The 15th Armenian Writers Union congress kicked off earlier today with the aim of electing a new president. Not all reporters were allowed to attend the congress. The Writers Union had set up a screening process for reporters and only those qualifying were allowed to participate. This, runs contrary to the fact that as a non-governmental organization, the union generally doesn’t have the right to issue such guidelines. During a conversation with "Hetq", current Union President Levon Ananyan basically admitted that reporters were allowed based on his personal preferences. "I haven’t allowed certain reporters in on purpose because they have given me a bad rap for many years," he said. Also at the congress was Astghik Gevorgyan, President of the Reporters Union. When asked by "Hetq" why she wasn’t trying to assist her fellow journalists in covering the meeting, she declined to answer.