Numbers of the Timorese Journalists were banned from interviewing Minister of Finance, Santina Cardoso

Numbers of the Timorese Journalists were banned from interviewing Minister of Finance, Santina Cardoso after a discussion on the General State Budget for the year of 2024 at the Palace of the Government.

Such a bad attitude of protocol officers draws criticism and protest from the public, journalists from TV, online media, newspaper, as well as Timor Lorosa’e Journalist Association (AJTL), calling on the protocol officers to respect the media in the context of news coverage.

The protocol officers made such an impediment after the Council of Ministers’ Meetings for an unclear reason.

In regard to this, AJTL took its position, saying the impediment by the protocol officers were unlawful and disrespectful for the role of the media in a democratic country and it of course narrows down freedom of the press in the country as it occurred in the public sphere. Being a government official, the minister has the obligation to transmit information regarding public service, which needs to be confirmed by journalists.

AJTL took the opportunity to protest the minister of finance’s protocol officers on social media, calling on the protocol officers working for that ministry to understand and respect the media when covering stories in the context of freedom of the press and the role of watch-dog of the media in Timor-Leste. The incident happened on September 25, 2023.