Statement in Response to the Report of Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media delivered by Ambassador Arman Kirakossian at the 1005th Meeting of the OSCE Permanent Coun

19 June, 2014

Mr. Chairman,

We would like to warmly welcome Ms. Dunja Mijatovic, OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media and express our gratitude for her comprehensive and informative report.

Armenia reiterates its support to the Representative on the Freedom of Media and her activities. We are ready to continue close cooperation with the Office of Ms. Mijatovic in making our progress in the field of freedom of expression and freedom of media irreversible.

We took note of the parts of the report relating to Armenia and we would like to stress that the investigation on the two issues of alleged police obstruction of journalists' activities reflected in the Report of Ms. Mijatovic is in progress and we will continue to inform the Office on the developments of the investigation.

The issue of safety of journalists remains high on the agenda of the Government of Armenia and we are pleased to note the high level of cooperation with the RFOM Office on this important matter.

We are encouraged to see that addressing issues of harassment, intimidation and attacks against journalists, including their murder remain one of the key priorities of the RFOM. Protection of journalists, in particular those, covering sensitive issues including through involvement in the reconciliation and confidence building measures should be in the focus of the RFOM Office. Unfortunately, there are cases when efforts to silence the independent voices advocating peace and reconciliation take archaic repressive forms of witch-hunting under well-known charges of espionage activities.

In this regard, we would encourage more targeted efforts of the RFOM Office in drawing the attention of the Permanent Council to the issues of ill-treatment, intimidation and detention of journalists who dare to raise their voices to advocate peace, mutual understanding and reconciliation.

In the end, we would like to wish you, Ms. Mijatovic, every success in your future endeavours.

Thank you.

MFA RA
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