Armenia`s former human rights defender critical of Public TV over  attitude to Karekin II

ArmInfo. The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin made the right decision, considering it  inappropriate to broadcast the New Year's message of the Catholicos  of All Armenians on Public Television. This is stated in the  statement of the former Ombudsman of Armenia, head of the Tatoyan  Foundation Arman Tatoyan.

"Not only do they offer humiliating conditions for the publication of  the message of His Holiness, but they also manipulate, creating the  illusion that they allegedly did everything possible for the  broadcast, but the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin itself refuses.

Last year, the refusal of the Public Television Company to broadcast  the New Year's message of the Catholicos on Channel One was the  result of a pathetic decision at the highest political level.

The same practice continues this year. It is a pity that the Public  Television Company has joined the propaganda of the political  authorities and the work to promote this pathetic political decision.

"No political power, especially the ruling elite, can diminish the  exceptional role and historical value of the Armenian Apostolic Holy  Church in the life of the Armenian people, no matter how much it  would like to, with its provocative activities against the Church and  its obsession with maintaining power," Tatoyan added.

Earlier, the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin called it inappropriate  to broadcast the traditional New Year's speech of Catholicos of All  Armenians Garegin II on PTA, citing the fact that the television  company aired his speech on December 31 at 21:55, and not, as has  been the practice for decades, before the speech of the country's  leader, as was the practice until last year. Moreover, PTA did not  even bother to consult with the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin on  this issue.

On December 31, 2023, it became known that the Public Television of  Armenia, for the first time since the independence of the republic,  refused to broadcast the New Year's address of Catholicos of All  Armenians Garegin II, which was usually aired before the speech of  the country's leader. In fact, in this way, the PTA, which exists at  the expense of taxpayers, demonstrated its political bias.