ARKA News Agency, Armenia
May 4 2007
ARMENIA PLACED 142ND AMONG 195 COUNTRIES IN PRESS FREEDOM RANKING
YEREVAN, May 4. /ARKA/. Freedom House, human rights organization,
included Armenia in the list of the countries with restricted freedom
of press.
Washington ProFile reports that Armenia is places 142nd among 195
countries in Freedom House’s ranking.
Freedom House points out precipitous deterioration of the situation
with media freedom in Latin America countries and former Soviet
republics.
The United States shared 17th place with Estonia. Lithuania was
placed 29th and Latvia 31st.
Ukraine was 112th and Georgia 120th – both were considered partially
free. The remaining post-soviet countries have not free press.
Armenia found itself together with Moldova (144th), Kyrgyzstan (147),
Azerbaijan and Russia (164), Kazakhstan and Tajikistan (166), Belarus
(186), Uzbekistan (189) and Turkmenistan (191).
Turkmenistan’s freedom has outdone only that of South Korea.
Myanmar, Cuba and Libya are topping Freedom House’s black books.
Press freedom leaders are Finland and Iceland. They are followed by
Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Luxemburg, Switzerland, Andorra,
Netherlands, New Zealand and Lichtenstein.
German was 16th, Great Britain 31st, France 39th, Poland 46th, Israel
61st, Turkey 105th and Saudi Arabia 178th. China and Iran share 181st
rank.
74 countries’ media was recognized fully free, 58 states’ media
partially free and 63 not free.
It means 18% people in the world live in countries with restricted
freedom of press, 39% in the countries with partially free media and
43 with restricted. M.V.-0—