YPC, Yerevan, 26 Sep 2008 – On September 19 International Religious Freedom Report of the US Department was released. The report was prepared by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and covers the period from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008.
In the part of the report devoted to Armenia it is particularly said that ”Government generally did not enforce existing legal restrictions on religious freedom”, and “the Constitution provides for freedom of religion and the right to practice, choose, or change religious belief”.
While speaking about the restrictions on religious freedom, the authors of the report pointed out that in May and June 2008 “the progovernment “Hayots Ashkhar” and “Golos Armenii” daily newspapers published anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic accusations against former president and current opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrossian”. “Local observers viewed the inflammatory articles as attempts to portray the opposition leader as a traitor to the country and stir up anti-Semitic sentiment in a country traditionally known for its welcoming attitudes toward Jews”, stressed the US Department report.
On June 1, 2008 the First Channel of Public Television of Armenia “broadcast a 10-minute segment on its weekly “360 Degrees” news magazine program, the sole focus of which appeared to be to disparage and undermine the opposition”: “The footage incorporated the anti-Semitic and anti-Masonic attacks by ‘Hayots Ashkhar’ and ‘Golos Armenii’.”
On February 27, 2008, after the presidential elections, “Haylur” news program of PTA First Channel presented a coverage of a post-presidential election opposition rally, “focusing primarily on an Israeli flag – one of many nations’ flags in the crowd – with the intention of vilifying Ter-Petrossian, whose wife is Jewish”.
“Media outlets continued to label religious groups other than the Armenian Church as “sects” in their broadcasting and transmitted negative programs about them. Various television stations broadcast discussions in which representatives of the Armenian Church and/or other participants labeled religious minority groups as enemies of the state and national unity”, emphasizes the part of the US Department International Religious Freedom Report devoted to Armenia.
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