The Armenian authorities deprive citizens of their right to receive information, Media Advocate initiative said in a statement on Friday. The full text of the statement is below.

"There is an information collapse in Armenia. State agencies hardly comment on the events taking place in the country, furthermore, some politicians give interviews only to the media outlets of their choice. The impression is created that with such a step the politicians simply avoid unfavorable questions.

Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly Alen Simonyan and MP Andranik Kocharyan always stand out in terms of splitting and targeting the mass media, deputy Mikayel Zolyan and some others also stood out with such a step recently. These people not only split the media, but also utter inappropriate expressions regarding the media, which is an improper policy by the officials.

Media Advocate initiative condemns such behavior. In this way, the authorities deprive citizens of their right to receive information. Such behavior will lead to nothing but an information crisis. In information warfare, the absence or misrepresentation of information is beneficial only to the enemy. Media Advocate urges to take a more responsible approach to the issue and cooperate with the media."