On February 28 the Board of the Writers Union of Armenia discussed the draft law “On Mass Communication” developed by the RA Ministry of Justice and approved by the Government, and adopted a statement. Emphasizing that the draft is a retreat from the achievements of freedom of speech of the recent years, the Board of the Writers Union mentioned in its statement: “The introduction of post-censorship in the draft law means an attempt to restore the Soviet Glavlit, the negative effect of which, we, the writers, have felt the most. The provision on licensing the communication activities, honoraria to the officials for interviews, the inappropriate restrictions on information receipt are unacceptable.”
Having joined the statement by the media and journalistic associations of the country (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, February 16-22, 2002), the Writers Union called upon the Government to refrain from submitting the draft to the consideration of the Parliament and develop a new draft with the participation of organizations concerned and journalists, a draft that would be in accord with the modern requirements and democratic values.
