On February 14 the RA President Robert Kocharian signed a decree of appointing
Stepan Poghosian and Henrik Hovhannissian to be the members of the Council of
Public TV and Radio Company with a six-year term of service each. The competition
for the two vacancies in the PTRC Council was announced on January 20 and held
on February 7 by the competition commission, formed by the President of Armenia.
According to the notice published by the commission on February 16, it presented
the winners of the competition to the head of the state along with a written
justification for the selection, proceeding from which Robert Kocharian appointed
Stepan Poghosian and Henrik Hovhannissian to the position of the PTRC Council
members. The choice of the commission was grounded on the circumstance that
“Stepan Poghosian and Henrik Hovhannissian, as compared to other applicants,
are much more adequate to the criteria stipulated by the law”. In particular,
it was noted that “the winners have scientific degrees, are authors of dozens
of monographs and articles, have a rich biography and a long-year work experience,
including activity as members of the Council of the Public TV and Radio Company
in 2001-2005”.
YPC Comment: It should be noted that the arts critic
Henrik Hovhannissian and Stepan Poghosian, who had been heading the State Committee
on Television and Radio of Armenia for many years, are certainly well-established
professionals and enjoy the respect of the society. In other words, the fact
that the competition commission has selected these reputable people, thus enabling
them to continue their activity as PTRC Council members, is beyond question.
However, there is another circumstance of extreme concern. The competition for
the vacancies in the PTRC Council was held for the first time in accordance
with amendments to the RA Law “On Television and Radio” adopted in December
2003. According to these changes, the data on the candidates for the positions
of PTRC Council members were to be published in the mass media. This did not
happen: the public did not learn anything no only about the data of the candidates,
but even who they are. Were there other nominees in the competition besides
Stepan Poghosian and Henrik Hovhannissian? If so, who are they? This is not
only a matter of violating the broadcast law. The very first competition revealed
the invalidity of the assurances made by higher officials that the formation
of the broadcast regulatory bodies through a competition will ensure their transparency.
This is what the Council of Europe hoped for, too, upon the recommendation of
which, again, as our authorities urged, this new procedure for vacancy filling
was adopted. To spare space, we will not repeat ourselves as always, saying
that the whole mechanism of the broadcast regulatory bodies’ formation has nothing
to do with democracy and transparency. There is only one thing transparent:
the competition held is an imitation of democratic procedures. The show is going
on.
