POLICE DISPLAYED a lack of serious and detailed planning during the truckers’ strike outside the Moni cement factory last month, Ombudswoman Iliana Nicolaou said yesterday. The strike was marked by scenes of violent scuffles between police and journalists covering the event, which lead to the arrest of a CyBC cameraman and a fallout between the media and police force.
Nicolaou’s report concluded that on July 18, the police force showed a lack of serious and detailed planning which affected the effectiveness of its operation, as well as a negative disposition and slapdash approach towards the public’s right to information on the unfolding events outside the factory.
She acknowledged the difficult task faced by the police in handling the strikes but noted the failure to make proper arrangements for reporters on site.
Officers from the rapid reaction unit (MMAD) manhandled reporters and cameramen during scuffles, which broke out outside the factory as police tried to remove truckers obstructing the entrance. Four reporters were charged by police for obstruction.
The Journalists’ Union charged police with targeting press freedom and the right to information, lodging a complaint with the government watchdog.
The Ombudswoman yesterday released a 28-page report on the events in Moni between journalists and police.
Nicolaou concluded that MMAD’s arrest of a CyBC cameraman was unjustified, aimed at preventing him from filming violent clashes between police and the strikers.
She described police testimonies on the event as “weak, inadequate and conflicting” while reporters’ versions of events were more coherent and matched those of cameraman Kyriacos Charalambous and the strikers.
The report singles out police failure to plan for media coverage of the strike and the expected presence of journalists.
“In this particular case, the aim should have been to balance the right to information with the peculiar conditions of the specific police operation,” said Nicolaou, noting that citizens’ right to information was enshrined in the Constitution.
Public authorities are obliged to avoid hindering the exercise of this right and even take measures to assist it. This provides the necessary transparency, which keeps the actions of state organs in check and lawful, she added.
Journalists’ Union President Andreas Kannaouros hailed the report as a victory for the freedom of the press and the citizen’s right to information. He added that the report vindicated those reporters and cameramen at the scene of the clashes.
Police spokesman Demetris Demetriou refused to comment on the Ombudswoman’s report while the investigative committee appointed by Cabinet was still working on its own report.
