RFE/RL Public Radio Broadcasts Face Suspension

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1. Oneworld Multimedia :: RFE/RL Public Radio Broadcasts Face Suspension :: July :: 2007 07.25.07 / 3pm

   […] full post accompanied by photographs is here. Posted by Onnik @ 3:54 pm. Filed under: Armenia, Democracy, Media, Freedom of Speech, Caucasus, […]
2. Myrthe 07.25.07 / 6pm

   It’s nice to be able to put faces to the names!

   I was not very surprised to read this news on the Armenia Liberty site earlier today. I guess now that the first effort to “solve the problem” via the parliament failed, this is effort number two.
3. Onnik 07.25.07 / 6pm

   Well, we knew about this a week or so ago for sure, but this is the first time RFE/RL have openly alerted people to the fact which probably means that this is the last opportunity to try to prevent what was inevitable from happening. This is especially the case, I suppose, given that a meeting in Yerevan has been held and resulted in no breakthrough.

   Now I’m waiting to hear if the U.S. Embassy or Government will come out with a statement. Certainly, it’s already a black mark against the conduct of the presidential election which will be upon us soon enough. Nevertheless, it’s worth pointing out that this does not mean the end to RFE/RL transmissions in Armenia, but merely it’s an obstacle to reaching its audience.

   Assuming that pressure is not applied on Public Radio to sign a new contract, RFE/RL will have to strike a deal with a private radio station (maximum coverage 60 percent of the country if one of the big stations agree) in the best case scenario, or revert back to SW broadcasts in the worst. Even so, it’s an attempt to frustrate proper coverage of the 2008 presidential election, in my opinion. No doubt about it.

   What will also be interesting to see is how Public Radio themselves cover this ongoing saga. So far I’ve seen nothing on their web site which really says a lot about what’s behind this.
4. Observer 07.25.07 / 6pm

   Radio Liberty is finished - and that is a fact of life. I guess - all we can do now is - fight, kick and curse, demonstrate, and at least hope for the online version of Radio LIberty.

   We knew Kocharyan will get his way in the end, but there was at least slight hope, that all these pressures from US, International community, Media organizations, etc would help, till the dictator retires for good. But no!
5. Global Voices Online » Armenia: RFE/RL closure imminent 07.25.07 / 7pm

   […] Armenia, the authorities are now refusing to sign a new contract for the independent news outlet. Onnik Krikorian has the scoop. Share […]
6. Observer 07.25.07 / 7pm

   I just talked to Aram Mkrtchyan - executive director of Radio “HAY 104.1″. It was a surprise for me to find out, that Radio Hay already has broadcasts of Radio Liberty every day - 9:00 - 9:15, as well as their youth program - Max Liberty - at 5:30 - 6:00.

   This is of course a very tiny bit of Radio Liberty broadcasting, however, Aram Mkrtchyan was also sure, that they won’t have a problem with broadcasting Radio Liberty in the future as well. As to the question, whether they’d take on broadcasting all of RFE/RL newscasts, Aram said the question is irrelevant at this point. I understand, that this is because they have not received a specific offer from RFE/RL yet, so he can’t say anything for sure. Let’s wait and see!
7. Onnik 07.25.07 / 8pm

   Thanks for that info although yes, it’s not really as much as RFE/RL would need. Still, with money saved from Public Radio and the failure of the bill which would have seen re-transmission costs for foreign broadcasters rise significantly, I hope that a deal can be signed with Radio Hye. Of course, I think the station only covers 60 percent of the country, but that’s better than having only to rely on SW broadcasts only.

   Just to point out again that RFE/RL will not be closed, but that it’s broadcasts will be restricted if and when they stop broadcasting on Public Radio.

   Of course, the next thing of concern is whether political pressure is applied through the TV & Radio Committee on those private stations which do increase the number of RFE/RL broadcasts even if they only cover at maximum 60 percent of the country. I think it’s the next logical step the authorities will take and probably in combination with the re-introduction of the original bill in the Autumn/Fall.

   Thanks.
8. Onnik 07.25.07 / 8pm

   Incidentally, for those of you outside of Armenia — and soon for some of you inside — RFE/RL’s Armenia broadcasts can also be listened to on demand via the Internet.
9. Onnik 07.26.07 / 12am

   RFE/RL now has an update.

   The future of RFE/RL’s unfettered activities in Armenia again hung in the balance on Wednesday just three weeks after the Armenian parliament rejected a government bill that would have effectively banned the crucial retransmission of its programs by state radio.

