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Yerevan Press Club Weekly Newsletter - 05/05/2011

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  • Yerevan Press Club Weekly Newsletter - 05/05/2011

    YEREVAN PRESS CLUB WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

    APRIL 29 - MAY 1, 2011

    HIGHLIGHTS:

    "E-CLUB" CYCLE: INTERNET AND SOCIAL AID

    "YERKRAGUND" ON REVOLUTION IN THE ARABIC WORLD

    EDIK BAGHDASARIAN IS THE WINNER OF "THE TIME FOR FREEDOM OF PRESS" AWARD

    WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 2011 ADDRESSED THE 21ST CENTURY MEDIA FRONTIERS

    THE DECISION ON THE SUIT OF ROBERT KOCHARIAN'S FAMILY VERSUS "ZHAMANAK"
    FOUNDER WAS NOT RELEASED. THE COURT TAKES A TIME-OUT

    COUNCIL ON INFORMATION DISPUTES ESTABLISHED

    ARMENIAN MEDIA IS STILL NOT FREE


    "E-CLUB" CYCLE: INTERNET AND SOCIAL AID

    On May 3 another program from "E-Club" weekly cycle went on the online
    broadcast of "A1+" TV company (www.a1plus.am). The "E-Club" is produced by
    Yerevan Press Club in cooperation with "A1+" TV company under "Alternative
    Resources in Media" project, supported by USAID.

    The information and education blocs, particularly, presented different
    online forums, told about the Facebook cause to protect from architectural
    discretion the Katoghike Church of XIII century located in Yerevan center.
    One of the plots regarded groups of mutual social assistance. The social
    meaning of Internet was also debated by the guests of the discussion part of
    "E-Club" - Lusineh Vayachian, writer, founder of "MaMaSyu" Charitable
    Foundation, and Nshan Abasian, correspondent of Public Radio of Armenia.

    The next "E-Club" will be aired on "A1+" on May 10.

    "YERKRAGUND" ON REVOLUTION IN THE ARABIC WORLD

    On May 3 the second show of "Yerkragund" ("Globe") cycle went on the evening
    air of "Yerkir Media" TV company. The current show was produced by Yerevan
    Press Club with support of Open Society Foundations-Armenia.

    The guests of the program host, YPC President Boris Navasardian, were Hayk
    Kocharian, orientalist, representative of Civilization and Cultural Research
    Center of Yerevan State University, sociologist Isabella Sargsian, Gegham
    Manukian, Director of News and Current Affairs Programs of "Yerkir Media"
    TV company, and political scientist Mikayel Zolian. The participants
    discussed the revolutionary developments in the Arabic world.

    The next "Yerkragund" show will be aired on "Yerkir Media" on Tuesday, May
    10 at 19.15 (rerun - on Thursday, May 12 at 14.15).

    EDIK BAGHDASARIAN IS THE WINNER OF "THE TIME FOR FREEDOM OF PRESS" AWARD

    On May 2 at the Journalists Union of Armenia the award ceremony of "The Time
    for Freedom of Press" prize was held on the occasion of the World Press
    Freedom Day. The award was established in 2006 by Yerevan Press Club,
    Internews Media Support public organization, Journalists Union of Armenia
    and the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression.

    Upon the decision of four journalistic associations, in 2011 the winner of
    "The Time for Freedom of Press" award became Edik Baghdasarian, the Head of
    "Investigative Journalists" NGO, Chief Editor of "Hetq" newspaper, for
    development of investigative journalism, independent stance and professional
    courage. Edik Baghdasarian received a certificate and the traditional gift -
    a watch.

    WORLD PRESS FREEDOM DAY 2011 ADDRESSED THE 21ST CENTURY MEDIA FRONTIERS

    On May 3 the World Press Freedom Day was celebrated worldwide. 2011 marks
    the 20th anniversary since the adoption of the Declaration of Windhoek in
    1991, which became the basis for proclaiming the international journalists
    day by the UN General Assembly in 1993. In Armenia this event is being
    marked since 1997.

    "21st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers" is the theme of World
    Press Freedom Day 2011. The theme "highlights this dramatically changed
    global media landscape": "new media and tools such as cell phones continue
    to empower individuals, enrich news-gathering and illuminate
    once-largely-hidden workings of government, business and industry", the
    message of Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General stated. Alongside these
    benefits, UN Secretary-General reminded about the old challenges "such as
    the use of media to disseminate hatred and incite violence". "There are also
    undeniable new barriers being imposed by States, including
    cyber-surveillance, digital harassment and censorship on the Internet", the
    message noted.

