As it was previously reported, on April 10 17 Armenian media made a statement which, in particular, condemned the efforts of “certain political forces” to shift the problem of “A1+” to a political plane, and emphasized that “the freedom of speech in Armenia is not violated” and “proper conditions are in place for the media to operate” (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, April 6-12, 2002).
On April 15, 18 media and journalistic associations of the country, including “A1+”, passed a response statement. The address says in particular that by means of the leaders of 17 media “the authorities aim at finally destroying the journalistic solidarity, introduce a split into the information field and set media against each other”. Having emphasized that the unwanted media do experience pressure from authorities, the parties to the statement confirmed their readiness to continue protecting the freedom of speech in Armenia, to oppose any attempts of introducing censorship. "We call upon all our colleagues not to become a playing card of the authorities and jointly fight against the restrictions of freedom of speech”, the statement of “18” says.
The address is open for signatures.
