the region and the efforts of investigative journalists.