MEDIA HAVE BECOME CLOSED CLUBS FOR OPPOSITIONISTS IN ARMENIA, OYP
VICE-CHAIRWOMAN CONSIDERS
YEREVAN, JANUARY 14, NOYAN TAPAN. Lately the Armenian media have become
closed clubs for oppositionists. Heghine Bisharian, the Vice-Chairwoman
of the Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) party, expressed such an opinion
at the January 11 discussion on the subject "The problems and
guarantees of ensuring media’s freedom and pluralism in the RA
presidential election campaign." According to her, from the May
parliamentary elections up to now power representatives are constantly
being given a possibility of speaking by all TV companies. Whereas, in
her words, OYP Chairman Artur Baghdasarian has had a possibility of
speaking on TV only six times so far. According to H. Bisharian, it is
absurd to speak about pluralism and freedom under such circumstances.
In her opinion, voters, especially those in the regions, do not have a
possibility to orient themselves due to the "information blockade."
According to Ruzan Arakelian, a member of the NA ARFD faction, media in
Armenia are free as much as that freedom is given to them. In her
words, especially TV companies carry out orders of either those paying
them money or of political forces standing behind them.
In the opinion of Tigran Haroutiunian, the Director of the Noyan Tapan
information-analytical center, the political parties, which should be
considered the most active part of society, "killed the demand of free,
independent, unbiassed information and analysis in society." According
to him, today society seems not to have a demand of such information.
"During these years people have lost their faith: they do not believe
in any political force at all and even in their own role in political
processes," T. Haroutiunian said.