The news department of the Public TV Company of Armenia serves the interests of the authorities, Media Advocate initiative said in a statement on Saturday, referring to a recent report on a response letter of President of the Venice Commission Gianni Buquicchio to Constitutional Court Chairman Hrayr Tovmasyan. The statement reads:

"The Public TV Company is spreading misinformation on its 1lurer.am news website, misleading the public, proving once again that the Public Television’s news department serves the interests of the authorities and is deprived of its own position.

This time 1lurer.am published an article entitled: “Gianni Buquicchio urges Hrayr Tovmasyan to respect Constitution.”

Neither the original nor the Armenian translation of the Venice Commission President Gianni Buquicchio’s letter contains such wording.

This was noticed and discussed on social media, after which Public TV made some changes. “In his letter to Tovmasyan, Buquicchio called for respect for the Constitution, and the Ministry of Justice reminds that there is a full agreement with the Commission.”

One can judge from this title that Gianni Buquicchio’s appeal is addressed to Hrayr Tovmasyan, while the text reads: “I have been closely following the developments in Armenia concerning the constitutional amendments. I regret that they are not in line with the clear recommendations of the Venice Commission.”

In fact, Buquicchio expressed concern about the constitutional changes, pointing out the problems in it.

Media Advocate initiative urges the management of the Public Television’s news department to once again reconsider the title of the article and stop the pro-government working style."