Media organisations ask Romanian President not to promulgate the ANI Law as adopted by Senate

Several non-governmental organisations, mainly media organisations, have addressed a letter to President Traian Basescu on Thursday, asking him not to promulgate the new version of the National Integrity Agency Law, adopted by the Senate on Wednesday. The media organisations claim that the draft the Senate passed makes it impossible for the journalists in inform correctly and completely the public on possible abuses white-collar workers hired by the state and officials might try.

The letter is signed by representatives of ActiveWatch – the Agency for Press Surveillance, the Centre for Independent Journalism, the Pro Democratia Association, Freedom house, the Romanian Centre for Investigative Journalism and the Media Organizations’ Conventions.

According to the letter, the undersigned express their concern for the form taken by the National Integrity Agency Law regulation.

„We want to signal that imitating access to relevant information in the wealth and interest statement of officials/civil servants makes it impossible for the press and non-governmental organisations to fulfil its democracy watchdog role”.

„We ask you not to promulgate the adopted yesterday by Romania’s Senate. By this, we only ask that you act the spirit of the Pact for granting freedom of expression and the increase on the responsibility of the press, which you have signed during the 2009 presidential electoral campaign.”

„We consider it intolerable the fact that , having the financial crisis in mind, while decisions are made to cut incomes for a certain category of citizens, officials vote laws to create the premises of increasing personal wealth, hidden from the eye of the public.”

„That is why returning the ANI Law to Romania’s Parliament for discussions will give us the interested ones, including the civil society’s ignorance, the chance to reaffirm the principles that need to be at the heart of the way such an institution functions”.