In the morning of May 20 the editorial office of private TV company "Ankyun+3" (Alaverdi, Lori region) was visited by the representatives of the Republican Telecommunication Center who sealed the transmitter and the outgoing cable of the TV company. According to the report filed by RTC, the operations of the channel were stopped for a number of reasons: for the failure to ensure the quality of the broadcasts, failure to air state programs, violation of the Governmental Resolution of 1999 (#694, Item 10). In the opinion of "Ankyun+3" head Sos Siradeghian, the interruption of the air was probably due to the broad and sensitive coverage of the recent events in Alaverdi that are related to the RA National Assembly election campaign. Notably, on May 15-19 tax revision was conducted at the editorial office, yet nothing illegitimate was revealed.
On May 21 the same representatives of RTC revisited the editorial office and removed the seal from the transmitter. According to the new RTC report, the air of "Ankyun+3" is resumed, however the company must modify the documentation that enables its daily two-hour broadcasts on the frequency of Public Television of Armenia in accordance with the existing legislation within 20 days.
Sos Siradeghian was unable to explain the true reasons for the incident. In his opinion, the resumption of "Ankyun+3" air is most probably due to the pressure exercised on the local authorities by the President’s Office, international and journalistic organizations.
