REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS RANKS ARMENIA 111TH PLACE IN FREEDOM OF PRESS

Tert
Oct 21 2009
Armenia

The 2009 Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders,
has ranked Armenia at 111 out of 175 countries ranked, as compared
to its last year ranking of 102nd place.

First place in this year’s ranking is Denmark, followed by Finland
and Ireland. It is important to note that this year, a number of
European countries fell in their rankings.

"It is disturbing to see European democracies such as France, Italy
and Slovakia fall steadily in the rankings year after year," Julliard
said. "Europe should be setting an example as regards civil liberties.

How can you condemn human rights violations abroad if you do not
behave irreproachably at home?" said Reporters Without Borders
secretary-general Jean-Francois Julliard.

Armenia did better than other countries in the Caucasus, except for
Georgia who ranked at 81st place. The other countries in the region
ranked 123rd place (Turkey); 146th (Azerbaijan) and 153rd place
(Russia).

The United States recovered 20 places in the index, thanks to "the
Obama effect," said Julliard.

As noted on the Reports Without Borders website, serious concern has
been raised over press freedom in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s Iran:

"Already at the lower end of the rankings in previous years, Iran
has now reached the gates of the infernal trio at the very bottom
– Turkmenistan (173rd), North Korea (174th) and Eritrea (175th) –
where the media are so suppressed they are non-existent."

Reporters Without Borders compiles the index every year on the basis
of questionnaires that are completed by hundreds of journalists and
media experts around the world. This year’s index reflects press
freedom violations that took place between September 1, 2008 and
August 31, 2009.

To see the full report, visit their website at

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress