On June 20 Freimut Duve, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, introduced his regular report to the OSCE Permanent Council. The section of the report on Armenia reads:
"For the first time an adviser from my Office visited Armenia, where he met with government officials (from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice), parliamentarians, journalists and representatives from the NGO community. My adviser focused on the general media situation in Armenia as well as on two specific cases: the TV companies "Noyan Tapan" that was taken off the air last year, and "A1+" that lost its licence this April. Although, in general, freedom of the media does exist in Armenia, several worrying developments have raised some questions regarding the government’s commitment to the fundamental right of freedom of expression.
"A1+" was the only broadcaster that basically provided air-time to all parties and movements in the highly politicised climate that exists in Armenia: opposition leaders, intellectuals, journalists were able to speak and debate on “A1+”. Now this television station, one of the most popular in the country, is off the air replaced by nothing. According to several experts, including Shavarsh Kocharyan, the Chairman of the Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture and Youth Affairs of the National Assembly, that also dealt with media matters, "A1+" lost its licence (although an existing broadcaster, it had to bid for its own frequency after its licence expired) in violation of several provisions of the Law on Television and Radio Broadcasting. The company that won the licence, "Sharm", has not yet started broadcasting and under current legislation, can wait for six months after receiving it licence to start doing so. As a result, a popular TV station is no longer on air. The public reacted with anger to this closure and one of the largest demonstrations in recent years was held in Yerevan in defence of "A1+". The TV station has already unsuccessfully challenged its case in courts and may well go to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. What can be done to rectify this situation?
First, I believe that the Armenian government should conduct a new tender for existing and non-used frequencies, that could be held as soon as possible, preferably this summer, and "A1+" and "Noyan Tapan" should be encouraged to participate. For the time being, the authorities can easily introduce an amendment to the current Law allowing a TV company that has lost its licence to continue broadcasting until the new licensee is ready to replace it. Second, the Law on Radio and Television should be amended. Here the Council of Europe is actively involved in providing counseling and my Office will also look at ways to assist the government and the National Assembly in this endeavour.
Third, the current draft Media Law, that is being discussed publicly, should be thoroughly analysed by international experts before being submitted to the National Assembly for approval.
One of the representatives of the NGO community stressed to my adviser that "If the government is allowed to get away with closing down "A1+", it will then start pressuring the print media. They are next." For the sake of Armenia and human rights in that country, I hope his pessimistic prediction will not become reality. And it is up to the authorities to prove him wrong.”
