Dozens of journalists came early on May 23 to the Cabinet of Ministers building to protest Prime Minister Mykola Azarov’s decision to strip their colleagues of accreditation for attendance at Cabinet meetings.
They held placards
that read “Stop Censorship,” “Azarov – enemy of the press,” “Azarov does the
truth hurt?” They also formed a line while holding placards that spelled the
word “Act!”
A day
earlier on May 22 a group of journalists turned their backs to Azarov during a
government meeting, displaying a statement taped to their backs that read:
“Today the journalists, tomorrow – your wife, sister, daughter. Act!”
It was in
reference to the journalists who were assaulted on May 18 during political
rallies held in central Kyiv.
This was
their way of calling on the prime minister to investigate the beating of their
colleagues. But instead Azarov became outraged and asked the security guards to
remove the protesting journalists.
“It is
nonsense to strip the journalists from accreditation by (the) prime minister’s
order, this is an abuse of power,” said Bohdan Kutiepov, of Telekritika media
watchdog during the protest on May 23.
The protest
ended with the arrival of Azarov’s spokesman, Vitaliy Lukyanenko, who invited
the journalists staged yesterday’s silent protest to speak with the prime
minister.
Azarov
relented and said they could attend Cabinet meetings, explaining yesterday’s fierce
reaction with the fact that government meetings “are holy” to him.
