“The first reason is the inertia of thinking. The methods that were applied by the Soviet authorities during 70 years, are now continuously applied to the media”,- so replied Grigory Saghyan, Deputy of the Internet Society of Armenia NGO to the question of Aravot.am what the reason is that Armenia, according to various international studies, is one of the countries where the internet is free, but the media is not free. Our interlocutor believes that these methods in the internet are unable to operate, “these people know only the way to influence the media, and not the Internet.” To our specification whether on saying “those people” Mr. Saghyan is referring to the authorities of Armenia, he replied, “I mean those who influence. If you say that it is not free, it means that someone is influencing. On the other hand, there should be no specific influence on the print media, because they have very few circulations. But, there are electronic versions thereof, and having an impact on print media, you have the influence on e-version.” To our observation that there are already concerns about the control of the electronic media in our country, Mr. Saghyan responded, “I have not heard of talking about this kind of policy. In RF, the activities of some sites are restricted by legislative and administrative measures. For example, several officials are involved in this business, and based on their complaints and research, the sites are shut down.” To our question that soon we are going to join the Customs Union, perhaps, there will be an electronic control in our country in the context, Mr. Saghyann responded, “Customs Union is not going to change our sovereignty. Adaptability can refer only to the customs legislation, it will not refer to other laws.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
