National Press Club called on the authorities not to introduce the draft law "On Mass Communication" to the consideration of the RA National Assembly on the eve of presidential and parliamentary elections. In the opinion of the organization, the consideration of the document must be postponed since during the pre-election period any modification of the existing law or the adoption of a new one will not contribute to the establishment of freedom of speech and democracy – the values "that Armenia has declared and confirmed in its commitments to the Council of Europe".
As it has been reported, the modified version of the draft "On Mass Communication" was approved by the Government on November 7 and is currently being discussed by media and journalistic associations of the country (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, November 9-15, 2002).
According to one of the authors of the draft law, the Deputy Minister of Justice Ashot Abovian, one of these days the document was introduced to the Parliament.
