Media nongovernmental organizations call on the administration of Parliament to solve the problem of media access to the ligature’s sittings. A statement signed by eight NGOs says the limiting of the journalists’ access to the sittings is against the principle of transparency in decision-making and represents a violation of the freedom of expression, IPN reports.

The NGOs say that earlier, the Parliament’s administration and the leaders of the factions of the parliamentary majority promised to find solutions for the journalists to return to the assembly hall, but nothing was done. “We consider that the legislature’s actions to isolate the representatives of the media are unfounded from legal and moral viewpoints. The public has the right to know the position of every MP on the discussed issues, while the journalists must be able to cover aspects of the legislative body’s work unhindered,” reads the statement.

The signatories ask Parliament to immediately take action to allow the journalists to attend the sittings directly as this will guarantee the people’s right to information of public interest and will ensure real transparency in decision-making.

In the renovated building of Parliament, the journalists stay in a separate hall, while parts of the sittings are transmitted on several monitors in this hall.

The statement was signed by the Independent Journalism Center, the Independent Press Association, the Center “Acces-info”, the Young Journalist’s Center, the Electronic Press Association, the Journalistic Investigations Center, the Association of Independent Telejournalists, and the Press Freedom Committee.