Armenian government`s decision restricting press coverage of  wreath-laying ceremony at Armenian Genocide Memorial shameful - UJA

ArmInfo.The Department of Information and Public Relations of the Prime Minister's Office issued a message according to which only accredited photojournalists will be allowed to visit the Armenian Genocide Memorial (Tsitsernakaberd) during the government's wreath-laying ceremony on April 24, since the ceremony 

will be of a protocol nature.

The press is allowed to attend only 

after the government ceremonial part has passed. On this occasion, 

the Union of Journalists of Armenia issued a statement in which it 

called such a decision shameful, unacceptable and unprecedented.

According to the SJA, this is another noisy, shameful and 

unprecedented attempt on the part of the current authorities of 

Armenia to limit access to information and prevent the media from 

fully performing their professional activities. With this 

unacceptable decision, the authorities show their fears and, most 

importantly, their attitude towards the work of the media and 

journalists.

The statement notes that this is not the first time the press has 

been denied access to such events. On January 28 of this year, on the 

occasion of the formation of the Armenian Army, the authorities 

rudely prohibited journalists from entering the Yerablur military 

pantheon. "Such steps by the government of the country, which 

declared itself a "bastion of democracy," and especially the 

consistent nature of these steps, indicate a violation of democratic 

values, including, first of all, unbridled measures directed against 

freedom of speech and the press.

The Union of Journalists of Armenia strongly condemns this 

anti-democratic behavior of the government and demands an immediate 

review of this decision regarding the press and allowing media 

representatives to freely cover the events of the anniversary of the 

Armenian Genocide without time restrictions.