On September 23 the international human rights organization “Freedom House” published an annual global survey of political rights and civil liberties in the world in 2003.
According to “Freedom House” assessment, in terms of guaranteeing political rights and civil liberties Armenia is classed as partly free country. The report of the organization pays attention to the press freedom as well. In particular, while quoting negative examples of rights infringement, “Freedom House” notes the failure of the National Commission on Television and Radio to grant “A1+” TV company a broadcast license on April 2, 2002. The journalistic community and opposition, as “Freedom House” stresses, qualified the closure of “A1+” as “a politically motivated decision, aiming at establishing control over the media coverage in the run-up to the 2003 presidential and parliamentary elections”. In 2003, as the report says, all the bids by “A1+” to gain a broadcast license were rejected.
According to another “Freedom House” report on press freedom in the world in 2003, the Armenian media remained not free, having first joined this category in 2002 (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, April 30 – May 6, 2004).
