As we have already informed, the police entered the editorial offices of ArmNews and 5th Channel today and initiated administrative proceedings as the news presenters of the above-mentioned TV channels were not wearing a mask. In this regard, “Media Advocate” Initiative asked for a clarification from Aram Antinyan, General Director of the “Qaryak Media” Company: “I am quite surprised by today’s visit of the police as from the very first day of quarantine our TV channel not only preserved the rules but also became the first TV channel to pass to remote working regime so as to follow quarantine rules and urge people to stay home and not infect each other. And in this context, I think that even if some problem occurred because of misunderstanding or misreading, they could just call, warn, the problem would definitely be solved, because we are ready to cooperate.
I am very surprised by the Facebook post of the TRC (Television and Radio Commission) head Tigran Hakobyan and by the formulations he uses. I will not allow myself to repeat them, but besides the interview given to 168-hours news agency, the management of ArmNews TV has been in talks with the TRC head for a week, whether to wear a mask on the air or not. Even after that, there was a disagreement between the TRC head and the lawyer of the commission, moreover, the lawyer insisted that a mask should be worn, the TRC head said that it should not be worn, and in the end, we’ve decided not to wear masks considering Tigran Hakobyan’s opinion and to say now that we only relied on a piece of advice, will not be a right formulation and it does not derive from partnership principles. I would like to note that the visits of the police to any editorial office and any media outlet in any country create an unpleasant background, and in order not to give rise to certain conclusions and analyzes, it should be avoided at all costs, and ways to avoid it have been given many times and it could have been avoided. I hope that in the future the relations with us will not be in that format, but TRC, which is the regulatory body, will restore its powers, and will not prevent its partners from visiting the police, but will also be the one who initiates the solving of the problems.
As far the statement of the TRC head is concerned, in relation to the money allocated to ArmNews TV, I think that such speculation is not nice at all, because since the first day of its operation ArmNews TV has disinterestedly aired all the videos of the Commandant’s Office and the Ministry of Health aimed at preventing coronavirus epidemic and raising awareness of the population and I think it’s at least not nice to say that they allocated money, because ArmNews TV has unselfishly built partnerships from the very first day, and that speculation, I repeat, is very vulgar.” Harutyun Harutyunyan, the director of the 5th Channel, said that he had expressed his opinion in a Facebook post and had nothing to add. The post is presented below:
“The police came as a “guest” to “5th Channel”. We hosted them in a proper way, argued a little because, unfortunately, they (no, not they but the Commandant) did not understand the differences between the office and the pavilion. I explained to them in detail that the place where we are sitting is an office space, and the pavilion where the shooting is taking place is a productive one. I don’t know if they will have a will to explain this simple truth to the Commandant, but we measured it at my request and recorded that the distance between the guest and the interviewer was 2 meters and 80 centimeters. In other words, the social distance is preserved here as well, and I considered the obligation to open an administrative proceeding as an illegal action. Only the commentator works in the second pavilion, and there is no problem of keeping a social distance here either. I repeat, the Commandant must understand that the pavilion is not an office space, and if we create products from that pavilion, it means it is productive. I refused to sign and accept the notice to open an administrative proceeding. If any questions occur, we will challenge the case in the courts, and if we have to face their favourite “Armendanielyan-like” judges here, we will apply to the ECHR.”
“Media Advocate” initiative once again condemns such cases of pressure on media, which creates an atmosphere of fear and impedes freedom of speech and the unhindered operation of the media.
