The CE Parliamentary Assembly adopted comments on the Draft Law “On Introducing Amendments and Supplements to the RA Law ‘On Television and Radio’.” The amendments were proposed by the Armenian Government and approved by the RA Parliament on June 10, 2010. According to the document, the amendments only tighten government control over TV and radio companies. The opposition political parties, as well as co-rapporteurs of the PACE Monitoring Commission on Armenia and OSCE are critical of the Armenian authorities for the amendments.

PACE members point out the amendments hinder the implementation of the resolutions by the European Court of Human Rights, which is critical of the Armenian authorities for shutting down the A1+ TV channel as well as for limiting the number of licenses to be granted, which will deprive some TV companies of the right to broadcast.

The amendments will cause further violations of the law, such as unclear definitions of the licensing systems, mobile messages, etc.. The amendments will result in restrictions on licenses, control over licenses by courts and restrictions on media freedom.

The PACE members consider it unacceptable on the Armenian Government’s part to amend the Law on Television and Radio, as it will violate media freedom. The authors demand that the Armenian authorities amend the law in conformity with international laws and ensure the opposition forces’ participation in the process.

The document was signed by 34 PACE members from Cyprus, Romania, Ukraine, Austria, Germany, Moldova, Armenia and other states.The missile systems originally destined for Iran have been built, and could possibly be supplied to a third country, Chemezov said, with money from any sale being used to compensate Tehran.

The S-300 system is designed for defending high-value objects such as military bases and command and control centers. It can engage all kinds of aerial targets including ballistic and cruise missiles, up to a range of 150 kilometers and an altitude of 27,000 meters.