February 11, 2010 - 16:07 AMT
Artak Davtyan: Every decision of NCTR justified


"There are no states in the world that not control their television. I regret we have not started to severely punish the channels not corresponding to the criteria," <b> Artak Davtyan</b>, Chairman of RA NA Standing Committee on Science, Education, Culture, Youth and Sports told a press conference on February 11. According to him, fines for noncompliance with the standards will range from AMD 100 to 500 thousand, and a frequent noncompliance with the law can lead to losing the broadcasting license by a channel.

The criteria have been compiled by the National Committee of Television and Radio (NCTR), involving professionals in various fields, and every decision of the Committee is justified, he said.

According to an expert Anush Setrakyan, the best solution to this issue would use our fee-based, closed channels. "I think the criteria cannot solve the problem of comprehensive provincialism, prevailing on Armenian TV channels," Anush Setrakyan said.

On December 9, 2009 by a secret ballot, the National Assembly of Armenia elected the members of the National Committee of Television and Radio for 6 years.