Armenian opposition demands removal of media regulator over ARF remarks

The opposition Hayastan faction in the Armenian parliament called for the dismissal of Hakob Hakobyan as a member of the country’s TV and Radio Commission after he publicly described the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) ideology as “dangerous”.

Hayastan MP and senior ARF member Artsvik Minasyan argued on Wednesday that Hakobyan violated the political neutrality required of commission members when he made the comments in an interview with 1in.am.

Minasyan said the remarks amounted to an attempt to discredit the party. “A commission member has no right to make political assessments of political forces. Even if he praised them, it would still be a violation,” he said. “He said the ARF ideology is dangerous, which is effectively an attempt to discredit the party.”

The MP added that Hakobyan had blamed the party for “many of the historical misfortunes of the Armenian people”, which he said was unacceptable for a regulator tasked with impartial oversight of broadcasting.