   In a statement issued late Tuesday, RFE/RL’s management and its Washington-based oversight board said the state-controlled Armenian Public Television and Radio (HHHR) has refused to sign a new retransmission agreement and could stop airing RFE/RL Armenian service programs on August 9.

   […]

   “I think the issue is not closed and there are possibilities [of reaching agreement,]” parliament speaker Tigran Torosian, who is also a leading member of Prime Minister Serzh Sarkisian’s Republican Party (HHK), told RFE/RL, commenting on the statement. Torosian said he thinks there is still “some hope” for a mutually acceptable settlement between the parties.

   But the HHK’s junior partners in the governing coalition, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), reiterated its opposition to RFE/RL’s continued use of Public Radio frequencies. “I believe that any radio or TV station must be able to operate in Armenia, but that must be done on a commercial basis,” said Vahan Hovannisian, a Dashnaktsutyun leader. “And giving the state’s [broadcasting] capacities to somebody else is beyond logic.”

   “For Dashnaktsutyun, the top priority is Armenia’s interests,” added Hovannisian. “Radio Liberty is not acting against Armenia’s interests. But it is not acting for Armenia’s interests either.”

   Opposition leaders, for their part, stood by their view that RFE/RL is the only Armenian-language broadcaster not controlled by the authorities in Yerevan and that the latter have made a political decision to severely restrict Armenians’ access to its news programs ahead of next year’s presidential election.

   “They failed to do that through the National Assembly and are now trying to do that by other means,” said Victor Dallakian, a veteran opposition lawmaker who helped to block the controversial government bill. “This is a condemnable policy directed against freedom of speech.”

   “The purpose of not renewing the [retransmission] contract is to keep our people misinformed and to propagate what they want,” charged Vazgen Manukian, another prominent opposition politician. “The values our people now need most now is freedom, integrity and the ability to receive and analyze information. In this sense, the authorities could not have made a more anti-national decision.”
10. Onnik 07.26.07 / 2am

    EurasiaNet also covers the story.

    Negotiations to renew Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s broadcast agreement in Armenia have ended, reportedly putting the station’s Yerevan office on the verge of closure. As of August 9, the station’s Armenian service’s programs will no longer be carried on public radio. Critics contend the decision is an attempt to muzzle criticism of government policies.

    […]

    In a July 25 televised statement to explain the negotiations’ failure, Public Television and Radio Company Board Chairman Alexan Harutiunian stated that his organization had “not impeded, but displayed good will and retransmitted the programs of Radio Liberty from February till today despite the absence of a contract.”

    “The radio station made payments until February 27 and has not made any payment since then, but the bills were presented to it every month, and that debt today makes about $86,000. In other words, the public radio funded the retransmission of the radio station’s programs since 2007 at the expense of Armenia’s state budget,” Harutiunian said.

    […]

    In a July 24 press release, James K. Glassman, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, stated that the Public Televison and Radio Company had declined payment and had refused to sign a new agreement. Glassman claimed that the “minor technical issues” which had prompted the delegation’s trip to Yerevan had been “resolved” during the talks.

    […]

    The US Embassy in Yerevan has not yet issued any statement, but in an interview with RFE/RL on July 20, U.S. chargé d’affaires Rudolf Perina said that “assurances were given to us on a high level that the problem is a technical one and can be worked out through negotiations.”

    “[T]he authorities in Armenia understand that if it appeared that RFE/RL were being blocked from broadcasts for political reasons, this would be difficult for many friends of Armenia in the West and in the United States to understand,” Perina added.

    […]

    MP Stepan Safarian of the parliamentary opposition Heritage Party, which took part in an opposition boycott that contributed to the July 3 defeat of the earlier legislative amendments, expressed surprise over the failure of negotiations. “I didn’t expect the authorities to be so imprudent. They, in fact, do not avoid overt confrontation with the West, without thinking about the consequences,” Safarian said.

    He added that the potential consequences of the RFE/RL renewal failure were “quite serious.”
    In particular, Safarian suggested the decision could endanger the $235.65 million US-funded Millennium Challenge Program.

    Continuance of the Millennium Challenge program is contingent upon Armenia demonstrating that it is committed to democratic reform, including media rights. In 2006, the Washington, DC-based human rights organization Freedom House urged the Millennium Challenge Corporation to suspend the Armenian program, arguing that freedom of speech rights had not been observed.
11. 2008 Presidential Election Monitor » Blog Archive » The RFE/RL Saga Continues… 07.29.07 / 4pm

    […] on from the statement made by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) regarding a reported breakdown in talks over the future of the station’s broadcasts on Public Radio, the Public Television and Radio […]

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