ANTHONY GODFREY: MEDIA ATMOSPHERE IN ARMENIA GETTING MORE BALANCED

ArmRadio.am
17.04.2007 15:44

US Chargé d’Affaires Anthony Godfrey declared in an exclusive
interview with Mediamax agency that "the media atmosphere of Armenia
is turning more balanced."

"We know that most Armenian citizens receive information through mass
media, and many times we have voiced our concerns about the question
that the accessibility of broadcasting media for all the candidates
and lack of restrictions is very important," declared the American
diplomat.

"Speaking about conclusions is still early, but I was inspired by the
Yerevan Press Club’s assessment of the monitoring results conducted
during the month prior to the elections: the opposition candidates had
more opportunities to use air time. The OSCE/ODIHR observation mission
has a media monitoring group. I have been in their office and seen
that they are closely observing the activity of the TV channels. The
picture we see today is very positive. Before we were worried, but
we shall refrain from drawing conclusions until getting acquainted
with the recurrent report of the OSCE/ODIHR," said Anthony Godfrey.

"I’m inspired with what we saw before the start of the election
campaign and on the first days of it: in essence, all the candidates
are using the air time not only in the framework of pre-election
speeches but also in news programs. The media-atmosphere is becoming
more balanced," US Chargé d’Affaires says.

Commenting on the pre-election situation in Armenia, Anthony Godfrey
said: " It’s still early to give evaluations. Only one month remains
before the elections, but much can change in this period. However,
I can say that the process of registration of candidates and
political parties passed very successfully. We are very pleased
with the fact that there were no attempts of political reprisals or
political decisions on prohibiting the participation of candidates
or parties. This was a matter of concern for us, but it seems that
everything passed successfully."

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