"Information blockade" imposed on defence minister – Armenian paper

Iravunk, Yerevan
18 Jul 06

Text of unattributed report by Armenian newspaper Iravunk on 18 July
headlined "Is the "super minister" in an information blockade?"

According to a source close to the president’s office, a political
decision has been made to restrict television appearances by [Defence
Minister] Serzh Sarkisyan and people close to him.

In fact, this decision is aimed at imposing an information blockade
on the "super minister". According to the source, this is a special
"punishment" meted out to Sarkisyan by the presidential office.

Certainly, this does not mean that Sarkisyan will be completely
deprived of airtime on television, as some TV channels, which
are under his direct influence, can ignore the decision of the
presidential office.

Some newspapers and media organizations are also backed by the
defence minister.

But we should wait for the parliamentary election campaign and see
if TV companies treat Armenia’s "second man" the way they treated
the opposition.