ARF PUBLICATIONS CONFERENCE OPENS IS YEREVAN
Yerkir.am
March 10, 2007
A two-day conference of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation
publications opened in Yerevan today. The conference, attended by the
ARF publication representatives from Armenian and foreign countries,
will discuss issues related political and ideological issues.
In his opening remarks, ARF Bureau member and the National Assembly
deputy speaker Vahan Hovhannisian said that the press was able to
set up a network to tie all the Armenians together scattered around
the world after the genocide.
"When I am asked how to describe national and anti-national articles or
papers, the answer is quite clear to me. Regardless of political views,
if a paper, a reporter raises hope in people even with criticism,
it is national. If they disseminate disappointment, if they picture
everything as hopeless, for example, saying that Baku-Akhalkalak-Kars
railroad is the end of Armenia, this is anti-national," he said.
After a two-year pause, Droshak, an ARF official publication, will
be published again, and its future editor-in-chief, National Assembly
member and author Roben Hovsepian, said that while many problems have
been solved, we still face some challenges.
Vache Brutian, the editor of the Asbarez daily, published in the USA,
said that Armenia is always present in the Diaspora press and he
hopes that the Diaspora will also be present in the Armenian press.
Boris Navasardian, the president of the Yerevan Press Club, said
that the ARF publications have always contributed to preserving the
Armenian identity in the Diaspora.
Aram Abrahamian, the editor of the Aravot daily, said that while he
is not a supporter of the ARF, he still believes that it is better to
have some principles than have none. He reminded the ARF Supreme Body
publication Yerkir had a very large circulation in 1990s because of
its support of values that were accepted at the time. He also noted
that the ARF publications have never participated in actions aimed
against the limitation of free speech in Armenia.
ARF Bureau representative Hrant Margarian said that the ARF
publications were not just party papers but they were for the
community. "The press is my teacher, it gives assessments to my
activities, and it is very important to pay attention to it. In every
society, values are formed from time to time, and papers have a great
role to play in it," Margarian said.