On February 28 Internews Armenia public organization hosted a press conference, where it voiced its concern over the situation with freedom of expression in Armenia, formed during the presidential elections. The statement of Chief of Party of Internews William Kanter mentioned, in particular, the pressure on media exercised during the pre-election campaign and the ballot day. These incidents are a serious setback to the progress of civil society in Armenia, development of free, unbiased and objective media, William Kanter stressed. The presence of pressure on journalists, the address says, "serves to enhance the existing atmosphere of fear in the society and hampers the dissemination of free and unbiased information".
At the meeting with journalists the appeal of Internews Armenia to the Armenian broadcasters was disseminated. The appeal says:
"Elections have always been a test of the mass media’s professionalism. A number of qualities are tested – the ability to respond quickly to the events, the impartiality and objectivity of journalists, honesty and loyalty to the principles of journalism, and willingness for solidarity. The Armenian media, broadcasters in particular, did not pass the test in February 2003. We were not able to pass our common test. Every time we switched the channels we could only find biased information and feel a sense of shame. We got confused, realising that the reality is not being reflected in an adequate way. We are too naive to expect information, getting nothing but biased comments in most cases. We depend on anybody you can think of, instead of depending on our viewers and listeners, neither abiding by the commandments of journalism and norms of ethics, nor even the rules of business. We don’t implement our social functions, we don’t separate information from comments, we don’t care for pluralism of opinions, and we present the facts selectively. We are not objective and we are biased. We are exposed to any kinds of pressures and we give in to them. We have achieved unprecedented levels of self-censorship. We sell ourselves easily and nonchalantly. We have fears and we are scared. We try to protect ourselves from everything and, as a result, turn out to be absolutely unprotected. We view with irony the standards of Western journalism, violating the basic human rules. We cover up our actions by talking about the good of the nation while doing everything to completely lose its trust. We contribute to the crisis in the society in every way, without creating conditions for constructive dialogue. We have lessened the value of the profession of journalism, gradually losing the freedom of speech that we had gained with such difficulty. We conclude deals with politicians and circumstances. We try to turn time back, losing the feeling of reality. We stopped calling ourselves independent long ago, gradually ceasing to be free.
However, this is not our last chance, yet. The chance to get back impartiality, objectivity, awareness of the facts and to remain in touch with reality, as well as the chance to gain back the trust of our audience and sometime, in the very near future, become firmly established as a Fourth Estate.
Internews is seriously concerned about freedom of speech in Armenia. We feel our responsibility for the situation in the mass media and are always ready to provide any help that is within our power. We are aware of the complexity of the situation and the circumstances that impose pressures upon the media. In defiance of the situation, we urge all journalists and the media to arm themselves with courage and objectivity for these last difficult, days of the electoral campaign, and ponder over their responsibility towards the public, which is ensuring the rights of people to get accurate and balanced information.
This is an appeal to all the media, broadcasters in particular, regardless of their orientation, political preferences and sources of financing. The appeal is open to anybody who wants to hear it and join us."
Yerevan Press Club joins the appeal of Internews Armenia.
