On June 1, the broadcasting of several TV channels in Artsakh was suspended. Artsakh President’s Spokesperson Vahram Poghosyan stated that the reason is technical, “Artsakhkap” is waiting for a device from France, and the broadcasting of the 5th Channel, A TV and Shoghakat will restart soon in Artsakh. The broadcast of the last two channels was restored, unlike the 5th Channel. The director of the TV company Harutyun Harutyunyan mentioned in a conversation with us that the activity of the channel was stopped as a result of political speculations. To the question on the steps they are going to take, Harutyunyan noted: “No measures will be taken. They have declared war on us, God be with them. The number of views on YouTube has increased by 25,000 in the last few days, the number of views on Facebook has increased too. We have received many letters from the people of Artsakh, they will continue to follow us online.”
It should be reminded that earlier, the Artsakh President’s Spokesperson wrote on his Facebook page that political speculations on this issue are inappropriate, while a few days later the Artsakh Ministry of Economy decides to broadcast only the TV channels approved by the government at the expense of Artsakh taxpayers; 5th Channel is not excluded in the list. This issue was also touched upon in the Artsakh parliament today. One of the deputies noted that this is an issue of public interest, it has a political context, while it was mentioned that the annual budget execution report is being discussed, the MP was urged to raise the issue in another format.
“Media Advocate” initiative expresses concern that the tenure of the newly elected President Arayik Harutyunyan began with such pressure on the media. In fact, the goal was to stop the broadcasting of the 5th channel in Artsakh, for which such a working style was chosen.
