HRW Against Media Bill
RFE/RL reports that the international human rights organization Human Rights Watch has urged the Armenian National Assembly not to adopt legislation which would effectively restrict and frustrate the operation of the Prague-based media outlet in Armenia. Given that almost everybody both inside and outside the country who believes in democratization and a free media is of the same opinion, will government lawmakers now risk dirtying the country’s image abroad by adopting the bill in its second reading?
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging the Armenian parliament not to pass a bill that would impose severe restrictions on foreign broadcasters in the country, particularly RFE/RL.
The U.S.-based human rights group said in a statement that the bill would “clearly restrict access to a crucial independent news source” and deal a blow to “RFE/RL and to freedom of the media in general.”
RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin said in a statement that passage of the bill would “set a dangerous precedent for public media in all of the countries of the former Soviet Union.”
Gedmin expressed the hope that “Armenia’s parliamentarians will reconsider their support for this flawed bill.”
The proposal would block access to certain frequencies and heavily fine the domestic retransmission of foreign-made broadcast programs.
It would also impose a tax of 70,000 Armenian drams, or more than $200, per program per day for every time a private station rebroadcast a foreign-produced program.
The bill has drawn sharp criticism from the OSCE, media rights groups, and Armenian opposition leaders.
The parliament in Yerevan on June 29 passed the bill but must confirm that vote in a second reading expected on July 2.
Comment by Onnik — June 30, 2007 @ 11:54 pm
If only I was there, I’d be there in person. I thought I’d pass along the information:
Armenian: (in English letters)
Boghoqi cujc «Azatutyan» radiokayani haykakan tsarajutyan haxordumneri herardzakum@ Hanrain radiojov dadarecnelu dem hulisi 2in zham@ 10:30, Azatutyan hraparakic depi Azgajin Zhoghov
and a rough translation into English:
Protest action for Azatutyan Radio (RFE/RL) and against the termination of the radio service broadcasts through the Armenian National Radio frequency to be held on July 2 at 10:30, starting in Freedom Square headed towards National Assembly.
please spread the word if you believe in the promotion of democracy and freedom of speech in Armenia!!
thanks Onnik for your coverage on this topic. always doin a bloody good job
Comment by Tamar — July 1, 2007 @ 2:19 am
From RFE/RL’s Press Review:
Comment by Onnik — July 1, 2007 @ 3:52 am
Hovik, the RFE/RL Press Review is a valuable resource which gives everyone a useful digest of what pro-government and pro-opposition papers are saying. Also, did you read what the Foreign Minister, Vartan Oskanian, had to say on the matter?
Basically it’s not just Zhamanak Yerevan and the “radical opposition” that are concerned by this development unless you think Oskanian is also a Loony Tunes character as well.
Comment by Onnik — July 1, 2007 @ 12:36 pm
Hovik, they do and also from Hayots Ashkar, but I agree with you if you then follow up by saying that it’s not as much as the other papers. I’d agree that it would be more useful if it was more comprehensive although ultimately it’s an editorial decision based on if there’s anything of interest in the papers. Still, on key issues, I’d like to know what’s being said in the pro-governmental papers as well.
Incidentally, a related issue was how the papers were being used by some NGOs conducting media monitoring for the parliamentary election. They were effectively being used as if impartial sources for reporting electoral violations even though the papers themselves were politically partisan, directly linked to opposition groups or at the least sympathetic to them.
Anyway, RFE/RL do report from pro-governmental sources, but not so often from Hayastani Hanrapetutyun. I will agree that as many diverse sources to quote from would be better and advisable. Certainly, it would make the RFE/RL Press Review more useful as a resource. As for Oskanian, I think he probably realizes the damage that will result from having RFE/RL off the air.
However, it is known that the MFA relies on RFE/RL for getting its message out either officially or through “anonymous sources” so I think Oskanian will miss RFE/RL if its activities in the country are curtailed.
Comment by Onnik — July 1, 2007 @ 8:21 pm
Not yet, and I think this is too much of a possibility to allow complacency to kick in. Almost everyone expects the result of this bill to be RFE/RL having to broadcast on SW at worst or with a much limited audience on some private FM stations at best.
Anyway, the point is that a clear signal must be sent that many people consider RFE/RL’s contribution to the free dissemination of information inside and from Armenia is too great to risk losing it. I think it has a very important role to play in Armenia as do most people.
Comment by Onnik — July 1, 2007 @ 10:22 pm