“PARLIAMENT SPEAKER IS A LIAR”, PNC ANNOUNCES
Support A1+!”Arthur Baghdasaryan is the courtesan of Robert Kocharyan”, journalist Vardan Vardanyan announced at today’ press conference in Press National Club.
Besides the above-said, Vardanyan also made a group of responsible statements. ”Parliament Speaker is a liar. Justice Deputy Minister Ashot Abovyan and Parliament’ Education and Science Committee Chair Hranush Hakobyan are liars, too”.
Passing the Law on “Mass Information” by Parliament once more demonstrated our authorities to be excessively insolence. PNC today proved though both Hranush Hakobyan and Ashot Abovyan had been informed that PNC had introduced an alternative bill, they publicly announced there was no other bill.
PNC pins no hopes on the second discussion of the Law. Journalists are sure it can’t be positively amended within a month. PNC Chair Narine Mkrtchyan said Justice Deputy Minister Ashot Abovyan had promised her to include some clauses of the bill by PNC in his one.
”Ashot Abovyan’s bill was worked on restriction of the journalists’ rights whereas ours is based upon speech freedom. Contents of the two bills just run counter to each other”, Mrs Mkrtchyan says.
Summing up the governmental law on “Mass Information”, limiting journalists’ rights, PNC appeared with a statement: ”Using all the state key factors, today the authoritative majority of Parliament brought into force the controversial bill on “Mass Information” by the first stage. PNC reaffirms its willingness together with like-minded Media to continue fighting for the alternative bill on “Mass Information” to be legislatively initiated and then approved in Parliament. We state that the governmental bill on “Mass Information” was passed through flagrant breaches of Parliament’ regulations”.
”Justice” Bloc has already voiced readiness to submit PNC’ version to Parliament discussion.
Journalists told though a group of MPs, Hermine Naghdalyan and Armen Danielyan in particular, hadn’t taken part in the voting of the bill, someone had voted “for” it instead of them:
”We met Hermine Naghdalyan and Armen Danielyan at Parliament’ entrance. After Mrs Naghdalyan had learnt that voting had already been over, she said: “Thank goodness! I got off light”, Narine Dilbaryan says.
”Armenian Times” Daily Editor-in-Chief Nikol Pashinyan, present to the press conference drew attention of everybody to the fact that Media representatives hadn’t yet discussed the contents of the bill introduced by Ashot Abovyan. According to Pashinyan, the main omission in the law is that journalists will have to appeal to other laws all the time.
Under the bill by Government, each department itself determines the order for journalists’ accreditation. One can suppose what is expected in the information field – armies of favourite and disgraced journalists, meanwhile no instance has any commission to grant rights to journalists or deprive them of rights.
Journalists announced they were ready to co-operate with everyone who needs free and just press. Appealing to Parliament Speaker Arthur Baghdasaryan, journalists reminded him that it will be a long time before he needs a free and fair press but it will be late.
