In the early morning of May 3 the aircraft flying Yerevan-Sochi crashed during
the landing. The participants of the round table, held on May 3 at the Journalists
Union of Armenia, commemorated the victims of the crash, expressed their condolences
to the families of the deceased.
The event dedicated to the World Press Freedom Day was organized by Yerevan
Press Club, Journalists Union of Armenia, Internews and the Committee to Protect
Freedom of Expression.
At the round table the four journalistic associations announced the establishment
of a joint annual award “The Time for Freedom of Press” to celebrate May 3.
The first awardee was the Chief Editor of “Aravot” daily Aram Abrahamian – for
a series of articles under “Armenia-2020” heading, published on the Saturday
issues of the daily. Aram Abrahamian received a certificate and a gift of watch.
At the event also a joint statement was presented, saying:
“Yerevan Press Club, Journalists Union of Armenia, Internews and the Committee
to Protect Freedom of Expression welcome the tradition established in the country
to widely celebrate the World Press Freedom Day, when the enormous role of the
media in the development of democracy, strengthening of civil society, ensuring
the rule of law, enhancement of international cooperation and security is stressed.
The upcoming years define a number of important tasks for Armenia, the achievement
of which conditions the development and prosperity of the country. These include
the conductance of free and fair elections, effective actions against poverty
and corruption, implementation of major international programs under European
Neighborhood Policy and the Millennium Challenge Account, real progress in the
resolution of Karabagh conflict, use of the regional integration potential,
etc.
The guarantees for freedom of expression and the existence of strong independent
media are the most important factors determining the fulfillment of the tasks
above. In this regard our organizations think the following directions of our
activities to be priorities:
– Reformation of the legislation on media (first and foremost, television and
radio), the need for which is imposed by the amended RA Constitution. Despite
the fact that we have repeatedly expressed our discontent by the depth of the
amendments to the Constitution, that refer to media, we think it possible and
expedient to make the reform more profound by the improvement of separate laws;
– Enhancement of the role of press in the fight against corruption, human rights
violations calls for the greater legal protection of the journalists themselves,
the insurance of their unobstructed access to official information, the elimination
of possible imprisonment for libel and insult, increased responsibility of the
authorities for the hindrance of the professional activities of journalists.
In this regard lobbying of a number of legislative initiatives and practical
steps are envisaged;
– The assistance to wide-scale, open and free political debate and impartial
coverage as a necessary condition for democratic elections. Taking into account
the exceptional influence of the TV air on political processes as well as the
special mission of the Public Television of Armenia it is necessary to avoid
the repetition of biased coverage on the pre-election campaign by most TV channels,
including PTA, in 2007-2008. Our organizations will do their best to help the
appearance of such programs on the TV air, particularly, on the Public Television,
that would assist the citizens in making a free and informed choice;
– Information support to the programs of European Neighborhood Policy and Millennium
Challenge Account, the process of thorough reformation, economic development
and eradication of poverty. Their success will be largely dependent on the effective
public control, elimination of imitational activities and waste of resources.
We will be contributing to the professional and consistent reporting on all
the stages of the program implementation and to close cooperation of media with
the interested and competent representatives of the civil society;
– Creation of conditions for a wide press coverage of the possibilities for
the resolution of Karabagh conflict, overcoming other regional problems and
activation of European integration processes in the South Caucasus. To this
effect various forms of dialogue and information exchange with the colleagues
from the neighbor countries are to be used, the trends of mutual isolation and
“cold war” methods are to be opposed;
– Increase of transparency and impartiality of the activities of the National
Commission on Television and Radio, the trust to which, as to a broadcast regulatory
body, has reduced significantly, in particular, after the competitions it held
with unsuccessful participation of “A1+” and “Noyan Tapan” TV companies. Our
organizations will be advocating the involvement of independent experts in the
bid consideration with a consultative vote, as stipulated by the RA Law “On
Television and Radio”;
– Introduction and observation of norms of professional journalism by the establishment
and development of self-regulation institutes and media accountability systems,
such as Press Council, inner ombudsman, ethical codes, etc.
We call on the journalistic community, colleagues to unite efforts and to coordinate
joint actions to meet the targets above, leading to strengthening of freedom
of expression and media in Armenia.”
