The Board of the Cyprus Journalists' Union (ESK) has expressed serious concern over what it describes as an increasing tendency among government and state officials to avoid answering questions from journalists, warning that the practice undermines transparency, erodes public information and weakens critical scrutiny of public affairs.
The statement cites two specific incidents. On 16 April 2026, Police Chief Themistos Arnaouttis called journalists for a press statement but refused to take their questions. Then, following the cabinet session of 21 April 2026, journalists waited in vain for any statement from officials. None was made, despite the fact that the session had produced the significant decision to invite an FBI team to Cyprus. The ESK's board noted that by avoiding a statement, officials also avoided what might have been uncomfortable questions.
The union's board called on all state and government officials to understand that journalists are not simply recorders of statements. "Journalists investigate, question, seek, wonder and frequently dissent, acting on behalf of the public and in the service of the public interest," the statement reads. "Journalists have a duty to ask and officials have an obligation to answer. Both engage in public discourse and are therefore judged publicly, journalists for the quality of their questions, officials for the content of their answers." The board described the ability to pose journalistic questions as non-negotiable.