There were strong reactions today in the Institutions Committee of the Parliament, for the requirement of Ministries and Deputy Ministries to ask organizations of people with disabilities to register in the lobbyist register, so that they can have meetings with Ministers and Deputy Ministers.
AKEL Member of Parliament Aristos Damianou, who tabled a proposal for a law to exclude organizations of people with disabilities, just like trade unions and organizations defending human rights, expressed surprise at the self-evident -as he said- and the attitude of the Ministers and Deputy Ministers.
The deputy of DIKO, Zacharias Koulias, called it unacceptable that people with disabilities are treated as lobbyists.
The president of OSAK, Dimitris Lambrianidis, said that it is insulting and unacceptable to equate people with disabilities with lobbyists, while at the same time he expressed great concern about the lack of will for a dialogue between the Ministers and the organizations.
According to the government request, minutes should be kept and a procedure followed for each meeting, which concerns companies and business interests.
As mentioned in Parliament, in the case of people with disabilities there is no staff working in the organizations, only volunteers.
Source: Radio RIK,
MEL/MX
