On April 19 the Presidents of the World Association of Newspapers Seok Hyun Hong and the World Editors Forum Gloria Brown Anderson addressed a statement to the RA President Robert Kocharian. The letter voiced concern over the events of April 5 and in the early morning of April 13 that resulted in violence towards the journalists who were covering the situation (see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter, April 2-8, 2004 and April 9-15, 2004).
The heads of the organizations uniting 18,000 publications of 100 countries ask the Armenian President to ensure that a thorough investigation into the incidents is conducted and to do everything possible for the journalists to exercise their professional activities unimpeded.
"We respectfully remind you that it is the duty of the state to provide an environment in which journalists are able to carry out their professional duties without fear of intimidation. Such incidents foster a climate of fear that inhibits journalistic investigation and can promote self-censorship”, the letter by the heads of WAN and WEF stresses and a hope for the quickest possible response of the Armenian President is expressed.
On April 16 the statement of Armenian Assembly of America was released, where the need of a dialogue between the authorities and the opposition of Armenia is emphasized. AAA also urges the Armenian authorizes to “take resolute steps to protect journalists from interference and violence as they perform their professional duties“.
