IFEX – News from the international freedom of expression community
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UPDATE – ARMENIA
4 March 2008
Media ordered to cite only government sources; three websites, one radio
station blocked
SOURCE: Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), New York
**Updates IFEX alert of 3 March 2008**
(CPJ/IFEX) – The following is a 3 March 2008 CPJ press release:
ARMENIA: Media restrictions imposed as president declares emergency
New York, March 3, 2008 – Armenian authorities should immediately lift
restrictions on independent news reporting and the censorship of
independent news Web sites, steps imposed when President Robert Kocharian
declared a state of emergency on Saturday, the Committee to Protect
Journalists said today.
Kocharian declared a 20-day state of emergency after clashes between
government troops and opposition supporters in the capital, Yereven,
resulted in eight deaths and more than 100 injuries, according to
international press reports. Protesters claimed that vote-rigging marred
the February 19 presidential election that ended in victory for Kocharian’s
hand-picked successor, Serzh Sarkisian. Hundreds of troops were deployed in
Yerevan to clamp down on the demonstrations. The state of emergency also
banned public gatherings, set travel restrictions, and gave police expanded
search powers, according to international news accounts.
As part of the declaration, Kocharian ordered media outlets to cite only
official sources when reporting on national politics. Several independent
and opposition news Web sites that operate under Armenian domain names were
also blocked today. They included Web sites run by the pro-opposition news
agency A1+ and the independent newspapers Aravot (Morning) and Aikakan
Zhamanak (Armenian Time), according to the news agency Armenia Today.
Armenia Today reported that local Internet users received a message that
said: "Warning! As ordered by a state decree, some informational Web sites
will not be accessible." The Armenian Service of the U.S.-funded Radio Free
Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) was blocked within the country.
"We’re alarmed by this blatant attempt to censor news of the disputed
election," CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. "We call on Armenian
authorities to withdraw the ban on independent newsgathering and
dissemination, and restore access to independent and opposition media."
Sarkisian took about 53 percent of the vote on February 19, according to
official results, and is due to take office in April. Rival candidate Levon
Ter-Petrosian, who was Armenia’s first post-Soviet president, contested the
results and claimed the election was rigged, according to RFE/RL.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), which
monitored the election, said the vote was mostly in conformance with
international standards. But OSCE monitors noted flaws in vote-counting and
said officials blurred partisan and governmental interests.
Up to 20,000 Ter-Petrosian supporters began rallying in Yerevan on February
21; their skepticism about the results was fanned when two Central
Elections Commission members and a deputy prosecutor general publicly
questioned the fairness of the vote, RFE/RL reported.
Authorities deployed police when Ter-Petrosian’s supporters built a tent
camp on the capital’s Freedom Square and groups of protesters staged
rallies in front of different government buildings, the news agency Regnum
reported. The stand-off reached its peak on Saturday morning when police,
claiming that they had received reports of alleged arms distribution and
coup plotting, started dismantling the tents, according to local press
reports.
Angered protesters, in turn, attacked police with metal rods and Molotov
cocktails, burned cars, and looted local shops, Reuters reported. The
protests calmed when Ter-Petrosian called on Sunday for a halt to the
violence, Regnum said.
CPJ is a New York-based, independent, nonprofit organization that works to
safeguard press freedom worldwide. For more information visit
For further information, contact Nina Ognianova (x106) or Muzaffar
Suleymanov (x101) at CPJ, 330 Seventh Ave., New York, NY 10001, U.S.A.,
tel: +1 212 465 1004, fax: +1 212 465 9568, e-mail: [email protected],
[email protected] , [email protected], Internet:
The information contained in this update is the sole responsibility of CPJ.
In citing this material for broadcast or publication, please credit CPJ.
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