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ARMENIA: Authorities deny licence for critical voice despite court judgment
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
__________________________________________________ _______________
ALERT - ARMENIA
21 December 2010
Authorities deny licence for critical voice despite court judgment
SOURCE: Human Rights Watch
(Human Rights Watch/IFEX) - New York, December 16, 2010 - Armenia has
denied a broadcast license to an independent television station, A1+,
despite a European Court of Human Rights judgment that previous
denials violated freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today.
`Today's decision is another setback for freedom of expression and
information in Armenia,` said Giorgi Gogia, South Caucasus researcher
at Human Rights Watch. `It's clear that keeping a critic off the air
is more important to this government than its international legal
obligations.`
A1+, an independent station well-known for its criticism of government
policy, was taken off the air in 2002 after its license was rescinded,
but continued to operate a popular news website and online television
station. Since then it had made 12 unsuccessful applications for a new
broadcast license.
On December 16, 2010, the National Commission on Television and Radio
(NCTR), the body in charge of issuing broadcasting licenses in
Armenia, denied A1+ station's application for the 13th time. The
commission is staffed entirely with presidential appointees.
In 2008, the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment holding
Armenia in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights for
the repeated rejection of the station's license applications. The
court held that Armenia's laws regulating the granting of broadcast
licenses do not protect against arbitrary decisions by the licensing
authority, and that the denial of a license to A1+ was unlawful.
The December 16 meeting of the commission was its first since a
moratorium on new licenses was announced in 2008. Soon after the
European Court judgment, the Armenian authorities suspended all
licensing until television and radio switched from analog to digital
broadcasting, scheduled for 2010. The moratorium on granting licenses
was seen by many local and international observers as the government's
further efforts to keep A1+ off the air.
In anticipation of Armenia's transition to mandatory digital
broadcasting, in June the government rushed to adopt a new Law on
Television and Radio. The new law does not fully address concerns
expressed by civil society and Armenia's international partners.
In a June letter to the president of Armenia, Human Rights Watch
expressed concern that the new law would reduce the number of media
outlets as well as public access to a variety of information and
opinion. The new media law reduced the number of television stations
able to broadcast in Armenia from 22 to 18, and failed to address
longstanding concerns that the law did not ensure pluralism in the
selection and appointment of members of the licensing regulatory body.
`The transition to digital broadcasting was supposed to provide
opportunities for greater media pluralism in Armenia,` Gogia
said. `The government has a long way to go to prove that its deeds
match its commitments.`
Click here to read Human Rights Watch's June 2010 letter to the
president of Armenia
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/06/15/letter-president-serzh-sargsyan-regarding-negative-impact-media-pluralism-armenia
http://www.ifex.org/armenia/2010/12/21/licence_denied/
For more information:
Human
Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10118
USA
hrwnyc (=40) hrw.org
Phone: +1 212 290 4700
Fax: +1 212 736 1300
http://www.hrw.org
__________________________________________________ _______________
IFEX
555 Richmond St. West, =23 1101, PO Box 407
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5V 3B1
alerts=40ifex.org
http://www.ifex.org/
__________________________________________________ _______________
From: A. Papazian
IFEX - News from the international freedom of expression community
__________________________________________________ _______________
ALERT - ARMENIA
21 December 2010
Authorities deny licence for critical voice despite court judgment
SOURCE: Human Rights Watch
(Human Rights Watch/IFEX) - New York, December 16, 2010 - Armenia has
denied a broadcast license to an independent television station, A1+,
despite a European Court of Human Rights judgment that previous
denials violated freedom of expression, Human Rights Watch said today.
`Today's decision is another setback for freedom of expression and
information in Armenia,` said Giorgi Gogia, South Caucasus researcher
at Human Rights Watch. `It's clear that keeping a critic off the air
is more important to this government than its international legal
obligations.`
A1+, an independent station well-known for its criticism of government
policy, was taken off the air in 2002 after its license was rescinded,
but continued to operate a popular news website and online television
station. Since then it had made 12 unsuccessful applications for a new
broadcast license.
On December 16, 2010, the National Commission on Television and Radio
(NCTR), the body in charge of issuing broadcasting licenses in
Armenia, denied A1+ station's application for the 13th time. The
commission is staffed entirely with presidential appointees.
In 2008, the European Court of Human Rights issued a judgment holding
Armenia in violation of the European Convention on Human Rights for
the repeated rejection of the station's license applications. The
court held that Armenia's laws regulating the granting of broadcast
licenses do not protect against arbitrary decisions by the licensing
authority, and that the denial of a license to A1+ was unlawful.
The December 16 meeting of the commission was its first since a
moratorium on new licenses was announced in 2008. Soon after the
European Court judgment, the Armenian authorities suspended all
licensing until television and radio switched from analog to digital
broadcasting, scheduled for 2010. The moratorium on granting licenses
was seen by many local and international observers as the government's
further efforts to keep A1+ off the air.
In anticipation of Armenia's transition to mandatory digital
broadcasting, in June the government rushed to adopt a new Law on
Television and Radio. The new law does not fully address concerns
expressed by civil society and Armenia's international partners.
In a June letter to the president of Armenia, Human Rights Watch
expressed concern that the new law would reduce the number of media
outlets as well as public access to a variety of information and
opinion. The new media law reduced the number of television stations
able to broadcast in Armenia from 22 to 18, and failed to address
longstanding concerns that the law did not ensure pluralism in the
selection and appointment of members of the licensing regulatory body.
`The transition to digital broadcasting was supposed to provide
opportunities for greater media pluralism in Armenia,` Gogia
said. `The government has a long way to go to prove that its deeds
match its commitments.`
Click here to read Human Rights Watch's June 2010 letter to the
president of Armenia
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/06/15/letter-president-serzh-sargsyan-regarding-negative-impact-media-pluralism-armenia
http://www.ifex.org/armenia/2010/12/21/licence_denied/
For more information:
Human
Rights Watch
350 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10118
USA
hrwnyc (=40) hrw.org
Phone: +1 212 290 4700
Fax: +1 212 736 1300
http://www.hrw.org
__________________________________________________ _______________
IFEX
555 Richmond St. West, =23 1101, PO Box 407
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M5V 3B1
alerts=40ifex.org
http://www.ifex.org/
__________________________________________________ _______________
From: A. Papazian