Armenia

Police block a side road leading to Parliament, A1 Plus Protest Rally, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2002

In the continuing saga that perhaps best represents the way the authorities have destroyed freedom of speech in the broadcast media, A1 Plus has once again been denied a broadcasting frequency. The TV station, considered to be the most independent and popular for its news, was taken off the air in a controversial tender for new frequencies in April 2002.

RFE/RL reports on yet another blow to press freedom in a country that Freedom House considers “Not Free” when it comes to the media.

The National Commission on Television and Radio, a regulatory body appointed by President Robert Kocharian, rejected the A1+ station’s application for one of two radio frequencies put on a tender. The commission voted unanimously to give both frequencies to two little-known companies.

Its chairman, Grigor Amalian, insisted that A1+ was again denied a frequency because its competitors submitted stronger bids. “This was an absolutely just decision,” he said.

A1+ representatives dismissed the explanation, saying that Amalian and seven other members of the body simply upheld a political decision made by the authorities. “Today’s decision was not unexpected,” said journalist Karine Asatrian. “I would be surprised if they gave us a frequency.”

One of the frequency winners, Ulis Media, is based at the Yerevan premises of the Armenian Public Radio. Its chief executive, Norayr Mukhoyan, said the company simply rents office space there and has no ties with the government-controlled broadcaster. “I am happy that we won. The tender was definitely fair,” he told RFE/RL.

Reports in the Armenian press have linked the other winner, Radio Pro, with Prime Minister Andranik Markarian’s Republican Party.

A1+, the only national channel that was not loyal to the Kocharian administration, was forced off the air in April 2002 just hours after losing a first-ever frequency tender administered by Amalian’s commission. It has since participated in 11 other biddings and lost all of them.

The commission’s decisions have been denounced as politically motivated by Armenian and international media watchdogs. They as well as the Council of Europe consider A1+’s de facto closure as a serious blow to press freedom in Armenia.

A1 Plus has more on its web site, and quotes its Director Mesrob Movsesyan in saying that Grigor Amalian, the rather shifty looking head of the National Commission for Television and Radio, who at least seems to be able to afford better suits of late, is merely a puppet with the Armenian President pulling the strings.

By putting “A1+” “bad” and its rivals “good” marks Grigor Amalyan once more announced they have made an “impartial” decision this time giving licenses to “Ulyss - Media” and “Radio-Pro” LTDs which are quite unfamiliar to the public. By rating polls “A1+” gained only 22 points whereas its rivals got 29 points. When one of the journalists asked why he put a “bad” mark to “A1+” Grigor Amalyan was surprised that such question might occur to their minds. By the way, the representatives of “Radio-Pro” weren’t even present in the NCTR to know the results of the competition; probably they were sure of their victory.

“I am glad that we won the contest and I think that it was just and fair,” Norayr Mkhoyan, chief producer of “Ulyss - Media” LTD announced after the contest. The representative of the company located on 5 Alek Manoukyan once more refuted their connection with Aleksan Haroutyunyan, the Council of Public Television and Radio Company and “Ulyss” LTD of the “Nairi-Cinema” as “they rented premises in the Radio House on contract bases,” though he couldn’t give reasons for the question whether one can rent premises in the Radio House without “corresponding acquaintances and ties.”

[…]

“The matter is not connected with Amalyan; what can he do? He is merely a tool and must do whatever he is ordered,” said Mesrop Movsesyan on this score. The question must be put in other way; will “A1+” be given a license while the president of the country is Kocharyan? Of course, not. Kocharyan’s attitude to “A1+” is the same, it is invariable though he tries to convince the West that he has missed “A1+” and needs it.

Kocharyan’s hypocrisy is no longer in effect either there or here. At present the time works against them. Amalyan is a puppet, a marionette in all this matter, which will open his mouth each time they pull the thread and will keep silent each time the thread is left but in this case he will bite his tongue.”

The station also reports that the Director of Human Rights Watch is less than satisfied with the response of the Armenian Foreign Ministry to its new reports on human rights practices in the country, and which specifically mention the lack of an independent broadcast media in Armenia. It’s interesting to note that A1 Plus case is currently being examined by the European Court of Human Rights, as was recently reported by the BBC.

The European Court of Human Rights is studying an appeal by an Armenian TV station against a government decision to close it down.

The court’s judgement could have far-reaching implications for freedom of expression and human rights in Armenia and across the southern Caucasus.

In April 2002, the Armenian government took A1+ off the air.

The TV station, which was the most popular independent news channel at the time, has since reapplied ten times for a licence to broadcast. Each time it has been refused.

[…]

When the A1+ signal died, almost four years ago, thousands gathered on the streets of Yerevan to protest.

Those protests lasted for more than a week. It was a show of public support that convinced the A1+ president, Mesrop Movsesyan, that he must find other ways to continue delivering news to the people of Armenia.

“The sheer scale of the public protest, when ordinary people realised that freedom of expression was being attacked through the silencing of A1+, persuaded us that we had a duty to continue to operate as a news organisation, even though our transmitters had been turned off,” he said.

[…]

As well as being unable to broadcast, A1+ journalists are forbidden from attending government news conferences and are refused interviews with ministers.

If they are seen on the streets of Yerevan interviewing members of the public, police move them on.

Boris Navasardian, president of the Yerevan Press Club, says the continued existence of A1+ angers many in power, including politicians, business leaders and members of the judiciary.

He says many want to see the media organisation destroyed and that anger extends to the current government, which, Mr Navasardian says, feels that any alternative point of view should be silenced.

Of course, even if the European Court ruled in favor of A1 Plus, nobody expects that the station would return to the air in time for the 2007 parliamentary elections, or even presidential elections scheduled for 2008. Instead, Public TV as well as Gerard Cafesjian and Bagrat Sarkisyan’s Armenia TV will continue to fulfil the role expected of them in covering up any electoral falsification, and the same will be true for every other TV or radio station allowed to broadcast.

The decision to deprive A1 Plus of the right to broadcast was and still is political as its Director said in an interview I conducted with him the day after the station was taken off the air in April 2002.

The decision to close A1 Plus was taken in November during a private meeting between the Armenian President, Robert Kocharian, the Defense Minister, Serzh Sarkisyan, and the National Security Council. Although we have no evidence, only oral testimony, we believe that the idea to close the station came from that meeting.

[…]

Officially, they argued that our package was bad, and insufficient funding may have been another reason, but it is only a cover for the real reason which is political.

The full interview is available online here.

Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2002

Police block a side road leading to Parliament, A1 Plus Protest Rally, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2002

This entry was posted on Friday, May 26th, 2006 at 1:49 am and is filed under Freedom of Speech, Censorship, Human Rights, Europe, Media, Caucasus, Armenia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.