The Electoral Board prohibits TV3 from talking about “exiles” after a complaint from Ciudadanos

The Provincial Electoral Board of Barcelona prohibits TV3 and Catalunya Rdio from speaking of “exiles” “during the electoral process” to refer to leaders such as Carles Puigdemont himself or the fugitives accused in Tsunami Democrtic after a complaint filed by Ciudadanos, a party led by Carlos Carrizosa.

In a resolution to which this newspaper has had access, the organization partially upholds the orange party’s appeal and declares that these expressions “violate the principle of information neutrality and equality between all organizations in the face of the consideration that others could offer of the same facts.”

For this reason, it urges the Catalan Audiovisual Media Corporation (CCMA) – the entity dependent on the Generalitat that includes TV3 and Catalunya Rdio – to “during the electoral process avoid the use of information treatments such as those denounced here because they can generate confusion and “they do not respect the principles of pluralism and equality.”

Specifically, Ciudadanos compiles several examples of recent news broadcast on TV3, such as those that refer to the mass escape of those accused of terrorism in the Democratic tsunami case. “Eight of the 12 investigated for the Tsunami case are waiting in exile for the amnesty to come into force,” the public broadcaster reported last week. “They seek the protection of the international community abroad with the desire to denounce a cause that they consider absurd on the part of the Spanish police and judiciary,” he added about the news.

Therefore, there is a repeated and constant statement by the media reported that forms an unequivocal story of what is described as exile and of exileswithout questioning the suitability of such terms to refer to those who, faced with the imputation of certain facts by the judicial authority, choose to transfer their residence to another country, nor offering a version different from the one reported so that the viewer can compare different perceptions. of the facts and the legal situation of those affected”, assures the Provincial Electoral Board of Barcelona.

“This action fails to comply with the principles of information neutrality required of publicly owned media during electoral periods, and favors certain political positions to the detriment of others,” the organization adds.

In the appeal against the actions of the CCMA submitted to the Provincial Board of Barcelona presented on Friday, the orange party and its candidate, Carlos Carrizosa, denounced that the Catalan public entity exceeds its informative function and that they use the media to spread the message. politician of the independence movement.

The appeal presented by the orange party included several agreements of the Electoral Board in similar situations that occurred in the past, for example when the JEC stated that demonstrations like these “produce confusion between the legal reality and the alleged reality that can electorally favor some candidates.” “.

Ciudadanos argues that the message broadcast by TV3 and Catalua Rdio in their information spaces such as Telenews either Els Matins transmits a false image that can lead the viewer to “come to the false conclusion that there is a legitimate Government in exile, hiding that, in effect, there is neither exile nor political persecution, but rather a pure and simple application of the laws in force.” of a democratic country.”

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