December 12, 2023, Yerevan
Journalist Marut Vanyan, who resettled in Armenia following displacement from Stepanakert, recently brought attention to the dismal state of Hrazdan’s streets on his Facebook page. He published several photos, posing a rhetorical question: “Does this city even have a mayor?” Shortly after, the mayor’s “defenders” insulted and threatened the journalist in the comments, targeting him as an Artsakh citizen. To evade the deluge of hateful comments, Marut Vanyan had to deactivate his Facebook page.
We, the undersigned journalistic organizations, strongly condemn any manifestation of discrimination and intolerance, especially when it spreads in the media and social networks. We stand in solidarity with the October 9 joint statement by Media Ethics Observatory and Information Disputes Council, and reiterate that publishing texts inciting hatred against our compatriots displaced to Armenia due to Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing policy, the divisive categorization between “hayastantsi” (resident of Armenia) and “gharabaghtsi” (resident of Karabakh) in general are extremely dangerous and unacceptable practices. It is especially condemnable when such a discriminatory attitude is directed at a journalist already carrying out his professional duties in Armenia. We regard the Facebook campaign against Marut Vanyan as a severe form of pressure aimed at obstructing the journalist from addressing issues of public importance.
Considering the above, we demand:
- law enforcement agencies to disclose the identities of individuals responsible for hate speech, insults and threats against the journalist and hold them accountable;
- the mayor of Hrazdan to publicly evaluate the situation and urge his supporters to show tolerance towards critical opinions, regardless of their source.
COMMITTEE TO PROTECT FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION
YEREVAN PRESS CLUB
MEDIA INITIATIVES CENTER
MEDIA DIVERSITY INSTITUTE-ARMENIA
JOURNALISTS’ CLUB “ASPAREZ”
JOURNALISTS’ CLUB “ASPAREZ”
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION CENTER
PUBLIC JOURNALISM CLUB
“JOURNALISTS FOR THE FUTURE” NGO
“JOURNALISTS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS” NGO
GORIS PRESS CLUB