Epress.am News from Armenia
The situation regarding freedom of speech and violations of the rights of journalists and media in Armenia, according to the most recent quarterly report by the Yerevan-based Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression (CPFE), can be considered to be moderately tense, since compared to the first quarter of this year, a drop in the number of incidents of pressure against media and media representatives has been noticed. At the same time, there have been incidents of physical assault, which was not the case in Jan. to Mar., said CPFE Chair Ashot Melikyan who presented the findings of the Committee’s Apr.–Jun. report to reporters in Yerevan today.
Since 2010, the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression has been providing interim quarterly reports on the situation of the freedom of expression in Armenia, violations of rights of media and journalists, including legislative changes, recommendations and procedures regulating the field, the economic environment and its influence on the media.
There were no incidents of physical assault against journalists in the first quarter of 2011, whereas there were 2 incidents in the second quarter, said Melikyan. “On Apr. 21, according to the daily Hraparak, chair of the Zinvor Association of NGOs Margarita Khachatryan demanded an answer for the news piece ‘Has there been a beating?’ In particular, she attacked [Hraparak] editor Armine Ohanyan and caused bodily injuries.”
The report also notes another incident in which bodily harm was caused to a journalist, this time in the Hrazdan Stadium. According to TotalFootball.am, members of head coach of Yerevan’s Ararat team Arkadi Andreasyan’s convoy beat up photojournalist Ashot Arushanyan on Apr. 23.
As for pressure on the media and media representatives, in the first quarter of 2011, there were 15 incidents as compared to 6 incidents in the second quarter.
Melikyan further notes that, according to the findings of the second quarterly report of 2011, there were 2 violations of the right to receive and disseminate information, which is two more than the first quarter of this year.
“Compared to the countries in the region and the CIS [Commonwealth of Independent States], the situation of freedom of speech in Armenia is better than in Azerbaijan and a little bit worse than in Georgia. As for among the CIS, I have to say that those most ahead are the Baltic states, which are not in the CIS. Among the former Soviet countries, the best conditions can be found there. Among the CIS, Ukraine and Georgia media are partially free, while media in the rest of the countries are among those not free,” he said.