IMCG: The leadership of the Assembly to ensure smooth operation of the media

The Media Institute of Montenegro called on the leadership of the Assembly to ensure smooth work for journalists in monitoring the sessions and activities of the Legislative Chamber. They condemned attempts to interfere with media workers by "individual deputies" in carrying out their journalistic work.

"Attacks on photojournalists and videographers in the plenary hall of the Parliament during the session of the Parliament, insults of media workers by some MPs, confiscation of funds for work by the Parliament's officials, are pressure on the freedom of the media and endangering the right of the public to be informed," the statement reads.

They remind that Article 5 of the Law on Media obliges the state to guarantee "unhindered work of journalists and their safety in order to enable freedom of expression..."

They also point out that monitoring the work of the Assembly is of great public importance and that citizens must be informed about the work of the legislative chamber, have an insight into how decisions and laws are made and how the deputies relate to all this, in which the media play a key role.

"One of the basic principles of the work of the Assembly should be the transparency of work, which implies openness towards the media and citizens, especially citizens thanks to whose trust MPs have been given the privilege to represent the interests of citizens and from whose money they are paid for the work they do," said the Institute.

They say that the current way of working, in which videographers and photojournalists are allowed only 15 minutes of presence in the plenary hall at the beginning of the session, and journalists are allowed to monitor the work of deputies from the hall, from the parliamentary screens, is not satisfactory for credible reporting of the parliamentary work.

They called on the parliamentary leadership and competent services to define clear rules together with the media and media organizations as soon as possible, which would enable unhindered, unlimited monitoring of sessions in the plenary hall, which would not interfere with the work of deputies.

"In this way, they would show in action that they truly, and not just in words and for the purposes of fulfilling the strictures in meeting European standards, advocate for the transparent work of the Assembly, freedom of the media and the public's right to know," the announcement reads.