The public needs to understand that the aim of the bill on making amendments and supplements to the Law on Mass Media is to not only go against the presses, but also silence the voice of the public. This is what President of the Union of Journalists of Armenia Satik Seyranyan said during a conversation with Armenian News-NEWS.am.
A group of deputies of the ruling party have developed a bill on making legislative amendments that will restrict freedom of speech and will prohibit media outlets from releasing materials with a link to an anonymous source. The government has already put the bill into circulation.
“The Union of Journalists of Armenia considers bills and expresses opinions, and then the MPs present it in a way to show that there have been discussions with the heads of media outlets and media organizations. It’s clear that they sit in their cabinets and think of ways to impose penalties on the media in order for the latter to declare bankruptcy,” she stated, adding that, in her opinion, the authorities never ask the professional community for their opinions on any bill.
“This is what happens when the authorities set the goal to maintain power and restrict free speech. The bill is written illiterately. It even contradicts the Constitution. If the goal is to silence a media outlet, the head of a particular media outlet can create a domain in another country and carry out his or her activities. If the authorities think they can achieve their goal through these punitive measures, they are dead wrong. The public needs to understand that the aim is to not only go against the media, but also silence the voice of the public. The people need to know that journalists represent their interest. The media disturbs the authorities because the media shows that they are lying. The public needs to know that they won’t be able to raise their issues in the future,” she said.