Expert: Both the media and Pashinyan have grounds for their position

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.