ANNOUNCEMENT
Today, the journalists in the National Assembly, in the lodge designated for them, held a protest against Andranik Kocharyan, a deputy from the Civil Contract faction, and his impudent behavior towards journalists.
The journalists unfurled banners with the inscriptions “Say sorry” and “Andranik Kocharyan, wipe your lips,” after which the State Protection Service officers dragged the journalists carrying out the protest away and took away the banners.
The protest was carried out in response to the insulting of Hripsime Jebejyan, a journalist for the Yerevan Tribune news website, by CC MP Andranik Kocharyan a couple of days ago.
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The journalists were not carrying out a political protest, they were not shouting, they were not insulting anyone like Nikol Pashinyan’s teammate, they were carrying out their action silently, for themselves in a separate, glass-walled lodge, isolated from them during this government.
Journalists demanded respect for their work and not to hinder the performance of their professional duties. The SPS officers had no right to literally attack journalists, use violence against them, harass and hinder their work.
Ensuring the security of the National Assembly is of fundamental importance, but restrictions on the work of journalists should not be “hidden” behind security rules.
The specifics of journalists’ work should come exclusively from the requirement of the smooth organization of work in the National Assembly, but they should not lead to obstacles to the work of journalists.
Moreover, under the “umbrella” of security rules, security officers have been deployed everywhere to maintain the restrictions on journalists’ work, and they even reserve the right to pull journalists’ hands and take away their posters – of course, not without an order from “above,” from the political leadership.
The Union of Journalists of Armenia once again highlights, that both obstructing a journalist’s professional work and using physical force when performing actions that do not come from their authority are acts that entail criminal liability.
We urge the Prosecutor General’s Office to consider this statement as a report of a crime, with all the consequences arising from it.
By the way, it is appropriate to recall that during the former government, the journalist-deputies of the eponymous NA faction of the Civil Contract party, led by Nikol Pashinyan, the ruling political force in Armenia, while carrying out their journalistic activities, held a political rally in the main session hall of the National Assembly, in the presence of the ruling majority, the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), in an atmosphere of tolerance, and now that same political team does not tolerate even a silent rally held in the journalist’s lodge.
THE UNION OF JOURNALISTS OF ARMENIA IS RAISING AN ALARM
We also appeal to international journalistic and human rights organizations regarding the rampant, impudent treatment of journalists and media outlets by the authorities in Armenia, numerous cases of violence, obstruction of journalistic work, violation of free speech, and, most importantly, the atmosphere of impunity created in the country. The law enforcement system in Armenia serves exclusively the authorities to silence political opponents and journalists.
PRESIDENT OF THE UNION OF JOURNALISTS OF ARMENIA
SATIK SEYRANYAN