    The joint message for 2011 from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, Navi
    Pillay, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Irina Bokova, UNESCO
    Director-General, stressed that United Nations is dedicated to ensuring that
    the Internet becomes a truly global public resource, to which all have
    access and where all voices are heard: "This underlines the importance of
    quality content. This calls for action to defend the integrity and safety of
    online reporters. All principles of freedom of expression must be brought to
    the on-line world."

    "Journalists must be protected. Over the last decade, more than 500
    journalists lost their lives in the pursuit of their profession. (...) Every
    week brings more reports of journalists and bloggers suffering from
    intimidation and violence. Violations of fundamental human rights cannot go
    unanswered. State authorities must do everything to counter impunity and to
    protect the safety of journalists. (...)The media revolution is triggering
    new debates about freedom of expression, about the nature of regulation,
    about the balance between expression and responsibility. We must not shy
    away from exploring all angles of these questions. We must all rise to the
    occasion and accept the responsibility of change," called the UN
    representatives.

    On May 3 in Istanbul at Freedom for Journalists Congress Dunja Mijatovic,
    OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, urged all OSCE participating
    States to do more to curb violence against journalists and ensure a safe
    work environment for the media. "Today, as the world honors the free press
    that on a daily basis helps us to improve our democracies and pursue our
    development goals, I call on all OSCE states to take broad measures to
    ensure the most favorable and safe environment for their media. Murders,
    violent attacks, intimidation of journalists and their family members,
    various forms of harassment and criminalization of speech thwart the work of
    free media serving their audiences", emphasized Dunja Mijatovic.

    THE DECISION ON THE SUIT OF ROBERT KOCHARIAN'S FAMILY VERSUS "ZHAMANAK"
    FOUNDER WAS NOT RELEASED. THE COURT TAKES A TIME-OUT

    On May 5 the court of general jurisdiction of Kentron and Nork-Marash
    administrative districts of Yerevan was to release the decision on the suit
    of the spouse and the son of the Second President of Armenia Robert
    Kocharian, Bella and Sedrak Kocharians, versus "Skizb Media Kentron" LLC,
    founder and publisher of "Zhamanak" daily. As it has been reported, the
    reason of the suit became the pieces published in "Zhamanak" on September
    25, September 29 and October 7, 2010. The articles dealt with a number of
    companies, which were reportedly owned by the Kocharians' family or managed
    through the third parties. The representative of Kocharians' family had sent
    a letter to the daily's founder, demanding to come up with a refutation. On
    October 28, 2010 "Zhamanak" published a piece, "Kocharian's Heart Desires a
    Refutation". Considering that the piece cannot be a refutation, as it still
    contained discrediting information, the plaintiffs filed the court,
    demanding to bind "Zhamanak" to refute the information damaging the honor,
    dignity and business reputation of Bella and Sedrak Kocharians, exact 3
    million AMD (about $ 8,200) from the defendant as compensation for libel and
    defamation, as well as pay off the court expenses of 3 million AMD. The
    court hearing started on February 25, 2011, where the founder of "Zhamanak"
    suggested that the plaintiffs develop the text of the refutation. The
    refutation appeared in "Zhamanak" on March 10, 2011 but was attended by an
    editorial comment. This form of presentation did not satisfy the plaintiffs,
    and the parties did not come to an agreement. At the session of March 23 the
    plaintiffs submitted documents as a ground for their demands on compensating
    the moral damage and the court expenses (see YPC Weekly Newsletter, March
    18-24, 2011).

    The hearings on the case finished on April 20. It was announced that the
    court decision would be released on May 5. Meanwhile, this did not happen on
    the appointed date. The parties were informed that the court will start a
    new consideration of the case due to the necessity of additional examination
    of facts. Even though such an outcome is authorized by law, it remains
    unclear, why the court required an additional time after about three months
    of litigation?

    The next session is appointed on May 20.

    COUNCIL ON INFORMATION DISPUTES ESTABLISHED

    On April 30 - May 1 in Tsaghkadzor the Media Freedom Forum was held. The
    event was organized by RA Human Rights Defender's Office with support of
    European Union. The Forum was attended by representatives of international
    organizations, embassies, accredited in Armenia, media, NGO, journalistic
    associations and international experts.

