ArmInfo.The responses of the Prime Minister of Armenia to questions from the media and civil society are being boycotted by those media that have recently launched a massive campaign to boycott the coverage of the government's activities. RA Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan stated this live on his Facebook page on Monday.
He noted that the same media can boycott a possible press conference of the Prime Minister, and there will always be reasons for that. "I would like to remind you that during the early parliamentary elections, the political leaders of these media outlets boycotted live discussions," Pashinyan said, adding that he did not see condemning statements in these media outlets about why these leaders do not participate in political discussions in front of the public.
Pashinyan expressed surprise at the position of the Azatutyun radio station (RFE/RL's Armenian service), which during one of the press conferences expressed dissatisfaction with the fact thatt it was not given the opportunity to ask a question. <But at all press conferences, all questions are voiced. And anyway, what is this topic? If the media want a press conference, let them contact the government press service, explain what the problem is, and the press service will discuss it and respond>, the prime minister said, adding that the press conference is not an end in itself, but an opportunity to communicate with the public, and now we are communicating with the public>, the head of government said.
It should be noted that about 40 media outlets of Armenia, including radio RFE/RL's Armenian service, Factor TV, Tert. Am, issued a statement in which they declared a boycott of today's questions to the Prime Minister. ArmInfo also joined the boycott, believing that the format of answers to questions chosen by Nikol Pashinyan does not at all correspond to the topic of the day. It is not clear on what basis the choice of questions to the Prime Minister is based. If Pashinyan needs to seriously prepare for questions that have an international foreign policy orientation, then it would be right to find a different format for his speech. But such a format of a conversation with a representative of the state channel, during which questions from other media are voiced, cannot be called free communication with the press.