On May 4 the representatives of the traffic police of Kotayk region of Armenia impeded the work of the shooting crew of “Aravot” TV channel. This was reported on May 5 by “Aravot” daily. On the eve of an opposition rally in the capital the TV journalists tried to check whether the complaints of citizens that the policemen restrict their freedom of movement on the main routes to Yerevan are true. According to “Aravot” daily, at the moment of shooting the car with the TV channel staff was stopped by the representatives of the Nairi Division of traffic police who called their boss to help. Arriving on site, the head of Nairi Division of traffic police Avetik Abrahamian, as the newspaper writes, first demanded the journalists to give him the tape and then made them erase the shots on it.
As it has been reported, “Aravot” TV company (previously “Kentron”) has changed its owner and name quite recently (see details in YPC Weekly Newsletter, April 23-29, 2004) and has taken a temporary time out till May 10, to go on air with a new image. In other words, “Aravot” TV has not as yet started its broadcasts, but the problems with law enforcement bodies already have.
