Armenians accuse Russian TV channels of lobbying for Azerbaijan's interests

Russian TV channels' coverage of the September escalation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border caused outrage in the Armenian segment of Facebook. Armenian users of the social network, in particular, accused Russian TV channels of "slanted presentation of information and lobbying of Azerbaijani interests".

The Armenian media write that there were demands to follow the example of Ukraine and Georgia by banning the broadcasting of Russian TV channels on the entire territory of Armenia at the legislative level, Caliber.Az reports.

"The format of the Russian TV channels does not correspond to the basics of journalism, it is propaganda which pursues political goals, ignoring the public interest in receiving objective and reliable information," Ashot Melikyan, head of the Committee to Protect Freedom of Expression, told the Armenian media.

He particularly cited the example of Russian TV channels' negative coverage of the "Electric Yerevan" protests against electricity tariff hikes. According to him, Russian TV channels presented the rallies as another "colour" revolution.

"Objective coverage of the actions against corruption in the energy system went against the propaganda of the Kremlin, which did not benefit the Russian public, as well as the audience of Russian TV channels in other countries, to perceive 'Electric Yerevan' as a legitimate protest. The aim was to discredit the protest movement. The goal was to discredit the protest movement. Russian TV channels also negatively covered the capture of police regiment by Sasna Tsrer group in July 2016," Melikyan noted.

"This is a long tradition of Russian propaganda that goes against the interests of Armenia. Decades ago, Soviet television gave negative coverage to the Karabakh movement, which was portrayed as a separatist, blackshirt movement that cannot be taken seriously and allowed to develop," he recalled.

"Russian TV channels are misleading the public by provoking negative sentiments. Lies, hatred, and enmity are disseminated and all this is prohibited by Armenian laws," Melikyan explained.

Nevertheless, in his view, it would be unwise to ban or block Russian TV channels in the current political climate. "This would cause discontent in Russia, whose authorities are reverent about the ability to broadcast in foreign countries and spread the Russian language. In these geopolitical realities, it is dangerous to aggravate relations with the Kremlin, which at least gives tacit consent to Azerbaijan's aggression against Armenia," he stressed.

At the same time, the expert believes that Russian TV channels, with the exception of RTR, which broadcasts on the basis of an interstate agreement, should be excluded from the public multiplex and redirected to the cable network.

"Armenian laws may prevent the spread of propaganda, but Armenia, due to its vulnerability, is forced to look back at the Kremlin. Otherwise, Russian TV channels would face the same fate as in the Baltic states, Georgia and Ukraine," Melikyan stressed.

There are no legal bans or obstacles to overcome this problem, he believes. "In the era of digital technologies, it is necessary to raise public media literacy. In this case fakes, lies, propaganda, and artificial discrediting will do less harm. By increasing media literacy, these phenomena will a priori become marginal," the media expert concluded.