Negotiations to renew Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s broadcast agreement
in Armenia have ended, reportedly putting the station’s Yerevan office on the
verge of closure. As of August 9, the station’s Armenian service’s programs will
no longer be carried on public radio. Critics contend the decision is an attempt
to muzzle criticism of government policies.

Under the law "On Television and Radio," foreign media organizations’
broadcasts are prohibited on frequencies used by the Public Television and Radio
Company without the consent of the company’s board. After expiration of an
earlier contract, a new agreement for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL)
was submitted to Public Television and Radio this February, but was never
signed.

Representatives from the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an independent
agency that oversees non-military US government-funded overseas broadcasting,
and the International Broadcasting Bureau, which provides support for these
operations, negotiated with Armenia’s Public Television and Radio Company for
about a week, but were not able to reach agreement.

In a July 25 televised statement to explain the negotiations’ failure, Public
Television and Radio Company Board Chairman Alexan Harutiunian stated that his
organization had "not impeded, but displayed good will and retransmitted the
programs of Radio Liberty from February till today despite the absence of a
contract."

"The radio station made payments until February 27 and has not made any
payment since then, but the bills were presented to it every month, and that
debt today makes about $86,000. In other words, the public radio funded the
retransmission of the radio station’s programs since 2007 at the expense of
Armenia’s state budget," Harutiunian said.

"Moreover, the public radio expressed readiness to assist in the matter of
conducting negotiations with private companies to ensure the consistency of
Radio Liberty’s broadcasts," he added.

In a July 24 press release, James K. Glassman, chairman of the Broadcasting
Board of Governors, stated that the Public Televison and Radio Company had
declined payment and had refused to sign a new agreement. Glassman claimed that
the "minor technical issues" which had prompted the delegation’s trip to Yerevan
had been "resolved" during the talks.

"It seems clear that whatever is holding up an agreement has nothing to do
with legal, contractual, or technical issues," he said.

"The potential end of our very fruitful relationship with Public Radio has no
economic or other legitimate justification," added RFE/RL President Jeffrey
Gedmin.

The statement affirms that the station’s Yerevan office received a
communication from the Public Television and Radio Company about its intentions
one week after the July 3 failure of legislative amendments that would have
imposed stiff fees for the rebroadcast of foreign media materials.

Harutiunian, for his part, maintains that the station has "politicized" the
dispute.

Speaking by phone from Washington, DC, RFE/RL Associate Director of
Communication Martin Zvaners told EurasiaNet that the broadcaster still hopes
that the decision is not yet final and that a resolution can be found. "As our
president already mentioned, we highly evaluate the cooperation with Armenia’s
public radio and we hope that the contract will be signed. In any case, we will
take all available means for Armenians not to be deprived of the opportunity to
listen to Radio Liberty," said Zvaners.

The US Embassy in Yerevan has not yet issued any statement, but in an
interview with RFE/RL on July 20, U.S. chargé d’affaires Rudolf Perina said that
"assurances were given to us on a high level that the problem is a technical one
and can be worked out through negotiations."

"[T]he authorities in Armenia understand that if it appeared that RFE/RL were
being blocked from broadcasts for political reasons, this would be difficult for
many friends of Armenia in the West and in the United States to understand,"
Perina added.

In Armenia, reactions to the news were mixed. As in the run-up to the July 3
parliamentary vote, pro-government political figures again gave assurances that
the move does not restrict Radio Liberty’s broadcasting possibilities. Samvel
Nikoyan, a member of parliament for the ruling Republican Party, told EurasiaNet
that the radio station could easily have its programs retransmitted on private
radio companies’ frequencies.

"This decision has nothing to do with the elections. Radio Liberty does not
interfere with the Republican Party. It was freely operating during the
parliamentary elections and was quite critical of us, however we managed to get
an absolute majority in parliament," said Nikoyan.

Human rights activist Ashot Melikian, chairman of the Committee for the
Defense of Freedom of Speech, said that the move would boost the ability of
Armenian authorities to control the flow of information. Most television and
radio outlets are largely pro-government in their news coverage. "If we consider
that some private radio will have the guts to sign a contract with Radio
Liberty, all the same, the potential audience will shrink 10-20 times, as in
remote rural areas people can tune in only to public radio," Melikian said.

A veteran opposition lawmaker, Viktor Dallakian, alleged that officials
resorted to administrative measures to remove Radio Liberty from the air after
legislative measures failed.

MP Stepan Safarian of the parliamentary opposition Heritage Party, which took
part in an opposition boycott that contributed to the July 3 defeat of the
earlier legislative amendments, expressed surprise over the failure of
negotiations. "I didn’t expect the authorities to be so imprudent. They, in
fact, do not avoid overt confrontation with the West, without thinking about the
consequences," Safarian said.

He added that the potential consequences of the RFE/RL renewal failure were
"quite serious."

In particular, Safarian suggested the decision could endanger the $235.65
million US-funded Millennium Challenge Program.

Continuance of the Millennium Challenge program is contingent upon Armenia
demonstrating that it is committed to democratic reform, including media rights.
In 2006, the Washington, DC-based human rights organization Freedom House urged
the Millennium Challenge Corporation to suspend the Armenian program, arguing
that freedom of speech rights had not been observed.

Gayane Abrahamyan 7/25/07