Epress.am News from Armenia
On Jun. 10, 2011, Resolution CM/ResDH(2011)39 on execution of the Jun. 17, 2008 judgment of the European Court of Human Rights on the case of Meltex LLC versus Republic of Armenia was released. The Resolution was adopted at the Jun. 8, 2011 Meeting of the Ministers’ Deputies by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, according to a statement released by Yerevan Press Club on Monday and signed by 15 local NGOs (listed below).
“In the Resolution, the CoE Committee of Ministers announced its decision to close the examination of the case of A1+ TV company founder, Meltex LLC. Our organizations have examined thoroughly the Resolution and all the relative circumstances, perhaps this is why this statement is adopted and released with a delay.
“We are convinced that the Committee of Ministers rendered a decision on the closure of the TV company’s case having neither sufficient legal nor other grounds for it.
“The facts and the circumstances cited in the annex of this statement manifest that the Armenian authorities did not take any measures to restore the violated right of Meltex LLC/A1+ TV company to freely impart information and ideas. Moreover, the comparison of these facts and circumstances admit that A1+ has been persistently restricted to return on air.
“On one side, the CoE Committee of Ministers Resolution stresses that over and above the payment of just satisfaction, the respondent state where appropriate should take individual measures to put an end to the violations and erase their consequences so as to achieve as far as possible restitutio in integrum. However, on the other side, the Resolution ignores the fact that the rights of Meltex LLC have not been restored anyway.
“We regret to state that decisions like the one passed by the CoE Committee of Ministers free the hands of the authorities, justify their interventions against freedom of expression, reduce the performance of the efforts made by many local and international organizations towards the promotion of democratic values in the country.
“We regard this Resolution as running counter to the aims for which the structures, engaged in the supervision of the execution of the European Court of Human Rights decisions, are formed. We call upon the CoE Committee of Ministers to implement the procedures under its competence in line with the priorities and values proclaimed by the Council of Europe,” reads the statement.
In a lengthy annex attached to the statement, NGOs dispute the reasons the CoE Committee of Ministers provided for closing the A1+ case:
“As one of the reason for closure of A1+ case the CoE Committee of Ministers alleges the process of reforming the Armenian broadcast legislation. Meanwhile, the abovementioned 2010 amendments to the RA Law on Television and Radio were strongly criticized by international organizations, local and foreign experts. In defiance of natural expectations on increased opportunities for broadcasters due to the digitalization process, the amendments provided for an abrupt decrease in number of Armenian TV channels. At the same time, despite the numerous demands, including CoE experts’ recommendations, the RA Government did not release the results of the broadcast frequencies audit, which would allow to judge about the validity of reducing frequencies put up for the competitions. Respectively, these amendments only limit the chances of A1+ for getting a license. The results of the initiated later work on new amendments to the broadcast law remain unclear. Anyway they will be procrastinated as the competitions have already been held in line with the current legislation.
“In view of the above, the Resolution… does not conform with the resolutions of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, including Resolutions 1620(2008), 1643(2009), 1677(2009)1, where the CoE has repeatedly urged the Armenian authorities to ensure open, fair and transparent licensing competitions.
“The Committee of Ministers’ Resolution disregards the report of Thomas Hammarberg, Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, released on May 9, 2011. The latter, highlighting the reasoning provided by the National Commission on Television and Radio on the results of competition No.11 between A1+ and ArmNews TV companies, noted: ‘The methodology used to assess the bids was problematic and it affected the credibility of the tender.’
“The Committee of Ministers’ Resolution cannot be positively perceived by the public as it radically contradicts to the assessments made by many prominent organizations regarding competition No.11. Thus,… Human Rights Watch assessed the competition as another setback for freedom of expression and information in Armenia. While,… Freedom House considered the thirteenth denial of A1+ lawful request for a license as a slap in the face to advocates of free media everywhere. ”
Signed by:
Yerevan Press Club
Internews Media Support NGO
Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression
Asparez Journalists’ Club of Gyumri
Media Diversity Institute-Armenia
Investigative Journalists NGO
Journalists for the Future NGO
Vanadzor Press Club
Vanadzor Branch of Helsinki Citizen’s Assembly
Helsinki Committee of Armenia
Transparency International Anti-Corruption Center
Open Society Foundations-Armenia
Krtutyan Asparez NGO
Menk Plus NGO
Shirak Kentron (or Shirak Center) NGO