Published since 07.2002
Published on March 28, 2008
PRESS PRESSURE: REGIONAL NEWSPAPER FEELS WEIGHT OF RISK AND RESPONSIBILITY
- On March 16 at around 8 p.m. Goris police officers turned up at Syunik-based Syunyats Yerkir newspaper’s editor Samvel Alexanyan’s apartment and detained him without a prior notice. Alexanyan was held at the police station for 4 hours, searched and interrogated. “They brought some papers for me to sign, I refused,” he tells. Alexanyan read and saw that 2 charges were brought against him: showing resistance to police, and active participation in March 1 events in Yerevan. Both charges seemed ridiculous to Alexanyan: “I invited the police officers to come inside, asked my wife to treat them coffee and went to the police station of my own free will. ‘Is that called resistance?’ I asked.” On March 1 Alexanyan was in Goris and the claims of having video material, photographs proving how he is making appeals on March 1 in Yerevan, take part in the public disorder sound absurd to him. “Investigation proved that suspicions were groundless.” He was asked for a written report on what he was doing on the election day, pre- and post-election period, when and why he went to Yerevan. He was reminded that he had taken part in Levon Ter-Petrosyan’s rallies during the visit to Syunik. “I explained that I am a reporter and that I and other reporters of my newspaper took part in all the rallies of election campaign held by all candidates having visited Syunik; all that was reflected in the newspaper, how come they don’t ask why Haylur (a pro-government broadcast) reporter was there?” In fact the editor connects the incident with his journalistic activities and the newspaper’s operation especially with the pre-election articles. Since 2004 the paper has not been the authorities’ most favorite one, as it often published statements other newspapers of the province never take the risk to write about. Syunats Yerkir is the only province-scale media in Syunik. There are some town papers in Syunik and Sisyan but Syunats Yerkir is the only regularly published and distributed throughout the province news outlet. It covers the life in the province, distributed in 7 towns and villages and also Yerevan. The paper has a circulation of 2,100; funding originates mostly from subscriptions and sale. Conflict between the authorities and the newspaper started in autumn of 2004. Some people think that as a result of such pressure a news outlet operating in this faraway region would have to shut down. But it survived, continues to work, even turning from the de facto semi-official newspaper it used to be into an independent one, becoming more welcomed and anticipated, it raised its circulation and even has set up an internet site since September (www.syuniacyerkir.am) The editorial staff has twice been evicted from their office, and the paper’s car sat on fire. But there is an impression that people living so far away from the capital have finally capitulated accepting the right of existence for such media and that it’s impossible to silence it by force. During the election period the paper covered many election-related topics, candidates’ visits to the region. It had a special advertisement order from Serzh Sargsyan’s headquarter. It was a surprise for many of its readers and was in a way criticized, but the editor said: “We have announced beforehand that the pages of our newspaper are available to all the candidates on equal bases. Only Sargsyan’s headquarter responded. That is also an assessment, somehow appreciation- such an order is given to a regional newspaper, that means our professionalism has been recognized.” In its other issues the paper continued its regular activities, trying to cover what really happened in Syunik on those days. Before March 1 events the paper’s last issue was published on February 29, containing articles about both the violations, alarm calls, soldiers’ voting registered on the election day, post-election developments in Syunik and the post-election rallies and protests in Yerevan. Despite the state of emergency being imposed only on Yerevan, the editorial staff of Syunats Yerekir- taking into consideration the tensions and non-friendly attitude to ‘unwelcome’ media- unwilling to publish official statements only, thought it appropriate not to publish at all and wait until the state of emergency was lifted.
- Armine Avagyan
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Today in Armenian history- 1799 Birth of Eone Kish (Kishian), Hungarian Armenian revolutionary figure.
- 1827 General Ivan Paskevich is appointed Governor of the Caucasus and Commander of the Caucasian Special Corps.
- 1830 Birth of organist, conductor, teacher, and public figure, Anton Mayilian in Tbilissi.
- 1907 Birth of surgeon Ivan Gevorgian. He invented pain-killers and pioneered new ways for blood transfusion.
- 1920 The Drama Institute presents its first play.
- 1923 Birth of two-time hero and pilot Nelson Stepanian. The group of pilots led by Nelson Stepanian sank more than 50 enemy ships and destroyed 13 airplanes in World War Two. Nelson Stepanian flew 240 sorties. He died in a dogfight in 1944.
- 1928 Birth of artist and sculptor Ara Harootoonian. His great architectural work is the Sardarapat complex.
- 1988 The Supreme Soviet of the USSR rejects Artsakh's demand to be reunited with Armenia.
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