The “Freedom” radio station faces the danger of shut-down from time to time, with the accusation of shattering the security of Armenia, getting funding from the West, and implementing subversive activities in the country. The accusation is unclear, and is put in circulation from time to time by the rules of conspiracy and secrecy. When the politically mature figures say America, they mean Israel and thus Zionism. Then they remain silent because they don’t have enough knowledge to go further than that. If there is one thing that shatters the stability and state security of our country, it is not “Freedom” radio station at all. It is difficult to spot attempts to shatter the security of our nation even after searching long and hard in the context of the unbiased and literate information provided by “Freedom” radio. The charge that “Freedom” is financed by the West is inaccurate because it is only by means by which it is possible for thinking people to receive information. It is difficult to describe what is being broadcast by the other radio and television stations funded by Armenian businessmen. The strong-minded individual who spends time watching the shows and getting the information provided by Armenian television stations may claim that the talk about the intellect of the nation and the discussions on national security are strictly anachronistic. We Armenians have already been degraded and, pessimistically said, irreversibly so. “Freedom” radio station and a couple of mass media outlets are our only means of resisting the degradation. It is hard to search for logic for making legislative amendments with the purpose of oppressing freedom of speech. The Armenian reality is such that during the years of broadcast of “A1plus” and “Freedom”, with their effective and unbiased information, all kinds of all electoral processes, be they parliamentary, presidential, or referendums, with all their violations and falsifications, have been crowned as being great successes…So, to try to connect the shut-down of “A1plus” or “Freedom” with pressure on freedom of speech, at least in our country, is illogical. Even the most biased mass media in the world can’t secure the level of public opinion in our country that will form a critical mass dangerous to the authorities. I think that the possible shut-down of “Freedom” radio station may be the response of the authorities to the radio station’s disobedience. First of all, the name “Freedom” is already daring and pretentious. Thus, the independence of the radio station of rules imposed by the state, and the freedom to not compromise freedoms granted by the West – all of this doesn’t fit in with the context of our domestic life. Thirdly, the precedent of the “A1plus” shut-down allows presupposing that the wave of public disobedience and the response of the mass media will be elemental and unproductive. However, our authorities wouldn’t spend so much time searching for the people shattering the stability and security of Armenia if they were to attentively follow-up on their biographies, the work of the Armenian president, government and National Assembly, the number of falsifiers during the elections or, what’s even easier, the work of any Armenian television station (except “Shoghakat). Television is littered with cheap and low-quality shows, and they are not a result of funding from the West. With sponsorship provided by local Armenian businessmen, the Armenian public is offered to spend their free time with Armenian estrada singers and different types of clowns, and H1 (Public Television) and “Armenia TV” work diligently in doing that. The stars sing, the stars dance, and thus you have the pretentiously titled “Two Stars” show. Then you hear the announcement: “Stay tuned to our programs and you will hear the love stories of the stars.”
Perhaps everything wouldn’t be so boring if our stars were satisfied with the least, and only sang. No, they keep on giving interviews, talk, and exchange ideas, express opinions on almost all topics, with the assurance that their opinions are interesting. The goal of the stars is to entertain TV viewers. There is no instability and violence against national security. It has gotten to the point where the Armenian people have been taught not to watch shows not featuring the stars. The programs, which have numerous sponsors, are aimed at shedding light on those who sing or have long legs and are empty-headed. There are no programs revealing talented scientists and/or artists. The money of the Armenian businessmen is used to have the youth dress with the largest possible cleavage, to have lame humor be the priority of the youth, and to be present at the Armenian Music Awards be the main goal in life.
An Armenian female singer was recently showing her car during some program. While talking about her car’s tinted windows (as you know, it is prohibited to drive around the city without tinted windows), she noted that “such windows are for famous people like me. You stop at a red light and you are in a bad mood (well, you are average just like the rest) and the driver of one of the cars next to you looks at you and compliments you. That is not always pleasing.” It turned out after the program that the name of that singer was Nana. The female host spread the good word about Nana and said that the singer is getting ready to purchase her second elegant car. It is understandable that the fact that there are people who don’t know Nana because they have never had the chance to hear her songs from start to finish, much less get to know her, does not mean that the singer is not famous. Armenian society doesn’t demand very much and is ready to consider anyone famous without resistance.
Russian President Vladimir Putin recently gathered leaders of Russia’s leading television stations, along with cultural figures, to express his concern that Russian youth have problems with expressing their ideas, composing thoughts correctly, that they [Russian youth] have moved away from the roots of Russian culture and that television, which purchases cheap, possibly low-quality patents and films from foreign television stations with the logic of getting it at a cheap price, plays a negative role in that. However, Putin did not mention “Svoboda” radio as the root of that degradation.
Nobody in Armenia looks for the understandable composition of thoughts of youth or how they express ideas. No state-run organization has pretensions for television and/or the tens of radio stations. Meanwhile, the topics presented to television viewers are simple-minded, naïve, if not to say stupefying. There is one series called “Hot Corner”. Recently the topic up for discussion was the following: should the husband betray his wife? Nobody disputes that, but the problem is the following: why do men leave expensive and decent prostitutes behind and try to satisfy their needs from the cheap prostitutes standing on the streets by direct, personal contact – prostitutes who don’t have any intellect and often don’t even follow-up on their personal hygiene? The guest speaker was a married woman whose husband’s preferences included the cheap, indecent prostitutes on the street who used extremely cheap perfume. She recalled from time to time that those “scum” (the cheap prostitutes) don’t follow-up on their personal hygiene and “our”, in other words their, men prefer those cheap prostitutes. The woman was not concerned about the fact that her husband was betraying her, rather with whom he would spend the night – a prostitute that he met by chance or a woman of the elite class. We are sure that this program is being aired without funding from the West; it has numerous Armenian sponsors, and it will never cross the mind of anyone to accuse the authors of the program of seeing the TV viewer as weak-minded. The programs brought to the public by the money coming out of the pockets of the people will go on for a long time, and will continue to turn them into molesters. Do you want news? Turn on “HyeLur” [Armenian News]. We don’t deserve anything more than this. “Freedom” is for free and conscious societies. Are we like that? No.