HCA: INVESTMENTS OF AMERICAN ARMENIAN JERARD CAFESJIAN
SERVE OFFICIAL PROPAGANDA AND RENASCENCE OF SOVIET
ANTI-JOURNALISM
13-02-2006 20:26:00 | Armenia | Social
YEREVAN, FEBRUARY 13, NOYAN TAPAN. The Helsinki Committee
of Armenia (NCA) issued a statement, in which it expressed its
resentment at the attempt of three Armenian TV companies to
discredit the Committee activity by means of spreading
misinformation. The statement in particular reads:
" On February 4-6, 2006, for three days "Armenia", "TV 5" and
"ArmNews" TV companies, being under the control of the
authorities, aired a piece, aimed at discrediting the activity
of Helsinki Committee of Armenia. There was an attempt to
present our activity, implemented by the grant of OSCE, as
espionage. Disregarding the norms of professional ethics, the
authors of the piece, deceitfully interviewed President of
Yerevan Press Club Boris Navasardian and Chairman of Helsinki
Committee of Armenia Avetik Ishkhanian, and doing arbitrary
montage, used the material for official propaganda purposes.
This "reportage" was a response to our recently signed
statement, in which the Helsinki Committee showed that the
country was deviating from the human rights principles. The
statement qualified as violation of the human rights the
following:
- dismissal of first RA Ombudsman by President's
anti-constitutional decree;
- biased activity of the courts in favor of the groups
close to power;
- lawlessness of local autocrats in the regions;
- seizure of the Yerevan Center community by the
entrepreneurs, acting under the roof of the authorities; the
criminal proceedings initiated against Vahe Grigorian, a
political prisoner and lawyer, defending the interests of the
residents, forcefully ousted from this area;
- falsification of November 27 referendum results.
The Helsinki Committee of Armenia developed consistent
activity against all mentioned violations.
We think that the attacks started in Armenia against human
rights activists, undesirable for the authorities, are directly
enacted from Russia, where NGOs are now widely persecuted.
The Armenian authorities, unable to bring any justification
of their unlawful activities, started to use the arsenal of
Soviet propaganda, wishing to disguise the lawlessness common in
the country by diverting the people's attention towards the
"external enemy", created by themselves. In this case, this
enemy is the structures, to which Armenia is a member (Council
of Europe, OSCE). Similarly to the way many Soviet journalists
and media by the order of KGB were engaged in anti-journalism,
spreading of misinformation, for discrediting the dissenters
tried linking their work to foreign special services, now also
certain media are transformed into the tools, fulfilling the
orders of the high-ranking officials.
It is a pity that the investments of American Armenian
Gerard Cafesjian, co-owner of "Armenia", "ArmNews" and "TV 5" TV
companies serve official propaganda, spreading of misinformation
and renascence of Soviet anti-journalism.
As these TV companies are under the control of the
authorities, it is impossible to respond to them on their own
air.
This story demonstrates still more vividly the hatred of
the authorities against free press, reflected in banning the air
of "A1+" and "Noyan Tapan" TV companies.
The Helsinki Committee of Armenia rings an alarm:
The Soviet methods of fighting against the dissidents are
restored and human rights activity is endangered in Armenia."