On December 9 upon the decision of the newly elected Speaker of Armenian parliament Samvel Nikoyan, the Order of Journalists’ Accreditation in RA National Assembly was modified. Specifically, the Clause 21 was amended: from now on the journalists accredited in the parliament are again permitted to visit the NA on workdays, as well as the events held on the weekends, which are notified by the RA NA Department on Public Relations and Media. Earlier, the Order, approved on August 21, 2009 by the then-Chairman Hovik Abrahamian, stipulated the access of accredited journalists to National Assembly only during the sessions of the parliament and the Standing Committees, briefings, press conferences, parliament hearings, as well as other events announced by the NA press service.
Likewise, the restriction that significantly curtailed the possibility of covering the activities of the MPs, was abrogated. At the same time, the Order still contains provisions that concern the media community, particularly on the conditions of accreditation and its anticipatory suspension, the responsibilities of journalists (see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter, September 3-10, 2009).
