Tweet
ARMENIAN PRESIDENT HAS NO INTENTION TO EXTEND STATE OF EMERGENCY, SPOKESMAN FOR PRESIDENT STATES
Noyan Tapan
March 17, 2008
YEREVAN, MARCH 17, NOYAN TAPAN. "There have been no violations of the
regime of the state of emergency, we are satisfied with the extent of
public perception, and at the moment the president of the RA has no
intention to extend the state of emergency," the spokesman for the RA
president Victor Soghomonian stated at the March 17 press conference.
According to him, in the March 1 decree on declaring a state of
emergency, the Armenian president stipulated "what may be done"
in the information sphere, while in the March 13 decree he clearly
outlined "what may not be done". In the words of V. Soghomonian,
"during this period statements have been made that the freedom
of speech is endangered in Armenia, and some foreign high-ranking
officials also spoke about it. We cannot understand this commotion
for a number of reasons. First, it is obvious to everyone that it does
not mean putting an end to the freedom of speech, which is impossible,
but the matter concerns some temporary restrictions for security of the
people. The state of emergency was imposed for this purpose, and the
restrictions are aimed at stabilizing the situation in the country." V.
Soghomonian said that the "calls from abroad to eliminate something
apparently temporary are at least strange."
He gave a few examples of violation of the March 13 presidential
decree's provision banning "dissemination of obvioulsy false
and destabilizing information on state and internal political
issues". These violations of local opposition papers were discovered
by the RA National Security Service (NSS) in the newspapers seized
in a printing house. "Let them tell this lie but after March 21,"
V. Soghomonian said, adding that "NSS employees allowed to print
these newspapers after removing false information from the given
issues. There was refusal." According to V. Soghomonian, this refusal
makes one assume that they refuse in order to make such statements
later and to give foreigners an opportunity to make similar statements.
Noyan Tapan
March 17, 2008
YEREVAN, MARCH 17, NOYAN TAPAN. "There have been no violations of the
regime of the state of emergency, we are satisfied with the extent of
public perception, and at the moment the president of the RA has no
intention to extend the state of emergency," the spokesman for the RA
president Victor Soghomonian stated at the March 17 press conference.
According to him, in the March 1 decree on declaring a state of
emergency, the Armenian president stipulated "what may be done"
in the information sphere, while in the March 13 decree he clearly
outlined "what may not be done". In the words of V. Soghomonian,
"during this period statements have been made that the freedom
of speech is endangered in Armenia, and some foreign high-ranking
officials also spoke about it. We cannot understand this commotion
for a number of reasons. First, it is obvious to everyone that it does
not mean putting an end to the freedom of speech, which is impossible,
but the matter concerns some temporary restrictions for security of the
people. The state of emergency was imposed for this purpose, and the
restrictions are aimed at stabilizing the situation in the country." V.
Soghomonian said that the "calls from abroad to eliminate something
apparently temporary are at least strange."
He gave a few examples of violation of the March 13 presidential
decree's provision banning "dissemination of obvioulsy false
and destabilizing information on state and internal political
issues". These violations of local opposition papers were discovered
by the RA National Security Service (NSS) in the newspapers seized
in a printing house. "Let them tell this lie but after March 21,"
V. Soghomonian said, adding that "NSS employees allowed to print
these newspapers after removing false information from the given
issues. There was refusal." According to V. Soghomonian, this refusal
makes one assume that they refuse in order to make such statements
later and to give foreigners an opportunity to make similar statements.