THE PROBLEM OF INFORMATION SECURITY
Vardan Grigoryan
Hayots Ashkharh Daily
20 Dec 2008
Armenia
The organization of the international conference "Information War"
dedicated to the 90th anniversary of "Armenpress" press agency,
gives hope that our officials will also take serious actions to
solve the sad situation existing in this extremely important sphere
of national security.
It will firstly depend on the successful process of the activity of
the interagency commission to be formed by the decision of the Council
of the National Security, which will try to elaborate certain protocol
on ensuring information security in Armenia.
It is not possible to delay the settlement of this problem, because
our neighbor countries have noticeably moved forward as compared
with our country. Moreover two of them, Turkey and Iran, countries
with serious tradition of statehood can create certain climate in
the world information domain.
Azerbaijan and Georgia have also formed serious systems of spreading
information in the international sphere. In this regard Azerbaijan’s
experience is especially noteworthy, which over the recent decade
invested enormous financial means for the formation of certain
international image for our country, as well as staged information
war against Armenia.
Matters took such a turn that Azerbaijani press agencies ("Day-Az"
is the most aggressive among them) turned into structures that carry
out investigative and lobbyist activity for Baku. Once they learn that
this or that foreign company or bank has made investment in Nagorno
Karabakh they will immediately put into practice the mechanisms of
advocacy blackmail.
They blackmail and boycott also those international press agencies,
which dare to spread even little information about Nagorno Karabakh
and Armenia.
The vivid example is the recent aggressive campaign of "Day-Az"
against the Russian "Regnum".
They also put into practice the organization of the Internet
version of the "protest letters" written by the Azerbaijanis living
in different countries. Once they see a brochure or a movie, or a
booklet, which makes the leaders of the Azerbaijani Internet nervous
the protest campaign immediately starts. And some people think that it
is spontaneous, which means their publication was really unilaterally
pro-Armenian.
The problems of information security are of course not limited
to the activity of the press agencies. Their realization requires
corresponding approach and knowledge, from the leaders of certain
ministers, agencies, as well as educational institutions and
organizations in Diaspora.
Let’s remember what negative impact had the absence of the Armenian
delegation in the conference of the Ministers of Culture of COE member
states, on our20country’s international image. Azerbaijan managed to
take the role of the "bridge of civilization", fundamentally falsifying
the cultural past of the region, without any sign of counteraction.
The process of the Armenian -Turkish dialogue was another proof of
Armenia’s imperfectness in the sphere of information security. All
the Armenian agencies, especially those ensuring the spheres of
the foreign policy and foreign advocacy were not ready for those
challenges, due to which the international community has come to a
conclusion that they shouldn’t interfere in the relations of Armenia
and Turkey, which is at the stage of " political honeymoon".
But the protocol of the information security won’t stop this dangerous
process, unless the strategy of the insurance of information security
is elaborated.
At present we shouldn’t be inspired of the organization of
international conference "Information Wars" in Yerevan, Let’s be
patient, and wait until they translate into action the concerns and
standpoints expressed in this conference.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
