“Nothing has changed in this country during the past 10 years,” Mesrop Movsisyan, the president of A1+ has concluded, as a result of 10 years’ vigorous and consistent struggle. Let us remind that ten years ago today A1+ was deprived of broadcasting and the Armenian journalistic community has been struggling since then for restoring the right to freedom of speech in our country.
“During all these years, there have been different promises, there have been deceitful explanations, there have been actions against A1+ covered by lies – frankly speaking, I both understand and don’t understand why they have done it continuously,” said Mr. Movsisyan during a conversation with www.aravot.am, adding that during the past 10 years he had understood more clearly that we didn’t have a state, functioning laws and we didn’t have any intention to restore all that after Robert Kocharyan had ruined it. As for the hopes, Mr. Movsisyan noted, “We have always pinned hopes on foreign kings in our country. It is a pity that we have to talk on this subject again after 10 years and talk about it in Europe. We faced the same obstacle in all instances of Armenia and the strange thing is that everyone, understanding his mistake, continues to make that mistake. Now, we are compelled to hope again that our internal dirt will be cleaned by some guy from Europe.”
In response to a question of www.aravot.am what conclusions and observations he had made in regard to the case of A1+, given the 10-year struggle of the TV company for restoring human rights in the Republic of Armenia, which had been unsuccessful so far, Ashot Melikyan, the chairman of the freedom of speech protection committee, said, “It is one of the sad cases, when the establishment ‘successfully’ manages to suppress a mass media and not to allow it to express different opinions, approaches and ideas existing in the society. However, on the other hand, the struggle of A1+ and all those people who have united around it shows the necessity of struggle. Nonetheless, A1+ functions, although not as a broadcasting TV company, but as a rather good website, through which it broadcasts online. So, it does all that is possible under the present circumstances. I think that both the journalistic community and A1+ should continue that struggle and achieve their ultimate goal, particularly given the fact that technologies develop rapidly and there is a possibility to watch satellite television too. I know that A1+ aims at that and God grant, it will be a success. Anyway, journalistic organizations support and will continue supporting.” In our interlocutor’s opinion, the 10-year stubbornness of the establishment testifies to one thing, “The establishment doesn’t wish to have a higher-degree of human rights in Armenia and prevents the maturing of free and independent mass media. I think that all that is visible not only inside our country, but also to the international organizations that notice it and reflect in multiple reports and conclusions.” According to the assessments of the freedom of speech protection committee, the ECHR ruling was not implemented in our country to the full extent either, although the Committee of Ministers of the Council of European decided that “this page can be turned over.”
Aram Karapetyan, the leader of the New Times Party, also conveyed wishes to the A1+ collective and the journalistic community concerning the 10th anniversary of depriving A1+ of broadcasting. He conveys wishes, since he is convinced that they deprive of the freedom of speech in our country, as well as other post-Soviet countries, only those who are someone, “E.g., now when one turns the TV on – it circles from TV series to a concert and from a concert to TV series. One is under the impression that it is a Cuban or Brazilian siesta. However, there is one difference – in those countries it lasts for a month and in our country for 365 days. We don’t have any problem. And A1+ was not opposition and I follow the website now too, there is no issue of opposition, the division is the following whether an individual or a TV company expresses an idea or not. A1+ is still interesting, because it expresses ideas and not necessarily political, just generally. In that regard, I understand the establishment; any normal idea in Armenia is opposition. A1+ was deprived for that reason and as far as I know they will not allow them broadcast yet, because everything is done in the Armenian life in order to ban expressing a rational idea. However, one can listen to drums, singer-musicians as much as he wants.”
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