“THERE IS NO PLURALISM IN ARMENIA”
Support A1+!“Armenia lacks pluralism,” “Hanrapetutiun” (Republican) Party member Suren Sureniants said at today’s discussion on freedom of mass media organised by the National Press Club (NPC).
Sureniants underscored three exponents when speaking of the level of Armenian mass media-the nature of power, legislative base and finances.
“Free press is the most formidable enemy of the authorities,” he said and added that our authorities avoid having free media.
“It doesn’t matter in autoritarian countries whether the laws are good or bad. I don’t even want to refer to the recent amendments to the Law on “Mass Media”. The amendments have nothing to do with the law. It could otherwise be called a “ban on A1+'s transmission. Under the disputed amendments no tender for television and radio frequencies will be announced in the country by 2011. Consequently, A1+ will not return to the air by then.”
Once there isn't financial independence in the country we cannot speak of freedom of mass media. Apparently, TV Companies are fully controlled by the Government. Press is comparatively independent but it has less influence on the society,” he said.
ARF Dashnaktustiun member Ruzan Arakelian disagreed with her opponents saying pluralism hasn't topped out to please the society, intelligentsia and journalists in Armenia.
President of A1+ Company, Mesrop Movsesyan, agreed with Sureniants. “The information field is leveled to the ground. If the main problem lies in digitization it implies numerous opportunities. At present, we are studying the materials at hand. Soon we shall prove that the whole field is sold and every tender is excluded.
YPS member Narine Dilbarian says there is neither pluralism nor freedom of expression in Armenia. There is only deep polarization. “Press has become a PR tool.”
