Broadcasting Board of Governors, Washington DC
March 5 2008
US OBJECTS TO NEWS "BLACKOUT" OF ARMENIA MEDIA
press release on 5 March
Washington D.C., March 5, 2008 – The Broadcasting Board of Governors
(BBG) strongly objects to the blackout ofindependent media in
Armenia. Under the state of emergency rules that went into effect on
March 2, media were ordered tocite only official sources when
covering national news, and the Voice of America’s (VOA)
Armenian-language TVprogram and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s
(RFE/RL) Armenian-language radio programs are no longer
beingbroadcast through local affiliated stations. In addition,
Internet access has been curtailed as part of the governmentefforts
to control news and information as the political crisis has deepened
since the disputed February 19elections.
"Censorship and harassment of the media are the antithesis of
democracy," said James K. Glassman, Chairman of the BBG, which
oversees all non-military U.S. international broadcasting. "Our
broadcasters wish to serve theaudience in Armenia by providing
reliable news and information at this critical juncture.
Unfortunately, that is not an option at the moment, unless you are a
patient and resourceful Internet user."
In the course of the violence over the weekend, a driver for RFE/RL
was beaten by police in Yerevan, despite beingidentified as a
representative of the media, and another RFE/RL correspondent in the
town of Gumri, covering a similardemonstration, was manhandled and
threatened by Interior Ministry troops.
VOA and RFE/RL are among the entities that broadcast in 60 languages
under the direction of the Broadcasting Board ofGovernors, reaching
an overseas audience of 155 million people on radio, television and
the Internet.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors is an independent federal agency
which supervises all U.S. government-supported, non-military
international broadcasting, including the Voice of America (VOA);
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL);the Middle East Broadcasting
Networks (Alhurra TV and Radio Sawa); Radio Free Asia (RFA); and the
Office of CubaBroadcasting (Radio and TV Marti). Through its
broadcast services, the BBG provides the United States and its
leadersdirect and immediate access to a worldwide audience of 155
million people. Current governors are Chairman James K.Glassman,
Joaquin F. Blaya, Blanquita W. Cullum, D. Jeffrey Hirschberg, Edward
E. Kaufman, and Steven J. Simmons.Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
is an ex officio member.
For more information, please contact the Office of Public Affairs at
202-203-4959 or via e-mail [email protected]