MJA to Parliament: Parliament cannot ask to media to remove published articles

Maldives Journalist Association (MJA), on Thursday, has stated that the People’s Majlis cannot ask media outlets to remove published news articles.

Part of a meeting by Parliament’s Committee on National Security Services (241 Committee) on Wednesday which committee members had declared will be held behind doors was accidentally livestreamed on parliament’s Youtube channel due to a technical error.

Before the audio could be removed from Youtube, some media outlets had reported on the contents of the meeting. Subsequently, the parliament issued a statement asking respective media outlets to remove the articles publicized.

In a statement criticizing the move on Thursday, MJA stressed that they do not believe the parliament could ask media outlets to remove published news articles.

MJA said if a party has an issue regarding the contents of a news article, the regulation to be followed, in their opinion, is to proceed with the matter by filing a complaint with Maldives Media Council.

The association also underscored that parliament gave no instructions on refraining from reporting on the meeting, despite the meeting having been livestreamed for 50 minutes.

Home Minister Imran Abdulla was summoned to yesterday’s 214 Committee meeting, regarding the work of Home Ministry.