CHIEF EDITORS CALL ON JOURNALISTS TO OPPOSE TO AMENDMENTS IN CIVIL CODE
Tert.am
04.05.10
Armenian journalists should be unified against the intuitive to
introduce amendments to the Civil Code of the Republic of Armenia
which will assign fees for "slanderous publications" in press, Anna
Hakobyan Chief Editors of the local Armenian daily Haykakan Jamanak
(Armenian Times) and Armine Ohanyan, Chief Editors of the local
Armenian daily Hraparak (Square) said at a press conference today.
According to Anna Ohanyan it is difficult to say anything unless the
law is implemented, but "so far we have not seen any change that is
made in favor of the press."
"In fact they [the authorities] realized that the best way to exert
pressure on media is the financial one. We may be sentenced, but the
newspaper may be printed," said Ohanyan, adding that their newspaper
would close down, should a complaint, worth several million AMD,
be filed against it.
Contrary, Anna Hakobyan said she was a little optimistic about it.
"To tell you the truth I am a little optimistic about it. I hope that
the community of journalists will be unified and will not allow those
amendments to be implemented at all, and that they will remain at
this stage of discussions, because if this happens, it will be the
very change that no one will be able to work, no separate journalist
will be able to work. This is the very case when the situation in
our media will aggravate … and we will lose our achievements,"
explained Hakobyan.