Baku, Azerbaijan, March 19
Trend:
A rally of journalists is being held in front of the Yerevan City Hall under the slogan "Open the doors, the press comes", Armenian media reported on March 19.
Participant of the protest action, reporter Arman Gharibyan particularly noted that attempts are made to prohibit journalists from entering a meeting room of the Yerevan's Council of Elders and to allocate a special room for them, which contradicts the Law on Local Self-Government. The Law says that the self-governance should be transparent and accountable.
"We decided to attend today's meeting with a special message with a view to express our displeasure before the decision is made. I hope that this action will restrain them from making this decision," Gharibyan said.
After, the incident at the meeting of Yerevan's Council of Elders on Feb.13, when representatives of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia used force against members of the faction of the "Apricot Country" party, Press Secretary of the Yerevan City Hall Arthur Gevorgyan stated that from now on journalists will not be able to attend the meetings of Yerevan's Council of Elders.