    The main themes of the Forum were the amendments' draft to the RA Law "On
    Television and Radio", developed by the working group on reforming the
    legislation regulating the digitalization process in Armenia; journalistic
    ethics and legislation on defamation.

    At the event it was announced about the establishment of the Council on
    Information Disputes. The Council seeks to protect freedom of expression,
    access to information, human dignity and right to private life. The missions
    of the newly-established structure list preparation and release of advisory
    expert conclusions on court litigations regarding libel and defamation,
    protection of private life and freedom of information, as well as providing
    consultations to the Armenian legislative and executive authorities, local
    self-government bodies and citizens. The members of the Council are:
    Secretary - Shushan Doydoyan, Head of Freedom of Information Center; Boris
    Navasardian, President of Yerevan Press Club; Aram Abrahamian, Chief Editor
    of "Aravot" daily; Ara Ghazarian, Deputy Director of "Arni Consult" law
    firm; Manana Aslamazian, Director of "Alternative Resources in Media"
    project.

    ARMENIAN MEDIA IS STILL NOT FREE

    On May 2 the international human rights organization "Freedom House"
    released its annual report on freedom of press in the world in 2010.
    "Freedom House" assessed the media situation by assigning a numerical score
    from 1 to 100 on the following categories: free (1-30 points), partly free
    (31-60 points), not free (61-100) - the lower the score, the higher the
    freedom. The latter was defined by three dimensions: legal, political and
    economic environments in which media operate. The sum of all three
    dimensions yielded the cumulative rating of the media situation in each
    country.

    Out of 196 countries and territories surveyed in 2010 in 68 (or 35%) media
    were recognized free, in 65 (or 33%) - partly free and in 63 (or 32%) were
    rated not free. Thus, only 15% of world inhabitants (lowest index for the
    last decade) live in countries that enjoy free press, 42% have a partly free
    press, and 43% - not free press. The most benign is the situation in Finland
    (10 points), Norway and Sweden (11 points each), Belgium, Iceland and
    Luxembourg (12 points each).

    Of the post-Soviet countries only the press of the three Baltic States is
    recognized by "Freedom House" to be free (Estonia -18, Lithuania - 22,
    Latvia - 26). Only Georgia, Moldova (55 points each) and Ukraine (56 points)
    are classed as partly free. At the same time, the situation in Georgia has
    somewhat improved, while it has deteriorated in Ukraine, comparing with 2009
    (59 and 53 points, respectively). The positive trends of the Georgian media
    landscape are due to an improved political environment that led to a
    reduction in legal and physical harassment of journalists, fewer instances
    of official censorship, and more balanced coverage by the public
    broadcaster. The broadcast frequencies withdrawal from critical media,
    increase of extralegal harassment of journalists, leading to greater
    self-censorship, negatively influenced the media freedom in Ukraine. A
    10-point leap of the Moldavian media (65 points in 2009) from not free to
    partly free is due to new ruling coalition's steps to increase legal
    protections for journalists' rights and reform the regulatory framework, to
    the professionalization of the management at the state broadcaster,
    emergence of new private broadcasters and a substantial decline of
    officially sanctioned legal harassment of journalists.

    Other former USSR countries' media continue to stay not free. Turkmenistan
    (96) remains the second from the end (North Korea still closes the list -
    97). As compared to 2009, the rankings of Tajikistan (78), Azerbaijan (79)
    and Russia (81) have not changed. The situation has somewhat deteriorated in
    Kazakhstan - 80 (versus 78 in 2009), Belarus - 93 (versus 92) and Uzbekistan
    - 94 (versus 92). A progress is marked in Kyrgyzstan - 70 (versus 73).

    The ranking of Armenian media, which got 65 points (versus 66 in 2009),
    increased by 1 point. In other words, the Armenian media are considered by
    "Freedom House" as not free for already nine years (since 2002).


    When reprinting or using the information above, reference to the Yerevan
    Press Club is required.

    You are welcome to send any comment and feedback about the Newsletter to:
    [email protected]

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    Editor of YPC Newsletter - Elina POGHOSBEKIAN
    ____________________________________________
    Yerevan Press Club
    9B, Ghazar Parpetsi str.
    0002, Yerevan, Armenia
    Tel.: (+ 374 10) 53 00 67; 53 35 41; 53 76 62
    Fax: (+374 10) 53 56 61
    E-mail: [email protected]
    Web Site: www.ypc.am




    From: A. Papazian
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