U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE REPORT: SETBACK IN ARMENIA
A1+
[06:30 pm] 26 February, 2009
There were significant setbacks for democracy in Armenia in 2008,
as stated in the annual report of the U.S. Department of State. The
reason for such a negative evaluation was the violent clashes that
took place after the February 19 presidential elections. The authors
of the report underline:
There were significant setbacks for democracy in Armenia, including
the worst post-election violence seen in the Caucasus in recent
years. After weeks of generally peaceful protests following a disputed
February presidential election, the government used force to disperse
protestors on March 1-2, which resulted in violent clashes and 10
deaths. The violence ushered in a 20-day state of emergency and a
blackout of independent media during which the government severely
curtailed civil liberties. During the remainder of the year, there
were significant restrictions on the right to assemble peacefully
or express political opinions freely without risk of retaliation,
and several opposition sympathizers were convicted and imprisoned
with disproportionately harsh sentences for seemingly political
reasons. Fifty-nine opposition sympathizers reportedly remained
imprisoned on seemingly political grounds at year’s end; no government
officials were prosecuted for their alleged role in election-related
crimes. Despite the mixed success of a politically-balanced
fact-finding group established by the government to investigate
the March events, the climate for democracy was further chilled
by harassment, intimidation, and intrusive tax inspections against
independent media and civil society activists.
The authors of the report touched upon the mass media in Armenia,
as well as the difficulties imposed on presses and journalists.
Censorship was imposed and freedom of press and media were severely
restricted during the March 1-21 state of emergency. According to the
decree enacting the state of emergency, "reports in the mass media on
issues concerning the internal situation and of state importance are
restricted to official information provided by state entities." The
decree resulted in the closing of all opposition media, all Web
sites critical of the government, and several days of broadcasts of
Radio Liberty. It did not, however, prevent other print and broadcast
media from airing strident criticism and unfounded charges against
the political opposition and its leaders. H1 was identified by the
country’s human rights defender as "a most vivid example of such
unacceptable coverage." While the state of emergency decree applied
only to Yerevan, there were numerous reports of the severe media
restrictions being imposed in many other parts of the country.
The authors also state:
A1 Plus television still remained without a broadcasting license
or frequency at year’s end. The station has unsuccessfully filed 10
applications for a television or radio license after the government
failed to renew its frequency use license in 2002, an action that
many considered to be politically motivated. Since 2002, A1 Plus has
operated as an Internet news agency, posting its video footage to
the Web. During and after the state of emergency, A1 Plus-produced
news footage appeared on a variety of international amateur video
Web sites. On June 17, the ECHR ruled that authorities had violated
Article 10 (freedom of expression) of the European Convention on
Human Rights by failing to give a written explanation for refusing
a broadcast license to A1 Plus. The ECHR’s decision stated that
"a procedure which did not require a licensing body to justify its
decisions did not provide adequate protection against arbitrary
interference by a public authority with the fundamental right to
freedom of expression." The ECHR awarded, and the government paid,
30,000 euros (approximately $42,000) to A1 Plus’ parent company,
Meltex, Ltd. On September 10, with essentially no prior notification or
public discussion, the National Assembly amended the Law on Television
and Radio to impose a moratorium until July 2010 on the issuance of
new television broadcasting licenses. The amendment was passed in an
unannounced, evening extraordinary session. The moratorium was enacted
shortly before a call for bids on several television frequencies that
were due to become available based on expiring licenses. The amendment
also gives existing stations the right to extend their licenses to
January 2011. Independent media, media analysts, and NGOs viewed the
measure as an effort to block issuance of a license to A1 Plus or
other applicants more sympathetic to the political opposition than
current license holders. On September 19, the OSCE’s representative
on freedom of the media sent a letter to President Sargsian warning
that the new law "may make Armenia unable to comply" with the ECHR
decision in the A1 Plus case.
In the nearly 54-page report, it is stated:
Ethnic Armenian separatists, with Armenia’s support, continued to
control most of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of the country and seven
surrounding Azerbaijani territories.
The same sentence appears in the State Department’s report on
Azerbaijan. In addition, it is stated that:
The government did not exercise any control over developments in
those territories.