Fear & Oppression in Armenia — Never!
Last week I received an email from Aramazd Ghalamkaryan, a frequent commenter on this blog and also seemingly one of the main people behind the publicity for former president Levon Ter Petrosian’s unofficial campaign ahead of February’s presidential election. Basically, they wanted to purchase the high resolution version of a photograph I took of Levon Ter Petrosian at his first public rally for use in their materials. In a normal country such a request would be easy to grant, but this is Armenia. This is not a normal country.
My main concern was that by effectively selling an image to Levon Ter Petrosian’s team it might create a conflict of interests in my work covering later rallies and so I consulted various photographers I know outside of Armenia for their opinion. In all cases — New York Times photographer Justyna Mielnikiewicz, World Press Photo Award winner Edmond Terakopian, and EurasiaNet photo editor Dean Cox — the answer was no, it does not represent a conflict of interests given that I was not commissioned to take the photo and the fact that I cover every other campaign rally as well.
But as I said, this is Armenia, and such realities are not seen as clearly here. Indeed, what has been noticeable in my nine years living in Armenia is how photojournalists and journalists cover issues specific to their political allegiances. For example, during the 2003 presidential election, only photographers such as myself, French-Armenian photographer Max Sivaslian, and staff photographers from ArmInfo and Photolure documented the post-election protests.
The other “big names” stayed clear, just as they noticeably did not cover issues such as poverty or other “sensitive” issues until the government effectively gave them a green light with policy documents such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) when it was too late anyway. And probably they were right not to risk their necks because in 2004 it was photographers such as myself and staff cameramen from TV stations that were attacked during the April protests.
Police stood by and watched as a group of well-organized thugs attacked journalists, smashing cameras that caught them throwing eggs and firecrackers at thousands of opposition supporters who demonstrated in downtown Yerevan on Monday.
The violence, unprecedented for post-Soviet Armenia’s mass media, fits into what seems to be becoming a pattern in the increasingly tense political climate in the country, with groups of dubious individuals trying to disrupt opposition rallies and law-enforcement officials doing little to keep them in line.
[…]
Onnik Krikorian, a British freelance photographer of Armenian descent, was punched in the face but managed to hold on to his camera after taking several pictures of the melee. “They’ve smashed cameras,” Krikorian said in shock. “They don’t care if someone has got a journalist’s pass around their neck, they don’t care if they are foreigners. They’ve got a job to do and that’s to hit people or throw eggs. That’s the only reason they are here.”
Another photographer, Hayk Gevorgian of the “Haykakan Zhamanak” daily, was less lucky, watching helplessly as his digital camera was shattered to pieces. Anna Israelian, a veteran correspondent for another leading Armenian newspaper, “Aravot,” was knocked to the ground when she tried to photograph the rampage.
The ugly scene unfolded just meters away law-enforcement officers, among them the chief of the Yerevan police, who ignored pleas for help from demonstrators and journalists alike. “Why don’t you catch them? Aren’t you Armenian?” screamed one woman.
But the police officers continued to stand by silently, refusing to explain their indifference. One officer advised Krikorian to complain to the British embassy.
During the presidential election in 2003 I was also called in to OVIR to have my “visa checked” after I pretty much was visible in every H1 report on the protests. The process involved two hours of grilling by an unidentified person called in to “supervise” the process who spent that time quizzing me on my opinions on the political situation in Armenia. Obviously, as my visa was in order, and as my son is an Armenian citizen, they could do nothing.
Now, fast forward to yesterday. According to RFE/RL, and since confirmed by a quick SMS to Aramazd Ghalamkaryan, leaflets printed to publicize Saturday’s rally by Levon Ter Petrosian have been confiscated by the authorities. True enough, while walking through Komitas earlier this evening I wondered why there were no flyers for the event in sight anywhere. For the previous two meetings they were everywhere.
Today, just two days before a rally that I can suppose would have attracted more people than normal because it was a Saturday, there was nothing. And now I know why.
Tax inspectors have confiscated thousands of newly printed leaflets announcing former President Levon Ter-Petrosian’s upcoming rally in Yerevan, it emerged on Thursday.
According to Aleksandr Arzumanian, a close Ter-Petrosian associate, an activist of the opposition Aylentrank movement was detained by officials from the State Tax Service (STS) while receiving 4,000 leaflets from a printing house in the capital on Wednesday. He said the activist, Artak Arakelian, was taken into custody on the grounds that he had no documents certifying the origin of the fliers.
“After keeping him in custody for six hours they fined him 15,000 drams ($50),” Arzumanian told RFE/RL. The STS officials also inspected the Van Arian printing company’s books and briefly detained one of its employees, he said.
A spokeswoman for the STS, Alina Khudoyan, essentially confirmed the information, saying that the leaflets were “temporarily” confiscated because Van Arian did not input the Aylentrank order into its accounts in order to evade taxes. Khudoyan said the tax collection agency fined the company, rather that Arakelian. Speaking to RFE/RL, she could not say when the leaflets will be returned to Aylentrank.
Arzumanian dismissed the official explanation and described the STS actions as the latest example of government harassment of Ter-Petrosian supporters in advance of next February’s presidential elections. “They are doing everything to prevent us from informing the public that we will hold a rally in Liberty Square on Saturday,” he said.
[…]
“We are not doing anything illegal,” said Arzumanian. “We will try to find other printing houses,” he added. “But as you know, everyone is scared now.”
Levon Ter Petrosian Rally, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2007
Well, I have to say that the only people who appear to be scared are the authorities themselves. Although I personally believe that if the election is allowed to run its proper course it is possible that Ter Petrosian would not make it into the second round, the government is actually proving to the electorate that he represents a very real threat indeed. Basically, by reacting in such a manner to such a perceived threat, they are making such a situation more likely to emerge.
Meanwhile, as you might have already guessed from the opening introduction to this post, the photograph used for the confiscated leaflets was apparently mine and so I now have to wonder if I too have something to fear, but I’ll say this. Nothing will stop me from conducting my professional duties and indeed, such acts of desperation prove that the work of professional journalists and photojournalists is more important than ever.
Before this gross violation of freedom of information, if I had planned to attend Levon Ter Petrosian’s rally on Saturday to document it for this blog, I will now go as a matter of principle and I will take as many photographs as I can and disseminate them as widely as is possible. Such acts must not be allowed to succeed and therefore, in lieu of any leaflets advertising the date, time and venue of the third meeting by the first president, here it is from Facebook.
Date: Saturday, December 8, 2007
Time: 3:00pm - 6:00pm
Location: Azatutyun Square
City/Town: Yerevan
Meanwhile, the photo Aramazd Ghalamkaryan says was used for the leaflet is posted above, and just to remind, all photos taken during this pre-election period are available on my Flickr site and may be freely used for non-commercial and non-politically partisan purposes as long as credit and a link is given. For other uses please contact me to discuss the matter.
Otherwise, I actually urge webmasters to use these images if they are not modified in any way if only to show to the government that under no circumstances will their attempts at censorship and intimidation be allowed to succeed.
And as I have to wonder if at some point pressure will be applied on journalists and photographers covering Ter Petrosian’s rallies, I will now be writing an email expressing my concern to the British Embassy. I am also going to express my concern and outrage to high-level acquaintances I have at the U.S. Embassy in Yerevan. This move towards an environment of fear and oppression in Armenia must not be allowed to continue. In fact, it must stop now.
- Published:
- 12.07.07 / 12am by Onnik
- Category:
- Armenia, Armenia Presidential Election 2008, Arrests, Candidates, Censorship, Freedom of Speech, Media, National Security Service (NSS), Parties, Rallies
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