An important step forward

Published: Saturday March 15, 2008

We welcome the decision of President Robert Kocharian to modify restrictions on the freedom of the press which he had imposed as part of his March 1 order declaring a state of emergency in Yerevan for 20 days.

The original order required mass media to disseminate only "official reports" on "state and domestic political issues." The revised order bans "the dissemination of obvious lies, or reports destabilizing the situation, or calls for participation in unsanctioned rallies by mass media and in other ways."

It's hard to be in favor of lies, obvious or otherwise, or of promoting unlawful activities. However, the provision banning "reports destabilizing the situation" is one that will put editors in an impossible circumstance: when the situation is tense, as it is in and around Yerevan today, almost anything could be said to have a destabilizing effect. An official clarification that the provision applies only to outright advocacy of violence or lawbreaking would be useful.

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One of the major tasks of governance right now in Armenia is to reduce tensions and polarization. It is a task in which government, opposition, the media, and the public at large all have important roles. And it is a process that will take time. It will not be helped along by media disseminating "obvious lies" or by provocative language or action. Thus, the sentiment behind the revised order is understandable.

It should also be understood, however, that legal restrictions on the press are not a solution beyond the cooling-off period of the state of emergency.

Ultimately, the best way to confront lies is with openness and transparency. The best way to confront provocation, in the long run, is by building trust and increasing the political empowerment of regular citizens.

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Looking back at the press in Armenia over recent years, we have seen significant strides forward. Yet there's plenty of cause for distress.

The editor of the highest-circulation daily in Armenia, Haykakan Zhamanak, Nikol Pashinian, was the emcee for the rallies organized by Levon Ter-Petrossian over recent months. He headed the anti-Kocharian Impeachment bloc in the May 2007 parliamentary election. The bloc garnered a mere 1.3 percent of the vote back then, notwithstanding the newspaper's circulation. How did the editor explain his defeat? He claimed that 400,000 fake passports were printed in the names of Armenian citizens known to be abroad; a band of trusted criminals rushed from precinct to precinct, pretending to be those people, and voting on their behalf. (Assuming that one person could vote no more than 25 times in a day, no fewer than 16,000 people would have to be involved in this conspiracy!)

The evidence? He thought about it, and that was the explanation that came to mind.

This sort of thing is standard fare for Armenia's print media. And it is not limited to election-time passions.
Take the continuing rise in value of the Armenian dram against the U.S. dollar. For people not well-versed in the law of supply and demand, it is a confusing topic. The instinct is to assume that powerful people - officials or businesspeople - have somehow conspired to devalue the dollar to line their own pockets. And this is the theory that most newspapers have espoused. Any banker will tell you: exchange a few million dollars in one day, and you can lower the rate for a couple of days; but the trend that had continued for years is that foreign investments in Armenia and remittances to Armenia have been rising, increasing the supply of dollars; meanwhile, U.S. administration policy has been driving down the value of the dollar across the globe.

One banker - a prominent Armenian one in Moscow - some months ago gave an interview to the moderate newspaper 168-Zham, explaining all this. But, lest readers think the editors had lost their edge, they couldn't resist adding a note at the end, saying, in effect, "Yeah, right!"

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The Soviet experience taught Armenians to say, "yeah, right," especially to official pronouncements. Maybe there are additional historical reasons for this. In any case, many people are cynical, willing to believe nothing and at the same time believe almost anything.

As Armenia learns to be a democracy, everyone needs to unlearn some old behaviors.

Politicians - in government and in opposition - and other public officials need to know that they are accountable for telling the truth. As they increase their openness and transparency, they will also have to increase their tolerance for criticism in the media.

The media, in turn, need to hold people holding or aspiring to positions of authority and trust accountable. They will need to do so more responsibly. The more media outlets cultivate a reputation for being free and responsible, the better able they will be to compete with outlets that thrive on recklessness.

The population at large has a role too: people need to move from outright cynicism to a healthy combination of trust and skepticism. They need to demand through their buying and viewing habits that media be responsible. And they need to engage the political process and their elected representatives not only during elections, but also between elections.

As the state of emergency expires in a few days, we look forward to the restoration, and indeed the enhancement, of the freedom of the press in the homeland.