ARMENIA

I.  Armenia to keep Russian TV channels. 

        Until the end of the year at least, Armenian viewers of the Russian ORT [Russian Public Television] and RTR [Russian Radio and Television] channels can rest assured that these channels are not under threat of being switched off, the Armenian post and communications minister, Artak Vardanyan, told the Armenian National Assembly [on 29th April].   
        He said that rebroadcasting of the two Russian TV channels had ceased in a number of CIS countries, as well as in Georgia, owing to the acute financial crisis.  The minister said negotiations with ORT on rebroadcasting had been completed.  As regards the Russia TV channel, the negotiations with that company have just started.   

Snark news agency, Yerevan, April 29, 1999 

II.  TV watchdog resigns ahead of elections.  

        Armenian Press Club chief Boris Navasardyan has announced his resignation as the government’s representative at the Armenian National Television, the Armenian news agency Snark reported on 28th April.  Navasardyan said he did not think conditions were right there to guarantee unbiased coverage of the 30th May parliamentary elections and that he could do little to influence it, the agency reported.   

Snark news agency, Yerevan, April 28, 1999 

III.  Armenian parties guaranteed access to state TV for elections.  

By Hrach Melkumian 

        Viewers of Armenian state television will soon be flooded with partisan propaganda as over two dozen parties and blocs step up preparations for the upcoming elections, each of them guaranteed at least three hours of air time. 
        According to a decision made by the Central Election Commission (CEC) last week, each of the contenders is entitled to 60 minutes of air time free of charge and two hours at the knock-down price of $5 per minute.  A total of 21 groups have applied for electoral registration and are all expected to be included in the ballots for the proportional representation. 
        The CEC rejected on [on 20th April] a motion to provide time quotas also for candidates running under the more important majoritarian system.  More than 800 candidates are contesting 75 seats in the 131-member parliament.  The majority of CEC members argued that the needs of the individual candidates will be best served by local commercial channels broadcasting over a limited area.  The state television has been criticized for a pro-government bias and discrimination against opposition parties during the previous elections. 
        The May 30 vote will be covered by a substantially higher number of private television companies that have sprung up since 1997.  Nevertheless, the state television continues to have the largest audience being accessible throughout the country.  The election campaign officially begins on [18th April]. 

RFE/RL Armenia Report, April 20, 1999 

IV.  MPs protest against TV censorship.  

        The National Democratic Union [NDU], Shamiram and Republic parliamentary factions and the Ayrenik (Motherland) group of deputies have signed a joint decision proposing that all factions and groups should be able to choose a topic of conversation for the “Parliamentary Hour” programme broadcast by the Armenian national television every Sunday, and that addresses shorter than three minutes should not to be cut.  That is what a representative of the Ayrenik groups Armen Kirakosyan, told a briefing on 1st April. . . .   
        The decision was caused by the fact that during the latest issue of the “Parliamentary Hour” programme the address by NDU representative Arshak Sadoyan was cut and the address by the Ayrenik group representative Eduard Yegoryan was completely cut off.   In that address, Yegoryan called upon the people to gather outside parliament on 29th March in support of the initiative by some MPs to freeze electric power tariffs.   
        Kirakosyan also said that up to now topics of addresses had been selected jointly with parliament chairman Khosrov Arutyunyan.  According to Kirakosyan, the parliament chairman, who is in Paris at the moment, gave an instruction that in the next “Parliamentary Hour” programme groups and factions should talk only about interparliamentary relations, and this caused indignation among the MPs.   

Noyan Tapan news agency, Yerevan, April 2, 1999

Last Updated: 11/20/99

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