Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
March 16 2007

OSCE promotes media self-regulation in Armenia

( OSCE ) – Establishing a media self-regulation system in Armenia, as
well as accountability and professional norms in the coverage of
elections and inter-ethnic relations, were discussed at a seminar
that ended in Yerevan.

The two-day event brought together more than 50 participants from the
Armenian National Assembly, local media outlets, and international
organizations, as well as media experts from Azerbaijan, Bulgaria,
Georgia, Romania and Turkey.

"The ongoing democratic reforms in Armenia call for professional,
independent and responsible media," said Ambassador Vladimir
Pryakhin, the Head of the OSCE Office in Yerevan.

"I hope this seminar will help promote better understanding by the
Armenian media community of the process of establishing media
accountability systems."

In a letter to the participants of the seminar, Miklos Haraszti, the
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, said: "It is important
for Armenia to launch a self-regulatory body. While promoting media
professionalism and respect for ethics, the existence of a
self-regulatory mechanism can minimize the chances of State
intervention and help restore civil society’s trust in the media."

Boris Navasardyan, the President of the Yerevan Press Club, said:
"Since 2004, the Yerevan Press Club has been closely co-operating
with the OSCE Office in Yerevan and the Open Society Institute on
ways of introducing an effective self-regulation system for Armenian
media. Introducing norms of professional conduct, particularly in the
coverage of elections and regional problems, is one of the most
urgent issues."

The Yerevan Press Club has called on the media community to jointly
develop a Code of Professional Ethics. So far, 19 media outlets and
leading media NGOs have signed the proposed document. The initiative
helped establish a Media Ethics Observatory which will survey the
fulfilment of the Code of Professional Ethics and gradually become a
prototype of a Press Council in the country.

Participants also noted that the seminar was particularly important
in light of the May parliamentary elections.

The event was organized by the OSCE Office in Yerevan, the Office of
the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, the Yerevan Press
Club and the Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation – Armenia.