A contest for TV frequencies will be held in Armenia on July 20. And on its last day of spring session on June 10, the National Assembly adopted the government-proposed amendments to the Law on Television and Radio. The government explains the amendments are necessary in view of switching to digital broadcasting in the country.

At present, Armenia has 22 television channels. A majority of them broadcast for Yerevan only. Among these channels at least four retransmit Russian channels, several others mostly offer entertainment TV. All the other channels that report news and offer analytical programs have a marked pro-government stance, with the exception of Yerkir Media, a television company funded by the opposition Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun). The party quit the ruling coalition in April 2009 and declared itself opposition, but it opposes the government mainly on foreign-policy issues and, to some extent, on socio-economic issues, preferring not to touch on the issue of the government’s legitimacy. International bodies and local media organizations do not consider that Yerkir Media ensures pluralism in the broadcasting sphere.

The issue of A1 Plus, an independent TV channel controversially taken off the air in 2002, stands out in the process. Since losing its broadcasting license, the company has failed to win a single contest. The adopted amendments do not look encouraging for the company in terms of obtaining a broadcasting license. Chairman of the Board of the Public Television of Armenia Alexan Harutyunyan said on June 18 that “A1 Plus has become an ‘idea fix’ for international organizations.” He did not specify whether the amended broadcast legislation enabled A1 Plus to take part in the contest.

Since they were published the draft amendments have been criticized by media organizations in Armenia and international bodies. Several organizations, including the Yerevan Press Club, media support NGO Internews, Open Society Institute Assistance Foundation Armenia issued a special statement on June 6 in which they called on international organizations not to assist the Government of the Republic of Armenia in the process of broadcast digitalization until it has submitted a revised bill.

United States Ambassador to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Ian Kelly reminded at the meeting of the Permanent Council in Vienna that OSCE member countries have a commitment to respect and protect fundamental human rights, such as freedom of speech and the media. The U.S. Mission to the OSCE noted that the amendments to the Armenian Law on Television and Radio were likely to lead to reduction in plurality on television, as well as to restricted access of the Armenian public to diverse information and opinions.

In a statement issued earlier this month, Dunja Mijatovic, the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, said Armenia’s new law on TV and radio “fails to promote broadcast pluralism in the digital era”. Among the major shortcomings Mijatovic identified the following: a limit to the number of broadcast channels; a lack of clear rules for the licensing of satellite, mobile telephone and online broadcasting; the placement of all forms of broadcasting under a regime of licensing or permission by the Regulator; the granting of authority to the courts to terminate broadcast licenses based on provisions in the law that contain undue limitations on freedom of the media; and a lack of procedures and terms for the establishment of private digital channels.

In a letter dated June 15, Human Rights Watch, a global human rights watchdog, urged Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan not sign the law and instead return it to the National Assembly for continued deliberations.
HRW also reminded Armenia of its obligation to implement the June 17, 2008 European Court of Human Rights judgment finding Armenia in violation of Article 10 (Freedom of Expression) in relation to A1 Plus’s case. Despite this, President Sargsyan has signed the adopted amendments into law.

What is remarkable in this whole story is that the Armenian authorities have not retreated under pressure from public opinion and international organizations. Experts say that it is connected with the intention to retain full control over television in the period before the parliamentary polls in 2012 and the presidential election in 2013.