Epress.am News from Armenia
Council of Europe expert Eve Salomon has been coming to Armenia since 2002 to advise stakeholders and government officials on broadcasting law. She has been doing international consultancy work for 10 years and “no country has taken as long as Armenia to get it right.”
It seems Armenia still hasn’t gotten it right since Salomon is here again not as a tourist, as she would like, but as an advisor.
Over 50 local media professionals, international experts and European delegates were gathered this weekend at the Armenian resort town of Tsaghkadzor for the first media freedom forum organized by the RA Human Rights Defender’s office.
Among those present were British Ambassador to Armenia Charles Lonsdale, US Ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch, head of the EU delegation to Armenia Raul de Luzenberger, German Ambassador to Armenia Hans-Jochen Schmidt, head of the OSCE office in Yerevan Sergey Kapinos, and of course, Armenian Human Rights Defender Karen Andreasyan who opened the conference.
The first half of Saturday was spent on welcoming remarks and a brief introduction by members of the Media Law Working Group (chaired by Andreasyan) which has drafted a draft law “On Making Amendments and Additions to the RA Law on Television and Radio.” It seems there was an expectation of feedback from journalists present regarding the bill; however, as many had not had a chance to read the proposed amendments, there wasn’t much discussion that could take place.
During the second half of the day, Director of the Moscow-based Media Law & Policy Centre and member of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) Dr. Andrei Richter and Eve Salomon spoke of the independence of overseeing bodies and regulatory processes in broadcasting.
Salomon, though welcoming the initiative of this forum and the working group, said improvements are still needed.
For instance, Salomon pointed out that “all members of [Armenia’s] NCTR [National Commission on Television and Radio] were appointed either by the National Assembly or by the president through processes that were opaque.” There is a need for laws that limit the president’s ultimate constitution of power, she added.
Salomon also noted the importance of independent broadcasting regulatory authorities, saying they should be independent from the industry and politics.
However, “independence doesn’t mean that NCTR candidates have to be liked… they have to be free from political influences and the broadcasters they regulate,” she said.
On the process of broadcasters moving from analog to digital, and referencing the recent broadcast licensing competitions in Armenia, Salomon said, “As we move toward a multi-channel world, a license just means that if you are broadcasting you have to comply with technical and content standards and not pass all sorts of hurdles of choice in order to be allowed to broadcast in the first place.”
The Council of Europe expert mentioned that an Armenian law that doesn’t allow for any new licenses for 10 years is “unduly restricting.”
Back on the topic of the proposed amendments to the law on TV and radio, Special Representative of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe to Armenia Silvia Zehe said one of the main goals for the current review of legislation was to increase plurality in the media.
A US Embassy representative raised the issue of a lack of transparency by stating that on Sept. 30, 2010, they were promised a frequency audit would be released by the NCTR within a month. Months later, it still hasn’t been released. Why? Neither the NCTR representative present at the forum nor a Media Law Working Group member could respond and instead, deferred to the Ministry of Economy.
Topics on the forum agenda tomorrow include journalistic ethics and provisions on defamation and insult in Armenia’s legislation — hopefully they will be more interesting and fruitful than today’s sessions.
Note, the Media Law Working Group awaits proposals and observations regarding the draft law till May 15 to be included in an overall package to be presented to judicial authorities for review.