STATEMENT
Regarding the incident between the reporter of the “Aravot” daily and Khachatur Sukiasyan, MP, Civil Contract faction
On April 16, 2024, Hripsimeh Jebejyan, a reporter at “Aravot” daily and aravot.am, engaged in a conversation with Khachatur Sukiasyan, a deputy from the “Civil Contract” faction in the National Assembly, seeking his comments on various issues. This resulted in the latter accusing the journalist and the media, demonstrating disrespectful behavior.
In particular, in the midst of the debate, the journalist noted, among other things, that there exists a belief among citizens that “Khachatur Sukiasyan engaged in stealing and avoided paying taxes…” In response, the deputy hurled insults, alleging, “You, your parents, your relatives, your boss are all thieves…” Khachatur Sukiasyan then rudely urged the journalist to inquire with their media head, asking, “Mr. Chief, why were you being financed by the KGB for years? Was it for spreading lies, fabricating falsehoods against people, and destabilizing this country?” Afterwards, the deputy disclosed that in 1994 he had been approached to finance “Aravot”, but had later been told to stop, as the NSS, headed by Karlos Petrosyan, would take over funding.
Undoubtedly, this dialogue, which addresses various matters of public concern, could have been conducted with greater civility. It is evident that neither the journalist nor the deputy inclined toward that approach. Yet, while journalistic activity may involve asking sharp and even provocative questions to interviewees, prompting them to be candid, officials, especially deputies representing the ruling political force, are still expected to refrain from behaving inappropriately and aggressively, insulting journalists, their relatives and colleagues.
This incident further highlights the serious issues in official-journalist relations, particularly exemplified by the relationship between National Assembly deputies and journalists. We firmly believe that only offering principled public assessments of these challenges is the key to facilitating positive change.
Based on the above, we, the undersigned organizations, demand:
• deputy Khachatur Sukiasyan, to issue an apology to journalist Hripsimeh Jebejyan and “Aravot” daily. As for the financing of that editorial office by the National Security Agency, if the deputy possesses information about actions of any state institution beyond their mandate, he is free to provide relevant evidence to the appropriate authorities;
• the leadership of the National Assembly, to initiate discussions and undertake other effective measures to alleviate the existing tension between deputies and journalists, to create an environment of mutual respect, and facilitate the establishment of an ethics committee and structured procedures in the parliament to address any arising issues
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
YEREVAN PRESS CLUB
MEDIA INITIATIVES CENTER
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION CENTER
MEDIA DIVERSITY INSTITUTE-ARMENIA
PUBLIC JOURNALISM CLUB
JOURNALISTS’ CLUB “ASPAREZ”
“JOURNALISTS FOR THE FUTURE” NGO
“JOURNALISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS” NGO
GORIS PRESS CLUB
