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Haykakan Zhamanak, Armenia
Jan 27 2011
Armenian opposition group condemns lawsuits against papers
The opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) has issued a statement
condemning lawsuits filed by Armenian "oligarchs" and former officials
against pro-opposition Haykakan Zhamanak, Aravot and Zhamanak
newspapers. The ANC believes the lawsuits to the tune of 55,000
dollars against the papers are illegal, the ANC's statement published
in the paper said.
One of the lawsuits is a suit filed by three "oligarchs" against
Haykakan Zhamanak daily that accuses the paper of "insulting their
dignity". The suit is unsubstantiated as Haykakan Zhamanak indicated
the source of information about the oligarchs in its report, the ANC's
statement says.
Another of the lawsuits is a suit filed by the family of former
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan against Zhamanak daily. This suit
is also unsubstantiated as Zhamanak published a denial of the report,
which served as the basis for the suit, the ANC said.
Also, there are three similar suits against Aravot daily.
"The larger part of the Armenian public has a limited access to
alternative information, because the authorities have taken all TV
channels under their control over the past 10 years by establishing
de-facto strict censorship over them," the ANC's statement said. "In
this case the true aim of the authorities is the same - to eliminate
free press via making it go bankrupt or by restricting it with such
threats [of bankruptcy], and to deal with the small readership of the
print press as well," the statement added.
The ANC condemned the "campaign against the press" and expressed the
hope that international entities like the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe, the Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR), embassies of EU countries in Armenia and the USA
would pay attention to the issue.
From: A. Papazian
Jan 27 2011
Armenian opposition group condemns lawsuits against papers
The opposition Armenian National Congress (ANC) has issued a statement
condemning lawsuits filed by Armenian "oligarchs" and former officials
against pro-opposition Haykakan Zhamanak, Aravot and Zhamanak
newspapers. The ANC believes the lawsuits to the tune of 55,000
dollars against the papers are illegal, the ANC's statement published
in the paper said.
One of the lawsuits is a suit filed by three "oligarchs" against
Haykakan Zhamanak daily that accuses the paper of "insulting their
dignity". The suit is unsubstantiated as Haykakan Zhamanak indicated
the source of information about the oligarchs in its report, the ANC's
statement says.
Another of the lawsuits is a suit filed by the family of former
Armenian President Robert Kocharyan against Zhamanak daily. This suit
is also unsubstantiated as Zhamanak published a denial of the report,
which served as the basis for the suit, the ANC said.
Also, there are three similar suits against Aravot daily.
"The larger part of the Armenian public has a limited access to
alternative information, because the authorities have taken all TV
channels under their control over the past 10 years by establishing
de-facto strict censorship over them," the ANC's statement said. "In
this case the true aim of the authorities is the same - to eliminate
free press via making it go bankrupt or by restricting it with such
threats [of bankruptcy], and to deal with the small readership of the
print press as well," the statement added.
The ANC condemned the "campaign against the press" and expressed the
hope that international entities like the Parliamentary Assembly of
the Council of Europe, the Office for Democratic Institutions and
Human Rights (ODIHR), embassies of EU countries in Armenia and the USA
would pay attention to the issue.
From: A. Papazian