On May 3 in Yerevan “Partnership for Open Society” initiative that unites
around 50 public organizations of Armenia, held a round table meeting on the
World Press Freedom Day.



Ambassador of Germany in Armenia Hans-Wulf Bartels who opened the meeting
congratulated the journalists on the international professional day. He stressed
that the European Union closely follows the situation of freedom of expression
in Armenia.



The Country Manager of World Bank Armenia Office Roger Robinson mentioned as a
positive example of cooperation with the journalistic community the book “The
Right to Tell. Role of Mass Media in Economic Development”, published by Yerevan
Press Club with the assistance of the WB and the Open Society Institute (see YPC
Weekly Newsletter, April 2-8, 2004). In his speech Mr. Robinson referred to the
recently published article of the World Bank President James Wolfenson “Press
Freedom Helps Fight Poverty”. Basing on the researches showing that the freer
the press is, the less corruption there is in the country, the WB President
believes: “As we mark World Press Freedom Day on May 3, this year’s campaign
theme, ‘Press Freedom Pays’, provides an excellent opportunity to reflect on the
catalytic role that an open and free media can play in economic development and
particularly in the fight against global poverty.”



The effective cooperation of the legislative and the “fourth” estates of the
country is illustrated by the work on the improvement and adoption of the RA Law
“On Mass Communication”, the Chairwoman of the Standing Committee on Science,
Education, Culture and Youth Issues of the RA National Assembly Hranush Hakobian
said.



The representative of the UN Department of Public Information Valeri Tkatchouk
read out the message of the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, in which the United
Nations, that proclaimed May 3 the World Press Freedom Day in 1993, reaffirms
its “commitment to the freedom and independence of the media as an essential
requirement for building a better and fairer world” and states its readiness to
do its utmost for the journalists to be able “to do their vital work in safety
and without fear”.



The possibility to perform the professional duty without caution is becoming all
the more important in Armenia due to the frequent and unpunished displays of
violence towards media representatives. The Chairwoman of the Journalists Union
of Armenia Astghik Gevorgian familiarized the participants of the round table
with the statement of the “Partnership for Open Society” initiative for May 3.




The statement says:



“’Partnership for Civil Society’ initiative congratulates all the media on the
World Press Freedom Day.



Having analyzed the media situation in Armenia, we state:



1. In 2003 the RA National Assembly passed two laws that directly relate to the
media sphere - “On Freedom of Information” and “On Mass Communication”. The two
documents were adopted as a result of public dialogue and are mainly compliant
with international standards. At the same time it is a source of much concern
that amendments to the RA Law “On Television and Radio”, criticized by the
journalistic community and international organizations, were shallow and
inessential, failed to solve the main problem - ensuring the independence of the
two regulatory bodies, the National Commission on Television and Radio and the
Council of the Public Television and Radio Company. In the legislation another
concern-provoking fact is that the implementation of the RA Law “On Freedom of
Information” is in fact delayed, as the government to this day has not fulfilled
the provision of the law: it has not defined the procedure for provision of
information or its duplicate (copy) by the state structures and local
self-governance bodies, state institutions and organizations. And, finally,
having adopted legislation containing rather progressive clauses that regulate
the media activities, the authorities must amend other laws to make them
correspond to international standards and the newly passed bills. This calls, in
particular, for the removal of libel and insult provisions from the Criminal
Code passed in 2003 (Articles 135, 136, 318) that endanger the freedom of
expression and can induce media to exercise self-censorship.



2. The consistent refusal to provide license to “A1+” TV company by the results
of the broadcast licensing competitions in 2003 came to reconfirm that the
National Commission on Television and Radio is not guided by the principles of
objectivity and impartiality. Moreover, the National Commission declined the
proposal of non-governmental organizations to involve independent experts with a
right to consultative vote at least in one of the competitions, although this
procedure is provided for by the law and the presence of experts would have
ensured the transparency of the tender.



3. The Public Television of Armenia remains an addendum to the executive power
and serves as its rostrum. This TV company has adopted the policy of praising
the authorities and relegating the opposition, does not provide objective and
impartial information, diversity of opinion.



4. The press mostly fulfils its function of disseminating diverse information,
however, the newspapers circulations are small, they are mostly sold out in the
capital and the regional centers. The press remains polarized and entangled in
the controversy of authorities and opposition.



5. On April 5 and in the early morning of April 13, 2004 violence was exerted on
the journalists covering the opposition rallies. If in the former case those who
beat the journalists and broke their photo and video cameras were people dressed
in civilian clothes, on the latter occasion the attackers were policemen. These
offenders have not as yet been found and punished, and the damages to the media
have not been compensated.



6. The reputable international organization “Freedom House” qualified the
Armenian media in 2003 as not free.



We, the representatives of non-governmental organizations of “Partnership for
Open Society” again demand the law enforcement bodies to find and punish the
individuals who violently attacked journalists on April 5 and April 13 as
strictly as the law stipulates.



We demand that Armenian authorities ensure the free and unimpeded activity of
media and journalists, remove Articles 135,136 and 318 from the Criminal Code as
being dangerous for the freedom of expression, refraining from their application
till this is accomplished.



We state that we will continue to advocate the improvement of the media-related
legislation, the establishment of real freedom of expression and truly
independent media.”



During his presentation at the round table the President of Yerevan Press Club
Boris Navasardian quoted the address of the UNESCO Director General Koiichiro
Matsuura: “The theme of this year’s World Press Freedom Day is the media in
conflict and post-conflict zones and in countries in transition. In such
situations, the media’s work to provide independent and trustworthy information
can contribute significantly to processes of reconstruction and reconciliation.”
In this regard the YPC President noted that the Armenian media, using the
freedom that the authorities must guarantee, are to ensure the free information
flow and by this contribute to the establishment of a dialogue both in the
country and on the regional level to arrive at consensus of the parties.



Among those speaking at the event were the UNDP Resident Representative in
Armenia Lise Grande, the Deputy Chief of Mission of the United States in Armenia
Vivian Walker, the Executive Director of the OSI Assistance Foundation-Armenia
Larisa Minasian.



At the round table the statement of “Article 19” international organization was
disseminated on the incidents of violence against journalists. “Article 19” in
particular called upon the authorities of Armenia “to respect the international
standards in the field of freedom of expression, to conduct an immediate and
full investigation of the reported assaults of journalists and human rights
activists, and to undertake all necessary measures to ensure the safety of
journalists in the future”.