Troubles Not Over for RFE/RL
Armenians protest in Yerevan on July 2 against a parliamentary bill that could have made the broadcast of RFE/RL shows within the country expensive. The bill was dropped the next day due to a lack of quorum and a government opposition boycott. (Onnik Krikorian for EurasiaNet)
EurasiaNet has another article on the failure to pass controversial legislation which would have limited broadcasts by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and certainly taken them off Public Radio. In the article by Armenia Now’s Marianna Grigorian, it would appear that everyone is expecting another attempt to restrict RFE/RL’s broadcasts in the country sometime in the autumn when the country will start to prepare for the 2008 presidential election.
Local observers believe opposition from the international community led to the failure of a controversial bill that could have restricted Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s broadcasts in Armenia. Despite the vote outcome, however, they argue that the legislation’s implications for freedom of media still linger on.
[…]
The Armenian service of the US-funded Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, a past target for criticism by senior government officials, is currently the only broadcaster to make use of this service. The ruling Republican Party of Armenia and government, however, have denied that the amendments were aimed at RFE/RL.
Opposition members say that they expect fresh amendments in the fall.
[…]
Opponents of the legislation say that the international community’s strong condemnation of the amendments discouraged pro-government lawmakers from showing up in sufficient numbers to pass the proposed bills. Such criticism jarred with international observers’ assessment of Armenia’s May 12 parliamentary elections as the first to mostly meet democratic standards.
[…]
“The authorities did not expect international structures to give such strong-worded assessments,” argued Artur Sakunts, chairman of the Helsinki Assembly’s Vanadzor office in northern Armenia. “There wasn’t such pressure even after the elections.”
In response, Parliamentary Speaker Tigran Torosian, who had backed the amendments, stated that ” documents” and “an expert study” were necessary before proceeding, according to statements posted on portal panorama.am. The Ago Group’s reaction, he said, “responds naturally to the improper noise raised in Armenia.”
Helsinki Assembly’s Sakunts and other activists, however, say that further wrangles could still be in the works. With a presidential vote next year, commented Sakunts, “I am sure that the story is not over yet.”
The full article is here.
Please read RFE’s own reports about about this bill: They make it perfectly clear that RFE/RL is free to broadcast to its heart’s content, except it has to do it through private frequencies. They can broadcast on any frequency they want, except ONE, the public one. That’s why neither RFE, nor Eurasia, nor anyone else has ever referred to the bill as a “ban” on RFE. They always call it a “restriction,” which is still sneaky language, but at least its not a flat-out lie.
Since it is crystal clear that this is not a ban, the use of those silly gags amounts to nothing more than a gross misrepresentation of the issue. It’s a lie; and for whom? You ought to take a long, hard look at what you are really doing with this political legerdemain, because I know that most of you are certainly not doing it knowingly. Please remember that no matter what your intentions, history won’t forget what you actually did.
Take a look at whom you are benefiting:
RFE, itself, quotes Iravunk as reporting: [The ambiguously sourced messages sent through diplomatic channels (read, the American Embassy in Armenia)] contained thinly veiled hints that if Armenia has decided to follow its northern neighbor’s example and derail the democratization process, then official Washington will publicize the names of those high-ranking officials who are deeply mired in the web of corruption and criminal business. It referred, first of all, to money laundering, of which trade in arms and drug trafficking are classical manifestations.
This unusually revealing report makes several things very clear:
1. It is clear what Washington is saying to Armenian politicians here: Do what we want or we’re going to smear you in ways that you’ve never dreamed of. I explicitly said this is how they operate in a comment under Onnik’s June 26 “Freedom House” thread: http://oneworld.blogsome.com/2007/06/26/media-concerns-in-cis/feed/
And now they have gone and confirmed it. Thank you.
2. It is equally clear how not corrupt the Armenian parliament remains, judging by the fact that, even under bald-faced, mafia-styled threats like this, not one of them voted against this perfectly routine and sane and measured bill. Ketse to the Armenian Parliament.
Mind you, I’m not saying that there is no corruption in Armenia, there is. And I’m not saying that this corruption should not be completely eliminated, it should. What I am saying is that this corruption should be challenged by native, Armenian-speaking, Armenian-funded organizations from inside Armenia. Not through the agency of a foreign intelligence service or the gazillion and a half NGOs now operating in Armenia doing god knows what kind of damage along with the occasional good that they do.
3. Please listen: It is in the interest of the current US administration to turn you against your own government or, at least, perpetually reserve the ability to do so. That is how they de-stabilize entire governments and make them unable to act in the interests of the people they represent. Just look at all the naive complaints against the Armenian government that are perpetually aired in English language Armenian blogs (much of the sources of which have been, unsurprisingly, Eurasia and RFE and the myriad of other “freedom” and “human rights” NGOs) . That’s not a coincidence.
That is why it is so important for you to stick with the people you have elected and support them; otherwise, they’re going to have to make the choice between caving-in to the Pentagon’s threats or loosing their careers and getting smeared. (Armenia must also strengthen its ties with its neighbors. UNITY internally, and UNITY abroad, but I’ll get to that)
4. I’m taking a what some would understandably call a hard line here for a good reason. You might be downing hitsun miligrams of oghi with your khorovadz, going to Bambir shows, enjoying hikes in the country and what not, but, pardon my French, you’re sitting on a fucking time-bomb over there. Less than 300 miles SouthWest of where you are located, some of the most important things in the world are happening right now. How everything works out there is going to determine whether you, and much of the rest of the world, is going to continue to enjoy your khorovadz or have to rapidly develop a taste for cardboard and green grass. I’ll explain what I mean in another post.
Comment by Armen Filadelfiatsi — July 6, 2007 @ 11:20 pm
** Ketse to the Armenian Parliament. **
That’s a first…
Comment by nazarian — July 7, 2007 @ 7:30 am
nazarian wrote: “** Ketse to the Armenian Parliament. **
That’s a first…
On this website, at least.
Comment by Armen Filadelfiatsi — July 7, 2007 @ 8:20 am
Armen, anyone who knows how things work here in Armenia realize that if RFE/RL was pushed off Public Radio, considerable pressure would be put on private radio stations not to sign any agreement with the station for nationwide transmission. At best, it was said that FM stations with limited coverage might take the broadcasts and at worst, RFE/RL would have to broadcast on SW. Either way, its reach would be severely limited.
Incidentally, most observers believe this is what happened when RFE/RL tried to start up its television show.
Anyway, I think the bill didn’t pass because a considerable amount of pressure was applied on the government behind close doors. However, when it comes to conspiracy theories, RFE/RL’s Press Review has more:
Comment by Onnik — July 7, 2007 @ 4:45 pm