The work of reporters is of strategic importance, and I will always defend you. I realize the importance of this work; that is my conviction. Please vote for us on June 7 and bring justice to the field of journalism as well. Former Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan, who heads the Wings of Unity party’s electoral list for the parliamentary elections on June 7, on Thursday stated this on Facebook, addressing Armenian reporters.

“These elections are also of fundamental importance for your professional work. For 35 years, your work has been unappreciated by the [Armenian] state. They tried to suppress you, subjected reporters to violence and insults. They did this because you have brought to the surface the illegalities and mistakes of those who did this. These people also have remained unpunished.

In these elections, when you decide who to vote for, consider who really understands the importance of your activities and during whose period in office you will be protected. I have seen your work in emergency situations, during the [Nagorno-Karabakh] war [in 2020] and the coronavirus pandemic, when the [Armenian] government was curtailing investigative journalism. At that time, I was one of the first to fight against it, and together we achieved results.

After the war, the problems existing in the border villages [of Armenia] and Azerbaijani violations became accessible to the world thanks to you.

You help expose the illegal actions of corrupt [Armenian] officials.

Recently, you helped me prove the infiltration of Azerbaijanis in the direction of [Armenia’s] Vardenis [town] and Jermuk [city] and the construction of their [military] positions there,” added Tatoyan.

Source: https://news.am/en/news/1037152