April 6, 2004 - 23:55 AMT
ARMENIAN JOURNALISTS ACCUSED LAW-ENFORCERS OF PANDERING INSTIGATORS OF DISORDERS AT OPPOSITION RALLIES
The Armenian National Press Club, Asparez journalists' club and editorial staff of Hetq magazine of the Association of journalists-investigators of Armenia condemned a group of young people, who attacked the journalists during the opposition rally in Yerevan on April 5. "The incident proves that the pressure on freedom of speech in Armenia still remains unpunished and is encouraged by the silent consent of law-enforcers", Asparez's statement says. The authors also called "to show respect to the professional duty" to those journalists, who, in the opinion of the authors, "distorted the situation thus supporting the hooligans". To remind, during yesterday's rally organized by the National Unity opposition party a group of young people bombarded the marchers with eggs and then took away and broke the journalists' audio and video equipment.