US embassy cable - 04YEREVAN1119

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 YEREVAN 001119 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/PPD-MLOGSDON AND SRUEDY, EUR/CACEN- 
ESIDEREAS, EUR, EUR/ACE, EUR/SNEC, EUR/SE 
 
E.O. 12958; N/A 
TAGS: OPRC, PGOV, PREL, KPAO, AM 
SUBJECT: "CELEBRATION" OF WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY IN 
ARMENIA 
 
 
1.  SUMMARY: Competing media organizations sponsored 
several events on Monday, May 3, in observance of World 
Press Freedom Day.  Generally critical of the 
government of Armenia, the events also revealed a 
certain amount of intramural hard feelings in the world 
of Armenian journalism.  The U.S. Embassy contribution 
stressed a free press as a cornerstone of democracy and 
continued U.S. support for the development of a free 
press in Armenia. END SUMMARY 
 
YEREVAN PRESS CLUB-LED ROUNDTABLE 
 
2. "Partnership for Open Society," a coalition of media 
organizations and NGOs that support a free press in 
Armenia, sponsored a noon-time roundtable featuring 
Boris Navasardyan, president of the Yerevan Press Club, 
as master of ceremonies.  Other panelists included the 
DCM, whose remarks stressed traditional U.S. support 
for freedom of the press and continued engagement in 
the development of a free press in Armenia. 
 
3. Other speakers on the panel took a much more 
critical stance.  The German ambassador, stating that 
he represented the European Union (as Ireland, 
currently the president of the EU, does not have an 
embassy in Armenia), pointed out that the GOAM had 
undertaken certain commitments on becoming a member of 
the Council of Europe, and that recent government 
actions had called into doubt whether the GOAM was 
capable of living up to those commitments.  The UN 
Department of Public Information representative read 
the message of the Secretary General of the UN, while 
the UNDP representative strongly criticized the GOAM 
for going backwards on press freedom in recent months. 
The chairwoman of the Armenian parliament's Standing 
Committee on Science, Education, Culture and Youth 
Issues, Hranoush Hakobian, read a slightly exculpatory 
statement arguing that cooperation between the 
legislature and the media resulted in the new law "On 
Mass Communication."  The Country Manager of the World 
Bank Armenia Office's statement at times appeared to 
criticize the GOAM, but tended to veer into self- 
criticism for not more effectively publicizing World 
Bank programs in Armenia. 
 
4. The chairwoman of the Union of Journalists of 
Armenia (UJA) concluded the panel by reading out a bill 
of particulars against the GOAM, calling on the Freedom 
House 2003 report for further evidence that the 
Armenian media is not free.  The UJA statement 
criticized the government for criminalizing libel, 
refusing to provide a broadcast license to the 
television station A1+, not preventing or investigating 
attacks on journalists, and for police attacks against 
journalists in the course of recent demonstrations. 
 
RALLY IN SUPPORT OF A1+ 
 
5. Also on May 3, about 150 people participated in a 
rally and demonstration in support of A1+, marching 
from the House of Press to Charles Aznavour Square. 
The journalists repeated their demands that the GOAM 
hold broadcasting licensing competitions for the as-yet- 
unassigned television frequencies, and to include 
representatives of public organizations on the board 
that evaluates the bids. 
 
NATIONAL PRESS CLUB EVENT 
 
6. Later in the day, the National Press Club held its 
own World Press Freedom Day event which featured an 
"Enemy of the Press" award ceremony.  "Winners" 
included President Robert Kocharian, who was named an 
Enemy of the Press for the third year in a row; this 
year Kocharian was cited for signing the law "On Mass 
Communication" and for failing to pursue cases against 
those who commit violence against journalists. 
Hranoush Hakobian (see paragraph 3 above) was also 
named as an Enemy of the Press for passage of the law 
"On Mass Communication."  (COMMENT: The president of 
the National Press Club had her own draft of the law, 
which was actually more restrictive than the final 
result.  However, she appears to have decided that 
anyone who worked on or supported the law as it now 
stands is opposed to a free press - see especially the 
next nominee.  END COMMENT) Boris Navasardyan, 
president of the Yerevan Press Club, also earned a 
nomination for an Enemy of the Press award (for his 
work on the current law "On Mass Communication"), but 
didn't garner enough votes to be declared an enemy. 
Interestingly, although there were a number of 
nominations for Friend of the Press, no one received 
enough votes to win that designation. 
 
7. The participants also criticized the GOAM in line 
with the Yerevan Press Club roundtable above, and 
issued their own statement in support of television 
station A1+. 
 
8. COMMENT.  It is generally recognized that the GOAM 
has significant control over the political news 
broadcast on television, either through direct 
ownership (national public TV), ownership of stations 
by friends of the current administration, or by self- 
censorship among the rest of the broadcasters (taking 
their lesson from what happened to A1+ and Noyan Tapan 
TV stations).  The print media, on the other hand, 
expresses a wide variety of opinions, but is weak (most 
newspapers are not commercially viable and require 
support from a "backer"), highly politicized 
(reflecting the views of the "backers"), and not very 
available outside of Yerevan.  Armenian media figures 
certainly have reason to call for greater freedom of 
the press in Armenia, and took advantage of the 
observance of World Press Freedom Day to speak out. 
One can only hope that their message will be taken 
seriously, by the government and the media alike.  END 
COMMENT. 
 
ORDWAY