"THERE IS NO PLURALISM IN ARMENIA"

A1+
[07:44 pm] 19 September, 2008

"Armenia lacks pluralism," "Hanrapetutiun" (Republican) Party member
Suren Sureniants said at today’s discussion on freedom of mass media
organised by the National Press Club (NPC).

Sureniants underscored three exponents when speaking of the level of
Armenian mass media-the nature of power, legislative base and finances.

"Free press is the most formidable enemy of the authorities," he said
and added that our authorities avoid having free media.

"It doesn’t matter in autoritarian countries whether the laws are
good or bad. I don’t even want to refer to the recent amendments to
the Law on "Mass Media". The amendments have nothing to do with the
law. It could otherwise be called a "ban on A1+’s transmission. Under
the disputed amendments no tender for television and radio frequencies
will be announced in the country by 2011. Consequently, A1+ will not
return to the air by then."

Once there isn’t financial independence in the country we cannot
speak of freedom of mass media. Apparently, TV Companies are fully
controlled by the Government. Press is comparatively independent but
it has less influence on the society," he said.

ARF Dashnaktustiun member Ruzan Arakelian disagreed with her
opponents saying pluralism hasn’t topped out to please the society,
intelligentsia and journalists in Armenia.

President of A1+ Company, Mesrop Movsesyan, agreed with
Sureniants. "The information field is leveled to the ground. If the
main problem lies in digitization it implies numerous opportunities. At
present, we are studying the materials at hand. Soon we shall prove
that the whole field is sold and every tender is excluded.

YPS member Narine Dilbarian says there is neither pluralism nor freedom
of expression in Armenia. There is only deep polarization. "Press
has become a PR tool."