On March 4 in Yerevan a seminar titled “Independent Media and Conflict Resolution in the South Caucasus” was held. The seminar was organized by the German Friedrich Naumann Foundation in cooperation with Yerevan Press Club. At the seminar presentations were made by: Dr. Wolfgang John, the Project Advisor of Friedrich Naumann Foundation for the South Caucasus, Bulgaria and Romania, who introduced the participants to the projects of the Foundation in South Caucasus; Mesrop Harutyunyan, YPC expert, who spoke about the situation with the Armenian media and their role in the domestic politics; Michael Link, the Assistant of Dr. Klaus Kinkel, currently the head of the faction of Free Democratic Party of Germany in Bundestag, who remarked on the media legal regulation; Boris Navasardian, YPC President, who described the activities of Yerevan Press Club, also the projects aimed at regional cooperation.
The seminar participants also discussed the urgent issues of great concern to journalistic community: the situation around the draft law “On Mass Communication”, the proceedings on the suit of HSBC-Armenia versus “Golos Armenii” and “Yerkir” newspapers, the criminal proceedings against the Chief Editor of “Haikakan Zhamanak” Nikol Pashinian.
The representative of Friedrich Naumann Foundation Dr. Wolfgang John informed that starting from March this year his organization begins to operate in Armenia directly.
