RA GOVERNMENT SUGGESTS PROHIBITING USE OF PUBLIC RADIO-TELEVISION FREQUENCIES BY ANOTHER MASS MEDIA

Noyan Tapan
Jul 2, 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 2, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA National Assembly got down to
the discussion of the package of bills of the RA government by the
first reading at the June 28 sitting of the special session.

According to the bill, which envisages to make amendments in the valid
law on "Television and Radio", the activities of other broadcasting
organizations are unequivocally prohibited on the frequencies used
by the Public Radio-Telvision company. According to the current law
in force, such an activity is possible only in case the Cfouncil of
the Public Radio-Television company agrees to this.

The government connects this change with the fact that the activities
of the Public Radio and Television company, which was created by
the state, has a special status and solves problems concerning,
exclusively, public interests, can not go with the activities of
other broadcasting organizations, which are directed at solving
private problems.

With another bill the government suggests making addenda in the RA Law
on "State Duty". According to this bill, a state duty of 70 thousand
drams (about 200 U.S. dollars) is defined for each broadcast of the
programs of national editorial staff and service of foreign mass media
by a RA private television company, irrespective of the duration of
the broadcast.

According to independent analysts and some MPs, the above mentioned
package of bills is directed against the broadcast of the programs
of the Armenian service of the Azatution (Liberty) radio station by
the Public Radio company. This is connected with the fact that about
20 MPs were registered in order to make speeches and ask questions
to Gevorg Danielian, the RA Minister of Justice and the main speaker.

The Minister denied the fact that the bill is directed against
Azatutiun (Liberty) radio station. According to him, there are two
more similar companies, one of which is the MIR television company.

Raffi Hovannisian, the head of the Zharangutiun (Heritage) faction,
mentioned in his speech that MPs should not "put stigma on themselves
by vertical orders" as they are to take responsibility for that
decision. He believes that there are still a number of other foreign
mass media broadcasting in the territory of Armenia: the ORT and
RTR Russian television companies, in particular, as well as Euronews
and CNN.