RSF URGES LIFT OF STATE OF EMERGENCY, MEDIA FREEDOM
Reporters Sans Frontieres (RSF)
March 5 2008
France
A 20-day state of emergency which President Robert Kocharyan
proclaimed in the capital Yerevan on 1 March is having aserious
impact on the activity of the news media, Reporters Without Borders
said today. The emergency was declared afterclashes between security
forces and opposition protesters who say last month’s presidential
election wasrigged.
"This authoritarian decision to liable to reinforce part of the
population’s resentment of the lack of realfree expression in Armenia,"
the press freedom organization said. "We urge the authorities to lift
the stateof emergency so that the media can resume working normally
and report on the circumstances in which force was used inclashes
leaving a toll of eight dead and more than 130 wounded."
Under the state of emergency, all news media are required to use only
official information in their domesticcoverage. Reporters Without
Borders has learned that access to several online news publications
– including the newsagency A1+ (), the opposition
newspaper Haykakan Jamanak () and website of the
daily Aravot() – has been blocked by their hosting
service provider, Arminco Ltd, on the orders of the securityservices.
The programmes of Radio Free Europe, the only foreign radio station to
broadcast in Armenian, have been replaced bymusic, and the station’s
website is also inaccessible.
Three pro-government dailies – Azg, Hayastani Hanrapetutyun and
Hayots Ashxar – continue to be published but one ofthe most popular
newspapers, Aravot, did not appear yesterday. The issue was banned
by the security services after itwas sent to the printer’s. The
newspaper’s staff then decided to publish blank pages in protest but
they were prevented from doing this as well. Other newspapers such
as Haykakan Jamanak and 168 Zham were not published either.
A complaint has been brought against Levon Barseghyan, the president
of the "Asparez" journalists club inGyumri, the second largest
city (125 km north of Yerevan), accusing him of organizing illegal
gatherings. He has denied this, and his denial has been supported by
several witnesses, but his trial is due to start within a few days.
At least three journalists have had run-ins with the police in
Gyumri. Radio Free Europe correspondent SatenikVantsyan was hit by
police officers. Nune Arevshatyan of Aravot was manhandled by policemen
who took her camera. AndArmine Vardanyan of local television station
Gala TV was arrested while doing her a report and her equipment
wasconfiscated, including the video she had filmed just before
her arrest.
Many journalists have criticized the vagueness of the directive
banning the use of unofficial information as itcomplicates their
work. When they interview members of the government, for example,
they often do not know whether they can publish the information.
The TV stations are under especially close surveillance. The national
news reports and information they are providingare in fact being
broadcast by police press officers. Not only is the video footage
the same but also the analyses andcomments.