Mediapersons staged another walkout from an International Hockey Federation (FIH) press conference even as FIH President Leandro Negre apologised for the inconvenience caused to the scribes during the build-up for the Hero Honda World Cup hockey tournament here.
On the eve of the World Cup, the FIH President was scheduled to address the Press. Before Mr. Negre started to speak, following a brief welcome by FIH Communications Manager, Arjen Meijer, journalists complained about the inconvenience the media had been facing for the past few weeks.
It was pointed out that a Pakistani journalist had not been able to get accreditation and journalists were still being denied access to the main stadium to at least inspect the facilities at the media centre.
“I apologise for the inconveniences you have faced. You (media) are part of the hockey family. All of you know at this moment that security concern is there. It is not in our hands. Personally I found it difficult to go into the stadium,” Mr. Negre said.
The media persons were far from convinced by Mr. Negre’s statement and staged a walkout.
On Wednesday, protesting the ban imposed on them, the scribes had walked out of an event organised by a sponsor of the World Cup.
Unprecedented security arrangements resulted in the mediapersons being prevented on Saturday from carrying their equipment into the stadium.
Police verification process, scanners, metal detectors and hundreds of armed policemen and commandos that give the venue the look of a war zone have not helped the security apparatus relax and trust its own arrangements.
