The European Ombudsman Institute
has published a statement “on blocking broadcasting of the National Human
Rights Defender’s activities by the Public TV Company of Armenia”
The statement reads as
follows:
“It is a matter of
serious concern for us that the Public TV Company of Armenia being established
by the Government is implementing a policy of blocking broadcasting activities
of the Human Rights Defender as already a long-lasting policy.
The Human Rights Defender
of Armenia is independent and enjoys true respect, has international
recognition of its authority.
The Armenian National
Human Rights Institution plays an important role in protection of human rights
and promotion of democracy. It develops awareness of citizens about their
rights not only through statements, but also awareness raising public
campaigns, as well as contribute to citizens’ control over public authorities.
It is of outmost
importance that the Human Rights Defender of Armenia is an irreplaceable source
of information in a number of areas (e.g. torture prevention through NPM visits
to prisons as an exclusive authority) and serves as a credible source of
alternative views or information on the ground for the society.
National Human Rights
Institutions are protected internationally (Council of Europe, OSCE, etc.); the
policy of the Public TV Company of Armenia is an institutional harm to the
public reputation of this constitutional institution and, thus, to its
effectiveness through limitation of its human rights protection capacities.
We closely follow the
difficulties that the Armenian National Human Rights Institution faces in
relations with public authorities in a number of areas, but this should have no
impact on broadcasting attitude of the Government founded Public TV Company.
Thus, we call on the
Public TV Company and the Public Broadcaster of Armenia to put an immediate end
to this unacceptable policy and to retrieve its normal broadcasting policy
regarding the Armenian Human Rights Defender.
This is the way to
promote the right public discourse in the country.”
Հայերեն
