Lithuania and Ukraine will boycott the session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe due to Russia’s participation. Despite pressure from about 20 countries to prevent Austria from issuing visas to the Russian delegation, the Russian delegates are allowed to travel. Now there is unrest again.
The OSCE apparently does not want to allow media representatives into the Hofburg grounds during the meetings on 23 and 24 February. “For reasons of logistics and safety,” emphasizes the organizer. The parliamentary assembly of OSCE While it traditionally allows journalists to attend meetings, due to a combination of circumstances it has now been decided that this will not be possible this year, said Nat Parry, spokesman for the Parliamentary Assembly.
Specifically, the press spokesman justified the decision with “considerable concerns about logistics and security this year”, which would have made it impossible to provide a media room in the Hofburg. All available rooms would be used for parallel events and a special session of the Permanent Council of the OSCE instead of. There will only be a live stream on YouTube and Facebook.
Warning Restrictions on Independent Reporting
But the Association of European Journalists (AEJ) and the Association of Foreign Press in Vienna are protesting this exclusion. “Definitely such an attitude OSCE must avoid anything that appears to limit or impede independent reporting,” it said in a statement to the OSCEMedia Freedom Officer Teresa Ribeiro.
As a result, reporters from all over the world would miss the opportunity to address conference participants themselves during the conference, as according to the two journalist associations this would only be possible outside the conference area. The media chief of OSCE was therefore asked “this time, within the scope of your powers, to work in your own organization in the interest of media freedom”.
Source: Krone
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