OPPOSITION CALLS COURT RULING ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L YEREVAN 000242

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CARC, EUR/PPD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/02/2017
TAGS: PGOV OPRC AM KPAO
SUBJECT: OPPOSITION CALLS COURT RULING ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO
DENY IT AIR TIME

REF: A. YEREVAN 0481


B. YEREVAN 1075

Classified By: CDA A. F. Godfrey for reasons 1.4 (b, d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) In response to an application submitted by President
Robert Kocharian, the Armenian Constitutional Court has ruled
as unconstitutional a law requiring Public TV and Radio to
broadcast parts of National Assembly sessions. The
opposition claims that, after recent announcements of what
they call exceedingly high prices for campaign advertisements
(septel),the decision was another political move aimed at
denying them access to television air time. Public TV told
us that it will continue to air National Assembly broadcasts
until a "mutually acceptable agreement" is reached with the
National Assembly. END SUMMARY.

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COURT STEPS IN AFTER PARLIAMENT FAILS TO DELIVER
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2. (U) The Public TV and Radio Board has been pushing for a
change to the law requiring Public TV and Radio to air
National Assembly sessions during prime time since last Year,
saying that the law is not in line with
European press freedom standards. While in March, 2006, the
National Assembly rejected calls by Public TV and Radio
Chairman Aleksan Harutiunian to amend the law (ref A),on
February 16 the Constitutional Court ruled that Armenian
Public TV is no longer required to air National Assembly
sessions during which MPs ask government ministers questions
and have the opportunity to make three to five minute
statements. Public TV is also no longer required to air the
Parliament Hour television program, and Public Radio is no
longer required to broadcast National Assembly sessions live.
This decision was also striking for the abruptness with
which it dropped onto the political scene.


3. (SBU) The MP statements and questions to government
ministers are aired (by law) at 9:30 PM on Wednesdays
following Public TV's number one rated evening news program.
Parliament Hour was aired at 9:00 PM on Sundays
when there is no evening news program. The short statements
and question and answer sessions often included
sharp criticism of the government and the President,
frequently using quite &colorful8 language. While the
audience for these programs seems comparable to the audience
of C-Span, AGB Nielson ratings from a year ago
actually show that, on average, Parliament Week had the
highest ratings compared with programs aired by other
stations at the same day and at the same time.


4. (U) The court heard arguments from the President's
representative as the applicant, and the head of the
Department of Legislative Analysis of the National Assembly
as the respondent. It concluded that the National Assembly
did not have the constitutional authority to order Public
Television and Radio to broadcast specific activities of the
National Assembly at a specific airtime. It also concluded
that requiring Public TV and Radio to air these programs
infringed upon its constitutional independence. The Court
cited Article 27, which states, "Freedom of mass media and
other means of mass information shall be guaranteed," and,
"The state shall guarantee the existence and activities of an
independent and public radio and television service offering
a variety of informational, cultural and entertainment
programs." These articles were added to the constitution in
the November 2005 referendum.

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OPPOSITION CLAIMS DECISION IS POLITICAL MOVE
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5. (C) Opposition figures claim that the decision will
deprive them of their only opportunity to broadcast their
views on television, as Armenian television channels are
strongly influenced by the government and rarely provide air
time to opposition leaders. In addition, they cite campaign
television ad prices, which are higher than rates for normal
commercial ads, as another attempt to keep them off of
television screens in advance of the elections (ref A).
RFE/RL cites Stepan Demirchian, the leader of the opposition
People's Party, as saying, "This ruling, as well as the surge
in the cost of campaign ads, is clearly aimed at further
limiting the opposition's campaigning possibilities in the

run-up to the parliamentary and presidential elections....It
shows that the authorities are scared of full-scale
opposition campaigning." (Note: While Demirchian's
complaint about the decision not to require the broadcast of
Parliament Hour may have merit, the price of political ads
has not "surged;" in fact, according to Western experts, the
price has not kept pace with the market. End Note.)

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PUBLIC TV WILL CONTINUE BROADCASTING SESSIONS...BUT WITH EDITS
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6. (C) Public TV and Radio Commission Chairman Aleksan
Harutiunian announced on February 26 that Public TV and
Public Radio would continue airing National Assembly
broadcasts until the end of the current National Assembly's
mandate, and perhaps after that, depending on the opinion of
the newly elected leaders. Harutiunian said that while the
broadcasts would continue, Parliament Hour would now be aired
at 20:00 instead of 21:00, and the question and answer
sessions would be edited. Harutiunian claimed that important
portions of the sessions would not be omitted--only "bad
language" would be cut. However, Aravot opposition newspaper
reported on March 2 that, during its broadcast of the
February 27 National Assembly session, Public TV omitted six
of the ten statements made by opposition figures. The author
of the article told us that Public TV cut statements that
were particularly critical of the authorities, including
opposition party Orinats Yerkir MP Hovhannes Markaryan's
complaint about actions the government has taken against his
party.

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SPEAKER SAYS PARLIAMENT SHOULD HAVE SOLVED ISSUE
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7. (U) Speaking with journalists after the court ruling,
National Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosian implied that he
would have preferred had the Constitutional Court given the
National Assembly time to find an acceptable
solution. Torosian is quoted as saying, "This (the ruling)
is the result of the (November 2005) constitutional
amendments, and we should have solved this issue the way
almost thirty other laws (conflicting with the new
amendments) were solved. In other words, a deadline to come
to a solution should have been set, a solution should have
been found, and amendments to the bylaw should have been
changed. But we have what we have." Torosian also said that
the public needs to be aware of the work of the parliament,
as is the case in all Council of Europe countries. He
remarked that coverage should be broadcast nationwide and
thus it would be positive if Public TV covered the National
Assembly's work, but said that this should be negotiated and
a television station "cannot be forced to negotiate."

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COMMENT
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8. (C) Substantively, we find it difficult to argue that the
GOAM lacks the right and authority to regulate its public
broadcasters and the content they provide as the government
sees fit. In the local political context, however, this is a
disappointing move on several counts. There is little doubt
that the President's action was politically motivated, with
the objective being to limit air time for opposition MPs
running for office. The decision is also unfortunate due to
its intention to shut down practically the only
nationally-televised forum for direct criticism of the
President, his ministers, and the government in general by
opposition politicians. The program's high ratings indicate
that there is a real audience for this programming. Also,
after a short string of Constitutional Court decisions that
tended to demonstrate more judicial independence, this
decision seems to be an instance when the court offered its
full obedience to the president--quickly delivering the
outcome he sought after the executive's rare defeat on this
issue in the National Assembly.
GODFREY