Azarov's decision to cancel protesting journalists' accreditation for Cabinet's meetings quite legal, says PM's spokesman
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov's instruction to cancel accreditation of journalists that staged a protest during a government meeting on Wednesday is absolutely legal demand, the premier's spokesman, Vitaliy Lukyanenko, has said.
"The prime minister ordered the cancellation of the accreditation of protesters that violated the procedure for covering the work of the Cabinet of Ministers. This is a legal demand. According to the legislation, the information and public liaison department of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers that is responsible for accreditation will fulfill this task," reads a posting written by Lukyanenko on the premier's page on Facebook.
He explained that the procedure, which is envisaged by the law, would personally affect those people who disturbed the meeting. The media that were represented by those journalists will be able to accredit other employees.
"No one hindered and will not hinder journalists from working with the government. I'm sure that this deplorable incident will be settled legally and with mutual respect to work of both the executive authorities and the journalists," he said.
Lukyanenko said he was sorry about the fact that his colleagues did not want to and had failed to find an appropriate way to express their position and, even more importantly to contribute to finding an effective and legal solution to the problem.
"Journalists can do this effectively without holding up posters. They should decide on their own who benefited from their actions and if their play can be considered fair," he said.
When the prime minister arrived for the government meeting on Wednesday in the morning, several journalists from various media turned their backs on him, with signs reading "Today journalists, tomorrow your daughter, sister, and wife" and the demand that he dismiss the interior minister, Vitaliy Zakharchenko.
In turn, Azarov demanded that the protesting journalists' accreditation be cancelled.