October 13, 2023, Yerevan
On October 13, 2022, the day of the inauguration of the newly elected Mayor of Yerevan, Tigran Avinyan, journalists were banned from entering the municipality to participate in the ceremony. The official clarification cited limited available space as the cause.
We, the undersigned journalistic organizations, acknowledge that the media were notified about this in advance. Nevertheless, this cannot in any way justify the approach taken. Equally, the post-inauguration briefing by Tigran Avinyan cannot, in any manner, serve as a substitute for journalists’ participation in that ceremony, comprehensive reporting and exclusive video coverage.
By taking this measure, the municipality violated not only the right of journalists to freely access and disseminate information, but also infringed upon the public’s right to stay informed. Moreover, the suggestion to rely on the official broadcast is, at the very least, offensive from professional standpoint, as it severely restricts the opportunity for comprehensive event coverage. Comparing the situation with the mayoral inauguration five years ago, which was conducted with full media involvement, we observe a significant setback. Despite past obstacles faced by journalists when reporting on the Council of Elders sessions and the activities of the municipality in general, the issues had been resolved over the past few years. And now we are witnessing the reappearance of those vicious practices. These developments give grounds for expressing deep concern over the future working relationship between the municipality and journalists, which could turn out to be challenging.
Considering the above, we demand from Mayor Tigran Avinyan and the staff of the municipality:
- to apologize to journalists for the scornful treatment;
- to publicly assure that steps will be taken to establish proper collaboration with the media and their representatives.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
YEREVAN PRESS CLUB
MEDIA INITIATIVES CENTER
MEDIA DIVERSITY INSTITUTE-ARMENIA
JOURNALISTS’ CLUB “ASPAREZ”
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION CENTER
PUBLIC JOURNALISM CLUB
“JOURNALISTS FOR THE FUTURE” NGO
“JOURNALISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS” NGO
GORIS PRESS CLUB
“FEMIDA” NGO
