Ashot Melikyan, Chairman of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression, presented the second quarterly report of 2017 yesterday, and presented quite alarming data. According to the report, pressures and violence against journalists have increased dramatically.
Aravot.am asked about the cause of the increase in violence, whether it is because of impunity, the authorities are always excited to say that we have leading positions in terms of freedom of speech, so is this a regress now? Ashot Melikyan answered, “If we compare with referendum and other electoral processes, this number of pressures is unprecedented. Compared to the same period last year, there has been an increase of three times. This is a consequence of impunity and the atmosphere that has been formed. In the international platforms and inside the country they always claim that we have a complete freedom of speech, the media operate freely, whereas when we analyse the situation, we see that it’s the opposite”.
In response to the remark that after the events in Sari Tagh, President Serzh Sargsyan urged journalists to forget everything, saying that those wouldn’t happen anymore, but in fact, the President’s promise has not been fulfilled, Ashot Melikyan confirmed that their data indicate that violence against journalists continued after the events in Sari Tagh: “In fact, the president’s promise has not been fulfilled”.
Addressing the authorities, Mr Melikyan said, “Sober up! Otherwise Armenia will have no freedom of speech”.
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
