Armenia’s Public Broadcaster’s Council reprimanded the public television company’s Executive Director Hovhannes Movsisyan and Deputy Executive Director and Programming Director Levon Margaryan on October 6 for airing a festive concert on September 27, the 6th anniversary of the start of the 44-Day War.
The Council found that Armenia 1 violated Article 22, Part 6, Clause 3(d) of the Law on Audiovisual Media. By broadcasting audiovisual content inconsistent with the significance of the day, the company failed to ensure implementation of a programming policy aimed at increasing social responsibility, the decision states.
It held both men responsible on specific grounds. The executive director ensures the proper management of the company’s activities, while the deputy executive director and programming director bears direct responsibility for preparing the broadcasting schedule and its transmission. Either may appeal in court within one month of the decision entering force.
The Council had announced on September 30 that it would examine the circumstances, recording that the broadcast caused justified dissatisfaction, criticism and indignation among the public.
Tata Simonyan’s concert ran for 2 hours on the anniversary of the day Azerbaijan launched its 2020 assault on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), with Turkish support, Syrian mercenaries and Israeli drones. More than 3,825 Armenian soldiers were martyred in the war that followed.
The concert played during the same hours when families were visiting cemeteries, including Yerablur in Yerevan, to commemorate the fallen. Azatutyun reported that no program about the martyred or their families aired on the channel that day.
It was the second commemoration the broadcaster missed in 8 days. Public Television also drew criticism for failing to report on the 3rd anniversary of Azerbaijan’s September 19, 2023 military assault, which forcibly displaced 120,000 Armenians from Artsakh.
Simonyan responded before the station did. “I understand and fully agree that it was unacceptable to air that concert on September 27,” he wrote, calling the broadcast an inexcusable and serious mistake. He said the recording is owned by Public Television and was aired without consulting him.
“Glory to our martyrs. I bow before their memory,” he added.
Armenia 1 took more than 12 hours to respond. “The entertainment concert broadcast on September 27 on Public Television’s air was a mistake, and we fully accept responsibility for it,” its statement said. “We will not try to justify what happened with programming, technical or work-related circumstances. We apologize for what happened. The relevant work procedures are being reviewed to prevent a repetition of such cases.”
The statement did not say who was responsible or whether anyone would face consequences.
Pashinyan appeared to rule out consequences 5 days before the Council acted. Asked on October 1 why he had not marked the anniversary, he said no special address was made because he believes there is nothing new to say about the 44-Day War.
He said Armenia established a day of remembrance for those who fell for the homeland so that the fallen are not treated differently from one another, noting there had been no special message for September 13 or for the April war either, and that relatives of the fallen in those cases sometimes raise justified objections that the events were forgotten.
On the concert itself he acknowledged an impropriety, then questioned where the line falls. “I want to understand: in 8 or 10 years, will it be possible to broadcast a concert on September 27, or not, and on the remaining days?” he said. “The problem is that our history has many tragic days. It may turn out that all our Saturdays and Sundays, and generally 360 days, are marked by great tragedies.”
Asked by Azatutyun whether anyone should be held responsible, given that in spring 2020 he had urged the dismissal of officials including a previous Public Television executive director after test footage leaked to the press, Pashinyan turned the question on private channels.
“Why did Dar 21 and other channels belonging to various oligarchs broadcast concerts that day?” he said. “All televisions are public, all of them, because they use public resources. When everyone at Dar 21 is dismissed, then the Public Television Broadcaster’s Council will in turn think about what measure to take.”
A Council member pushed back the same day. Asked by Azatutyun whether Pashinyan’s remarks meant the Prime Minister had already decided in the Council’s place, Kristine Melkonyan said no. Asked whether the Council would have the courage to dismiss the director after what he said, she answered that the Council acts exclusively within the framework of its powers established by law.
Armenia has no official day of remembrance for the 44-Day War. Under a Civil Contract decision, January 27 serves as the day of mourning, a date unconnected to any war, and officials visit Yerablur that day.
Movsisyan spoke to reporters in parliament on Wednesday, a day after the reprimand. “A mistake occurred,” he said, attributing it to internal work-related issues, the explanation his own station had ruled out in its apology.
“I don’t want to give names or mention positions,” he said. “There was a problem, to which we responded with an apology. The rest is a matter for an internal investigation, and there will be an internal investigation.”
He said the broadcaster will build a commemorative calendar. “We will establish a special calendar so that such content is not broadcast on inappropriate dates,” he said. “We have already acknowledged in our statement that it was not appropriate for that day.”
Movsisyan also returned to the question of the anniversary’s status. “I consider myself guilty for the concert broadcast, but why don’t MPs come forward with an initiative to establish a day of remembrance?” he said, arguing that it is wrong to reach conclusions about the day by looking only at the public broadcaster’s air.
Azatutyun separately reported that the father of Albert Hovhannisyan, who was martyred at 19 during the war, demanded that those responsible at Public Television be punished.
Public Television receives about 6 billion drams a year from the state budget, funded by taxpayers rather than through the advertising that sustains private channels.
