MEDIA SITUATION IMPROVING IN ARMENIA AHEAD OF POLLS – US CHARGE D’AFFAIRES

Mediamax news agency
17 Apr 07

Yerevan, 17 April: The media environment in Armenia is becoming more
balanced, US charge d’affaires Anthony Godfrey has told Mediamax.

[Passage omitted: broadcast media outlets are the main sources of
news for the most Armenians]

"It is still too early to make conclusions but I am inspired by the
Yerevan Press Club assessment which was made following monitoring
carried out a month before the start of the election campaign. The
viewpoint of [Yerevan Press Club president] Boris Navasardyan was
presented clearly: opposition candidates had a greater access to TV.

"The long-term election observer mission of the OSCE/ODIHR has its own
group of media monitors. I have been in their office and seen them
closely watching the work of TV channels. Today we can see a better
picture. We were concerned before but we will refrain from making
conclusions before we see the next interim report of the OSCE/ODIHR
mission," Godfrey said.

"I was inspired by what we saw before the election campaign and the
first days [of the election campaign]: all candidates have access to
TV, and not only to election broadcasts but also to news bulletins.

The media environment is becoming more balanced."

Commenting on the pre-election situation in Armenia, Godfrey said:
"It is still too early to give any assessment. Only one month is
left to the election, and a lot may happen during this period. We
are waiting for the next interim report of the OSCE/ODIHR observer
mission. However, I can say that the process of the registration of
candidates and political parties went quite well."

[Passage omitted: Godfrey says the registration of candidates went
smoothly]