PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE PRAISES MEDIA FOR ‘POSITIVE’ CHANGES

ARMENPRESS
Jan 28, 2008

YEREVAN, JANUARY 28, ARMENPRESS: Chairman of the National Democratic
Union (NDU) party Vazgen Manukian, one of nine candidates to contest
the February 19 presidential election, said today media provides
equal access to air waves to all candidates.

Manukian, speaking to journalists, praised it for a set of ‘positive’
changes. Nevertheless, he complained that despite extensive coverage
of all nine presidential candidates’ campaigns some of newspapers
and TV stations do not show or write what he would like to be shown
or written.

He also justified retaliatory attacks by some of the candidates saying
if one of them is assaulted by others, it is normal to expect the
attacked one to respond.

"What I can not accept in this struggle is when a candidate claims
that all others who are not with him are government puppets,’ he said.

Manukian also argued that unlike the 2003 election this time there
are no frontrunners among opposition candidates.