AUTHORITIES SPLIT MASS MEDIA
Support A1+!A number of Armenia’s mass media has come up with a joint statement.
Resent days the certain political forces tried to use the issue of the freedom of speech for their election campaign. They have been arranging rallies and other actions of protest sometimes using the forces that have never been supporters of freedom of speech or other democratic values. It seems these persons are interested in freedom of media activity more than journalists themselves.
We have to inform the newly emerged supporters of “forth power” that their “worry” is groundless. We considered it as an attempt to shift our problems from exclusively legal and legislative field to political one, to involve us into their election campaign and to introduce Armenia as non-democratic country.
Those having for their self-affirmation no means but this one use also A1+ Company’s legal problem. Moreover, they rather interested in prolonging this imbroglio to take own political advantages of it than in resolving the issue by juridical means.
We take the information of A1+ failure in competition very painfully, but are sure that A1+ TV Company will find its place in the informational field of Armenia. Of course, this problem should and must be solved only on legal ground.
Current situation forces us – Armenian media representatives – come up with following statement:
There is no threat posed to freedom of speech in Armenia, and necessary conditions for media activity are created here .
We urge all political forces to refrain from speaking on our behalf, putting our issues on political ground and attempting to use them for their own purposes.
Armenia’s Plublic Television “Prometeus”TV Company “Armenia” TV Company “Ar” TV Company “Shant”TV Company “Erevan” TV Company Armenia’s Public Radio Company “Hayots Ashkhar” daily newspaper “Azg” daily “Hayastani Hanrapetutyun” newspaper “Golos Armenii” newspaper “Respublica Armenii” newspaper “Novoe Vremya” newspaper “Jamanak” weekly newspaper ”Armenpress” news agency “Arminfo” news agency “De facto” news agency
P.S. The present statement wasn’t sent to A1+ TV Company and we weren’t offered to sign it. The A1+ is convinced that freedom of speech is under a threat and necessary conditions for media activity are absolutely missing in Armenia.
By the way, according to our information, the author of this text is “Hayots Ashkhar” daily newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief Gagik Mkrtchyan, and the idea of gathering signatures belongs to him as well. The text of statement was presented to mentioned above companies with following dilemma – with us or against us. We also possess the information that media were advised by Justice Ministry to sign the statement.
