Armenian TV anchor fired for comment in Facebook

Armenian Shant TV's  management decided to fire their anchor of Horizon news program Armen Dulyan, because of a Facebook status about similarity of Armenia and Russia, which they think was insulting them. 

After a hernia operation in june 10 Armen Dulyan received a call from Shant TV, they  informed him not go to work anymore because he is fired.                

“It was monday, cruel monday. I just revived after the operation, they just took out from me the worst: the spleen and the critical point of view towards authorities,” – tells Dulyan, - “But Ararat mountain was looking so good from the window, that you could say twice higher price to diasporian's. I wish that this wonderful story last long, but later the phone rang.”               

The decision to fire “Face of the Channel”, as he was told, is because of his status where he wrote about Russian Public TV channel which wanted to make a joke on Russia’s president Putin’s divorce, but the program was immediately moved and by making a parallel with Armenia he wrote “How similar are Russian and Armenian TV responsibles with their level of primitiveness.” 

Shant's representative, who on the phone, said that the quote was insulting them. Armen Dulyan says that it is absurd that they could take it on them. “How could they think that I could insult a TV management where I work. I'm shocked. How can management think that I, as an employee, who gets paid from their company can say such an insultings thing about them?,” – told Dulyan in an interview with News.am, - “My status was about, that governing bodies that are controling television and in our country, and in Russia as well.”   

The behavior of journalists

There is an opinion that the journalist doesn’t have to share their views in public area. Armen Dulyan is an active Facebook user with almost 5000 friends and he frequently writes his opinion about the events that are happening. In his viewpoint there is no such rule for journalists to keep in them their opinions “Those people who say that journalist doesn’t has to spread his or her opinion they are just envy about Larry King or Oprah,” - says Dulyan who has more than 30 years experience of journalism.        

Other experience

For 15 years Armen Dulyan has worked for Radio Free Europe/ Radio Liberty. After that one year he had a program in Armenian Public Television. From both places he made a dicision to quite.  

After this incident Dulyan's supporters are accusing Shant that it's an unfree TV, but was the dicisions to quite Radio Liberty and Public Television also because of that, he says “You have to accept the unfree limits of  any media where you work. If you don't want, ok then stay without work.”  

The Reason Status

In his Facebook page Armen Dulyan worte.

“How similar we are...

Russian newly established Public Television had decided to make a joke about Vladimir Putin's devorce in yesterday's program, but it was taken out immediately... How you can make a joke about president it something like coup d'etat.”