RADIO LIBERTY PROGRAMS TO BE AIRED BY PRIVATE YEREVAN STATION

ITAR-TASS News Agency, Russia
July 26, 2007 Thursday 06:13 AM EST

The Council of the Armenian Public Television and Radio Company
(PTRC) has made a decision to stop from August 9 the rebroadcast
of other broadcasters. This measure is applied to the Interstate
Television-Radio Company Mir, the American Radio Liberty and a local
television company, it is said in a statement of the PTRC Council
circulated here late on Wednesday.

The Council and Armenian Public Radio have expressed readiness to
assist Radio Liberty negotiations with the country’ s private radio
companies in order to ensure continuity of the US radio broadcasting in
the republic. As a result of talks, US representatives have concluded
a preliminary agreement on the rebroadcast of Radio Liberty programmes
by the private Yerevan FM radio station AR-Radio. The Armenian Public
Radio has even agreed to stop transmitting its programmes on the waves
of this station in order to give the released airtime to Radio Liberty.

Meanwhile, in its statement of July 24 Radio Liberty "attempted to
politicise extremely contractual and financial matters," believes
the PTRC Council.

"The PRTC Council and Armenian Public Radio have always built and
continue to build their relations with colleagues, including Radio
Liberty, in accordance with the Constitution and laws of the republic
and have always secured plurality of opinion in the Public Radio
programmes," it is stressed in the statement. They confirmed their
"intention to continue cooperation" with Radio Liberty "for the sake
of friendship between Armenia and the United States."

The Armenian authorities had earlier conducted monitoring of programmes
broadcast by Radio Liberty and arrived at the conclusion that the
Armenian service of this radio station gives a one-sided and biased
coverage of the Armenian internal political affairs, socially in the
period of election campaigns.

Despite the absence of any agreements, the Armenian Public Radio,
displaying goodwill continues to rebroadcast Radio Liberty programmes
in the republic, it is said in the statement. In February, the American
radio station stopped paying for the rebroadcast and the accumulated
debt has reached about 86,000 dollars. "Now the rebroadcast is
factually financed from the republic’s budget," said the PRTC Council.

The Armenian parliament in late June-early July made an unsuccessful
attempt to introduce amendments to the law "On television and radio"
envisaging the imposition of restrictions on rebroadcasts of foreign
stations, in particular, Radio Liberty. After the amendments were
passed in the first reading the Armenian authorities came under strong
pressure not only from the country’s opposition forces, but also from
foreign officials, first of all from the United States.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress