HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH SLAMS ‘PRESS FREEDOM CURBS’ IN ARMENIA
By Emil Danielyan
Radio Liberty, Czech Republic
July 2 2007
A leading international human rights organization has strongly
criticized controversial government-drafted amendments to two Armenian
laws which it believes could "effectively ban" future broadcasts of
RFE/RL and thereby further restrict freedom of the media in Armenia.
"These new laws clearly restrict access to a crucial independent news
source for many Armenians and deal a serious blow to RFE/RL and to
freedom of the media in general," Holly Cartner, Europe and Central
Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said in a weekend statement.
"The parliament should under no circumstances pass this bill in the
second reading."
The New York-based group said the proposed ban on retransmission of
foreign broadcasts by Armenian state television and radio and heavy
fees for private networks engaging in such broadcasts "appear to
specifically target RFE/RL’s Armenian service."
"By passing these laws, Armenia risks violating its international
commitments to freedom of expression and the media," said Cartner.
She specifically pointed to an article of the European Convention
on Human Rights that guarantees the right "to receive and impart
information and ideas without interference by public authority and
regardless of frontiers."
Cartner also implied that continued RFE/RL broadcasts, which
are accessible to the vast majority of Armenians thanks to their
retransmission by state radio, are essential for the freedom and
fairness of next year’s Armenian presidential election. "As Armenia
prepares for presidential elections in 2008, the world will certainly
be watching to see if the government respects freedom of the media
and other freedoms necessary for a free and fair vote," she said.
HRW argued that although Armenia has a "vibrant print media," its
government maintains "close control over the much more accessible
broadcast media." It cited in this regard the effective closure in
2002 of A1+, the only local TV channel that regularly aired criticism
of President Robert Kocharian and his administration.
The government bills have also been criticized by the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s (OSCE) representative on
freedom of the media, Miklos Haraszti. In a statement last week,
Haraszti said they infringe Armenia’s commitments to safeguard media
pluralism and access to information, and called on the Armenian
authorities to drop them.