Armenia: Public Radio Refuses Deal with Radio Liberty

Negotiations to renew Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty's broadcast agreement in Armenia have ended, reportedly putting the station's Yerevan office on the verge of closure. As of August 9, the station's Armenian service's programs will no longer be carried on public radio. Critics contend the decision is an attempt to muzzle criticism of government policies.

Under the law "On Television and Radio," foreign media organizations' broadcasts are prohibited on frequencies used by the Public Television and Radio Company without the consent of the company's board. After expiration of an earlier contract, a new agreement for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) was submitted to Public Television and Radio this February, but was never signed.

Representatives from the Broadcasting Board of Governors, an independent agency that oversees non-military US government-funded overseas broadcasting, and the International Broadcasting Bureau, which provides support for these operations, negotiated with Armenia's Public Television and Radio Company for about a week, but were not able to reach agreement.

In a July 25 televised statement to explain the negotiations' failure, Public Television and Radio Company Board Chairman Alexan Harutiunian stated that his organization had "not impeded, but displayed good will and retransmitted the programs of Radio Liberty from February till today despite the absence of a contract."

"The radio station made payments until February 27 and has not made any payment since then, but the bills were presented to it every month, and that debt today makes about $86,000. In other words, the public radio funded the retransmission of the radio station's programs since 2007 at the expense of Armenia's state budget," Harutiunian said.

"Moreover, the public radio expressed readiness to assist in the matter of conducting negotiations with private companies to ensure the consistency of Radio Liberty's broadcasts," he added.

In a July 24 press release, James K. Glassman, chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, stated that the Public Televison and Radio Company had declined payment and had refused to sign a new agreement. Glassman claimed that the "minor technical issues" which had prompted the delegation's trip to Yerevan had been "resolved" during the talks.

"It seems clear that whatever is holding up an agreement has nothing to do with legal, contractual, or technical issues," he said.

"The potential end of our very fruitful relationship with Public Radio has no economic or other legitimate justification," added RFE/RL President Jeffrey Gedmin.

The statement affirms that the station's Yerevan office received a communication from the Public Television and Radio Company about its intentions one week after the July 3 failure of legislative amendments that would have imposed stiff fees for the rebroadcast of foreign media materials. [For background details, see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Harutiunian, for his part, maintains that the station has "politicized" the dispute.

Speaking by phone from Washington, DC, RFE/RL Associate Director of Communication Martin Zvaners told EurasiaNet that the broadcaster still hopes that the decision is not yet final and that a resolution can be found. "As our president already mentioned, we highly evaluate the cooperation with Armenia's public radio and we hope that the contract will be signed. In any case, we will take all available means for Armenians not to be deprived of the opportunity to listen to Radio Liberty," said Zvaners.

The US Embassy in Yerevan has not yet issued any statement, but in an interview with RFE/RL on July 20, U.S. chargé d'affaires Rudolf Perina said that "assurances were given to us on a high level that the problem is a technical one and can be worked out through negotiations."

"[T]he authorities in Armenia understand that if it appeared that RFE/RL were being blocked from broadcasts for political reasons, this would be difficult for many friends of Armenia in the West and in the United States to understand," Perina added.

In Armenia, reactions to the news were mixed. As in the run-up to the July 3 parliamentary vote, pro-government political figures again gave assurances that the move does not restrict Radio Liberty's broadcasting possibilities. Samvel Nikoyan, a member of parliament for the ruling Republican Party, told EurasiaNet that the radio station could easily have its programs retransmitted on private radio companies' frequencies.

"This decision has nothing to do with the elections. Radio Liberty does not interfere with the Republican Party. It was freely operating during the parliamentary elections and was quite critical of us, however we managed to get an absolute majority in parliament," said Nikoyan.

Human rights activist Ashot Melikian, chairman of the Committee for the Defense of Freedom of Speech, said that the move would boost the ability of Armenian authorities to control the flow of information. Most television and radio outlets are largely pro-government in their news coverage. "If we consider that some private radio will have the guts to sign a contract with Radio Liberty, all the same, the potential audience will shrink 10-20 times, as in remote rural areas people can tune in only to public radio," Melikian said.

A veteran opposition lawmaker, Viktor Dallakian, alleged that officials resorted to administrative measures to remove Radio Liberty from the air after legislative measures failed. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

MP Stepan Safarian of the parliamentary opposition Heritage Party, which took part in an opposition boycott that contributed to the July 3 defeat of the earlier legislative amendments, expressed surprise over the failure of negotiations. "I didn't expect the authorities to be so imprudent. They, in fact, do not avoid overt confrontation with the West, without thinking about the consequences," Safarian said.

He added that the potential consequences of the RFE/RL renewal failure were "quite serious."
In particular, Safarian suggested the decision could endanger the $235.65 million US-funded Millennium Challenge Program. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Continuance of the Millennium Challenge program is contingent upon Armenia demonstrating that it is committed to democratic reform, including media rights. In 2006, the Washington, DC-based human rights organization Freedom House urged the Millennium Challenge Corporation to suspend the Armenian program, arguing that freedom of speech rights had not been observed.