ArmInfo.. In general, the position of the media that refused to participate in Nikol Pashinyan's press conference has certain grounds. A similar opinion was expressed to ArmInfo by tpresident of the Yerevan Press Club Boris Navasardyan.
On June 27, on the eve of the next online press conference of Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, more than 50 Armenian media outlets, including ArmInfo, refused to "send formal questions", urging him to return to the classic format of press conferences. In a statement released the day before the press conference, the heads of the media explained their position by the fact that this press conference was initially one-sided. In particular, by voicing mainly the questions of the pro-government media, bloggers and telegram channels, their initial coordination with the organizers of the press conference. While the questions of the rest of the media remain unanswered, edited and distorted.
"Our partnerss have repeatedly presented evidence of the distortion of their questions, some were not voiced at all. And given that the classical format of organizing a press conference does not provide for such opportunities, the media had reason both for such a statement and for such a boycott. At the same time, in a certain sense, one can understand the reasons that prompt Pashinyan to answer questions in this particular format. These are security issues that arose after the war - the fact that public events often become a pretext for political manipulations, actions and provocations," he stressed.
According to Navasardyan, analyzing the number of press conferences during the period of Pashinyan's legislature, a general trend of decreasing communication between the authorities and society is revealed, including through journalists. This leaves a lot of public concern out of the scope of discussions. At the same time, specifically, the Prime Minister tries to avoid giving meaningful answers to many questions, as well as from disseminating information that may cause additional questions and tension in society.
"In other words, with such press conferences, the prime minister is trying to calm passions, avoid undesirable excesses and the voicing of necessary, but undesirable information, avoid answers to questions that will inevitably be heard during a live press conference. I cannot say in what format the prime minister's press conference will take place in the future, simply because I do not always understand the logic of our government's behavior," Navasardyan concluded.