YEREVAN (Noyan Tapan)-Last week Armenia’s Prime Minister Armen Sarkissian visited the state-owned Armenpress–Noyan Tapan and Snark news agencies–the Armenian State Television Company and the Tele-Radio Broadcasting Center to inspect the efficiency of these establishmen’s and their material and technical conditions.
Sarkissian said that in the second half of February the government will meet with all interested media representatives to create a coordinated program regarding the dissemination of information and relations between the mass media and the government.
He stressed the necessity of creating more favorable working conditions at mass media outlets in order to better present Armenia to the world.
Sarkissian also met with Edward Mamikonian–president of the Avangard Center for Humanitarian Studies–Lusine Sahakian–a representative of the Helsinki Committee office in Armenia and Vova Hakhverdian–a member of the National Democratic Union of Armenia.
The human rights activists suggested that the cases against the twelve defendants charged in connection with the Sept. 25 events should be returned to the prosecutor’s office from the Supreme Court and tried as a single case.
Hakhverdian also addressed the issue of re-opening the sealed first floor of the NDU headquarters–shut down last month by an order from the Yerevan Mayor’s office.
The Prime Minister said he would respond to all questions raised during the meeting within ten days.