KOCHARIAN TO EASE MEDIA BAN

Radio Liberty
March 12 2008
Czech Rep.

President Robert Kocharian said on Wednesday that he will partly lift
the controversial ban on independent news reporting stemming from a
state of emergency in Yerevan which he declared on March 1.

The state of emergency means the Armenian media can only cite the
government and law-enforcement bodies when covering domestic political
affairs. As a result, virtually all local media outlets not controlled
by the government have suspended their operations or been effectively
shut down by the National Security Service (NSS).

As part of the severe restrictions criticized by the international
community, the authorities also halted the retransmission of RFE/RL’s
daily Armenian-language news programs by local broadcasters. In
addition, they blocked Armenian Internet users’ access to the news
websites of RFE/RL and other foreign media that have extensively
reported on the post-election unrest in the country. Armenians were
thus left to rely only on information provided by the nearly two
dozen Yerevan-based TV stations, all of them loyal to the government.

"I will sign this evening or tomorrow morning a decree that will
change this approach," Kocharian he said in televised comments made
during a visit to a construction site in Yerevan. "Now, under the
state of emergency, we are telling you what you can do regarding the
internal political situation. After signing the decree we will tell
you what you can not do."

"Those restrictions will be very narrow," he told journalists
accompanying him. "They will relate to provocative actions, the
spread of overtly false information. All of you will be much freer to
express your views and approaches, to report analyses and information
in general."

It was not clear if the more than a dozen independent and
pro-opposition newspapers and online news services affected by
the ban will be able to resume their publication without facing
government censorship. In a joint statement issued on Wednesday,
they said the unprecedented media blackout is unconstitutional and
has done nothing to defuse tensions in the aftermath of Armenia’s
disputed presidential election.

"All this is not only failing to ease tensions in society but is
deepening the atmosphere of hatred and animosity," the statement
said. It said the state-controlled media are "stoking unhealthy
sentiment" in the country and strengthening public "distrust in the
state" with their one-sided news reporting.

Armenia’s human rights ombudsman, Armen Harutiunian, also called
for the complete abolition of the restrictions on press freedom. "I
believe that pluralism is very important for democratic societies,"
he told a news conference.

Kocharian acknowledged that the information blackout may have
given rise to various politics "gossips" that have been circulating
in Yerevan since his government quelled opposition demonstrations
against the official results of the February 19 election. "Maybe
there is a lack of information and maybe this decree will somehow
help to address this problem," he said.

Kocharian also said that contrary to speculation by opposition leaders,
he has "no plans yet" to extend the state of emergency beyond March
20. He said no violations of emergency rule have been registered
so far.