Freedom House: Journalists practice self-censorship in Armenia (video)
Armenia has been rated as Partly Free Country in the recent ranking published by Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world. The report entitled Freedom in the World 2016 assesses the situation with the rights and freedoms of ordinary citizens in 195 independent states and 15 disputed territories. “Freedom House could give stricter assessment of the situation in Armenia,” says human rights activist Zhanna Alexanyan. Freedom House considers the level of political freedoms in Armenia as ‘non-sufficient.’ It says although the political parties have the freedom to engage in political activity, but the ruling party retains power with its resources. “People have the right to organize political parties in Armenia, but the ruling party’s dominance and control of administrative resources prevents a level playing field,” the report says. “Until recently, the absolutely discredited Republican Party, which is the ruling party in the country, was doing everything to undermine these freedoms. Now they have realized that they are rejected and they seem to have retreated a little after the recent events,” the human rights activist says. Freedom House says the situation is slightly better in terms of civil liberties. Freedoms of assembly and association are legally guaranteed, though there are some restrictions by the police. “The police have simply marred the concept of assemblies, openly showing disrespectful approach. Serzh Sargsyan assured journalists that brutality and bandit attacks by the police would not be repeated, but we know that a journalist was left with a broken jaw only yesterday,” Zhana Alexanyan continues. Armenia received 46 points in a 100-point system where 100 is the best index. However, the report does not seem to have bothered Levon Martirosyan, a representative of the ruling Republican Party of Armenia. “We have a good position in the ranking of Freedom House and we should always be proud of it. We should not be satisfied with the current place and should try to better our position,” he says. Speaking about media freedom in Armenia, the report says most independent and investigative outlets operate online. “Most print and broadcast outlets are affiliated with political or commercial interests, and journalists practice self-censorship to avoid harassment by government or business figures,” the report says.
