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HUNDREDS RALLY IN GYUMRI FOR EMBATTLED TV STATION
By Satenik Vantsian in Gyumri
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 19 2007
Hundreds of people rallied in Armenia's second largest city of
Gyumri on Wednesday in support of a local television station that has
been facing uncertain future ever since providing airtime to former
President Levon Ter-Petrosian.
The demonstration was organized by local and Yerevan-based civic
groups amid ongoing judicial proceedings that could result in GALA
TV being taken off the air. The station was raided by tax inspectors
in late October. Its parent company, Chap, was subsequently charged
with evading more than 25 million drams ($82,000) in taxes.
The State Tax Service (STS) also alleged that the small broadcaster
has been illegally using the local television tower to air its
programs to Gyumri and surrounding areas. Earlier this month, the
Gyumri municipality asked Armenia's Economic Court to force GALA to
remove its transmitter from the facility. The court already ruled
on November 26 to freeze Chap's bank accounts and other assets worth
the alleged tax shortfall.
GALA's owner and staff reject the criminal case as baseless and link
it to their decision to air, as a paid advertisement, Ter-Petrosian's
September 21 that contained harsh criticism of Armenia's leadership.
Organizers of the demonstration echoed the claim in their speeches.
"All those infringing on our freedom of speech will be punished by law,
God and your contempt. That day will come," said Levon Barseghian,
chairman of Gyumri's Asparez Press Club.
Artur Sakunts, a human rights campaigner from the nearby town of
Vanadzor, expressed hope that the GALA affair will give rise to a
broader pro-democracy movement ahead of next February's presidential
election. "We won't allow the regime and its lackeys to trample on
our right to free speech," he said. "Hands off GALA!"
Not surprisingly, opposition activists were also on hand to address
the crowd and express their solidarity with GALA. "Today Gyumri has
proved that it is the most freedom-loving city in the Republic of
Armenia," declared Nikol Pashinian of the pro-Ter-Petrosian Aylentrank
movement. "No other city in Armenia has a TV station like GALA," he
said, referring to the fact virtually all other Armenian broadcasters
are loyal to the government.
"What is being done to GALA has a political, legal and moral subtext,"
said Hovannes Markarian, a Gyumri-based parliamentarian affiliated
with the opposition Orinats Yerkir Party.
The STS and the regulatory National Commission on Television and Radio
(NCTR) deny any political motives behind the crackdown on GALA.
But Gyumri residents who braved a cold weather to attend a rare
anti-government rally in their city were unconvinced.
"I have come here to think about the my and my children's future,"
said one 72-year-old woman. "Isn't it shameful to close down our only
TV channel telling the truth?"
"We want GALA to stay on air so that we can feel free," said another
protester.
By Satenik Vantsian in Gyumri
Radio Liberty, Czech Rep.
Dec 19 2007
Hundreds of people rallied in Armenia's second largest city of
Gyumri on Wednesday in support of a local television station that has
been facing uncertain future ever since providing airtime to former
President Levon Ter-Petrosian.
The demonstration was organized by local and Yerevan-based civic
groups amid ongoing judicial proceedings that could result in GALA
TV being taken off the air. The station was raided by tax inspectors
in late October. Its parent company, Chap, was subsequently charged
with evading more than 25 million drams ($82,000) in taxes.
The State Tax Service (STS) also alleged that the small broadcaster
has been illegally using the local television tower to air its
programs to Gyumri and surrounding areas. Earlier this month, the
Gyumri municipality asked Armenia's Economic Court to force GALA to
remove its transmitter from the facility. The court already ruled
on November 26 to freeze Chap's bank accounts and other assets worth
the alleged tax shortfall.
GALA's owner and staff reject the criminal case as baseless and link
it to their decision to air, as a paid advertisement, Ter-Petrosian's
September 21 that contained harsh criticism of Armenia's leadership.
Organizers of the demonstration echoed the claim in their speeches.
"All those infringing on our freedom of speech will be punished by law,
God and your contempt. That day will come," said Levon Barseghian,
chairman of Gyumri's Asparez Press Club.
Artur Sakunts, a human rights campaigner from the nearby town of
Vanadzor, expressed hope that the GALA affair will give rise to a
broader pro-democracy movement ahead of next February's presidential
election. "We won't allow the regime and its lackeys to trample on
our right to free speech," he said. "Hands off GALA!"
Not surprisingly, opposition activists were also on hand to address
the crowd and express their solidarity with GALA. "Today Gyumri has
proved that it is the most freedom-loving city in the Republic of
Armenia," declared Nikol Pashinian of the pro-Ter-Petrosian Aylentrank
movement. "No other city in Armenia has a TV station like GALA," he
said, referring to the fact virtually all other Armenian broadcasters
are loyal to the government.
"What is being done to GALA has a political, legal and moral subtext,"
said Hovannes Markarian, a Gyumri-based parliamentarian affiliated
with the opposition Orinats Yerkir Party.
The STS and the regulatory National Commission on Television and Radio
(NCTR) deny any political motives behind the crackdown on GALA.
But Gyumri residents who braved a cold weather to attend a rare
anti-government rally in their city were unconvinced.
"I have come here to think about the my and my children's future,"
said one 72-year-old woman. "Isn't it shameful to close down our only
TV channel telling the truth?"
"We want GALA to stay on air so that we can feel free," said another
protester.