On June 22-23 in Yerevan "Practices of Applying Broadcast Legislation in Armenia" conference was held. The conference was organized by Yerevan Press Club, the Council of Europe and the RA Ministry of Foreign Affairs with the assistance of OSCE Office in Yerevan and Internews Armenia.
The participants – the leaders of broadcast media, journalists, representatives of the RA state structures and international organizations, broadcast law experts – discussed such issues as the compliance of Armenian legislation with European standards, the requirements to the content of the TV and radio programs, frequency assignment principles, etc.
Presentations were made by Head of Legal Services of UK Radio Authority Eve Salomon, the Chairman of the RA NA Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture and Youth Issues Shavarsh Kocharian, the Administrative Officer of the Media Division of CE Directorate General of Human Rights Pall Thorhallsson, the Chairman of the RA National Commission on Television and Radio Grigor Amalian, Director of "Ardzagank" radio station Eghishe Petrosian, Director of Strategy of Hungarian National Radio and Television Commission Mark Lengyel, the Chairman of the Armenian Helsinki Committee Avetik Ishkhanian.
The urgency of the subjects discussed at the conference is to be accounted for by the ongoing criticism of Armenian broadcast legislation, on the one hand and on the other – by the serious, as a number of experts believe, violations of this legislation. The first experience of the radio frequency assignment through competitions in Armenia was followed by court litigations related to the license refusal to "A1+" and "Noyan Tapan" TV companies. The debates call for civilized settlement, and the conference offered a floor to all the parties concerned to express their ideas, hear the opinions of the local and foreign experts, try and find a way out of the conflict situation.
Unfortunately, not all the invitees were ready for a constructive dialogue. If the Chairman of the appropriate Parliament Committee Shavarsh Kocharian and the RA Deputy Minister of Justice Ashot Abovian were willing to discuss the problems inherent in the broadcast area, the head of the National Commission on Television and Radio Grigor Amalyan confined himself to a presentation and took no part in the subsequent discussions.
As the President of Yerevan Press Club Boris Navasardian mentioned when summing up the conference, to overcome the crisis formed the Armenian authorities must make several apparent steps. They are mentioned, in particular, in the report of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Freimut Duve of June 20 (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, June 15-21, 2002). One can judge how committed the authorities are to the European democratic standards and the freedom of expression principles by whether these steps will ensue.
