ARMENIA: RESTRICTIONS IMPOSED AS PRESIDENT DECLARES EMERGENCY
CPJ Press Freedom Online
03mar08na.html
March 3 2008
NY
New York, March 3, 2008-Armenian authorities should immediately
lift restrictions on independent news reporting and the censorship
of independent news Web sites, steps imposed when President Robert
Kocharian declared a state of emergency on Saturday, the Committee
to Protect Journalists said today.
Kocharian declared a 20-day state of emergency after clashes between
government troops and opposition supporters in the capital, Yereven,
resulted in eight deaths and more than 100 injuries, according to
international press reports. Protesters claimed that vote-rigging
marred the February 19 presidential election that ended in victory
for Kocharian’s hand-picked successor, Serzh Sarkisian. Hundreds of
troops were deployed in Yerevan to clamp down on the demonstrations.
The state of emergency also banned public gatherings, set travel
restrictions, and gave police expanded search powers, according to
international news accounts.
As part of the declaration, Kocharian ordered media outlets to cite
only official sources when reporting on national politics. Several
independent and opposition news Web sites that operate under Armenian
domain names were also blocked today. They included Web sites run by
the pro-opposition news agency A1+ and the independent newspapers
Aravot (Morning) and Aikakan Zhamanak (Armenian Time), according
to the news agency Armenia Today. Armenia Today reported that local
Internet users received a message that said: "Warning! As ordered by
a state decree, some informational Web sites will not be accessible."
The Armenian Service of the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
(RFE/RL) was blocked within the country.
"We’re alarmed by this blatant attempt to censor news of the disputed
election," CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon said. "We call on Armenian
authorities to withdraw the ban on independent newsgathering and
dissemination, and restore access to independent and opposition media."
Sarkisian took about 53 percent of the vote on February 19, according
to official results, and is due to take office in April. Rival
candidate Levon Ter-Petrosian, who was Armenia’s first post-Soviet
president, contested the results and claimed the election was rigged,
according to RFE/RL.
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which
monitored the election, said the vote was mostly in conformance with
international standards. But OSCE monitors noted flaws in vote-counting
and said officials blurred partisan and governmental interests.
Up to 20,000 Ter-Petrosian supporters began rallying in Yerevan on
February 21; their skepticism about the results was fanned when two
Central Elections Commission members and a deputy prosecutor general
publicly questioned the fairness of the vote, RFE/RL reported.
Authorities deployed police when Ter-Petrosian’s supporters built a
tent camp on the capital’s Freedom Square and groups of protesters
staged rallies in front of different government buildings, the news
agency Regnum reported. The stand-off reached its peak on Saturday
morning when police, claiming that they had received reports of alleged
arms distribution and coup plotting, started dismantling the tents,
according to local press reports.
Angered protesters, in turn, attacked police with metal rods
and Molotov cocktails, burned cars, and looted local shops,
Reutersreported. The protests calmed when Ter-Petrosian called on
Sunday for a halt to the violence, Regnum said.