RFE/RL Update
RFE/RL reports that the bill which many media observers believe will be used to restrict and limit their work in Armenia has been passed by the newly elected National Assembly. The bill was passed by 79 votes to 16 with 1 abstention and it should come as no surprise that those voting for the legislative changes were deputies from governmental parties.
The deputies who approved the bill are mainly affiliated with Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK) and its junior coalition partners, the Prosperous Armenia Party and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). They are expected to pass it in the second, final reading early next week.
Voting against were deputies representing the opposition Zharangutyun, Orinats Yerkir and Dashink parties as well as two independent lawmakers. The Zharangutyun and Orinats Yerkir factions condemned the bill during Thursday’s heated parliament debates, saying that it is aimed at muzzling what they call the only Armenian-language broadcaster not controlled by the government.
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Still, parliament speaker Tigran Torosian insisted on Friday that the changes do not apply to RFE/RL because it does not have a broadcasting license and can therefore not be deemed a “broadcaster.” He repeated his arguments at a meeting with Anthony Godfrey, the U.S. charge d’affaires in Yerevan who expressed serious concern at the possible end of RFE/RL broadcasts in Armenia.
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Godfrey refused to be drawn on what the U.S. might do if the state-run and private radio stations refuse to retransmit RFE/RL Armenian service programs. I don’t take hypothetical questions,” he said. “But I did express our concern to the speaker and he was very open to hearing our concerns.”
Meanwhile, leading Armenian media associations and other civic groups continued to voice alarm at the future of RFE/RL activities in the country. More than a dozen of them issued a joint statement shortly before the passage of the amendments.
Interestingly, one other supporter of the station also concerned by the possibility of RFE/RL being unable to broadcast on Public Radio is the Foreign Minister, Vartan Oskanian. Certainly, RFE/RL has been the most authoritative and objective source of information on the Karabakh negotiations. Even if the President openly criticizes the station for its coverage, Oskanian’s words can perhaps be considered genuine.
Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian spoke out on Friday in favor of RFE/RL’s continued news reporting in Armenia, saying that it contributes to freedom of speech and democracy in the country.
While declining to directly comment on the controversial RFE/RL-related bill proposed by the Armenian government, Oskanian made it clear that he is against a halt to the daily retransmission of the U.S. broadcaster’s Armenian-language news programs by state radio.
“Right now I just don’t want to think that all of a sudden [Radio] Liberty may be deprived of air,” he told a news conference.
“It will hurt me if [Radio] Liberty stops going on air,” he said. “It will hurt me. Liberty makes its contribution to democracy. It would be unfortunate to see Liberty deprived of air for some reason.”
Oskanian, further noted that he is not the only government minister who thinks so. “I think there are people in the government who share my opinion,” he said without elaborating.
The 52-year-old minister has frequently and readily spoken with RFE/RL throughout his nine-year tenure. He was absent from last week’s session of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s cabinet that approved the controversial draft amendments to the Armenian laws on broadcasting and state duties.
Armenia Now also has an article on what can perhaps be considered to be the most significant threat to the media in Armenia since the removal of A1 Plus from the airwaves in April 2002. There’s also some discussion going on in the blogosphere here and here.
I’ve just come back from a very interesting interview on Karabakh with Heritage’s Stepan Safarian. Anyway, afterwards we spoke about the RFE/RL issue and not least because Safarian is quite vocal in parliament as to the bill. Anyway, his opinion is pretty much what many people are concerned about.
That is, this initiative is designed to take RFE/RL off the airwaves in a way that makes it seem that this is not a personal attack on the station by Kocharian. Obviously, it is believed that the initiative is timed as Armenia is about to enter the presidential pre-election period.
Under what many people consider to be the scenario that will then play out, RFE/RL will be unable to broadcast nationwide on public radio. Some pressure will be applied on private radio stations not to take RFE/RL broadcasts although some limited reach stations might. According to Safarian, if this happens then this is significant enough to damage Armenia’s position with regards to MCA funding.
Interestingly, there is also word that there is a personal side to this and not one just connected to the presidential election. Apparently, Jermuk is believed by some to be owned by Kocharian and the recent ban on the bottled medicinal mineral water in the US was some kind of warning sent to Armenia. This legislation is a tit-for-tat response from Kocharian back.
Not sure how true any of that is and for sure I think limiting RFE/RL’s audience ahead of the presidential election is the main reason for the legislation, but anyway. Safarian will be presenting Heritage’s position on the bill on Monday and will also suggest the wording of the bill is changed.
That is, as the legislation is based on the idea that public radio and TV is financed from the State budget, Heritage will suggest that RFE/RL can broadcast on public radio as long as it pays the money into the budget instead of to the station. Of course, it’s unlikely that such a change will be accepted and after waiting a few months, RFE/RL will effectively stop broadcasting and it will be hard pressed to find a station which will accept its broadcasts and which can reach the same audience.
Hopefully, some brave private stations such as Radio Hye will work out a deal with RFE/RL, but I suppose significant pressure will be applied on them not to. Let’s see, but I don’t expect anything good to come from what in my opinion is the latest attack on media freedom in Armenia. Certainly, Safarian is convinced that it has everything to do with the presidential election in 9 months. Basically, he argues, many of those that take bribes in parliamentary elections are less likely to do so in what are considered more important presidential ones.
On that basis alone, RFE/RL has always played an important role in broadcasting balanced coverage and it is for this reason that the president and government do not want them doing the same early next year when the stakes are the highest they’ve been in recent years. That is, the issue of succession to Kocharian when he has to step down.
Comment by Onnik — June 30, 2007 @ 5:47 pm
Comment by Onnik — June 30, 2007 @ 10:32 pm