Yezidi National Union (YNU) has repeatedly applied to Armenian Public-Service TV to give them access to the airwaves, but all its efforts remained fruitless.
Aziz Tamoyan, head of Yezidi National Union (YNU) is convinced that in case Public-Service TV gives them at least 30 minutes of airtime a week, Yezidis who represent Armenia’s largest national minority will be able to learn more about their own culture, history and the community news.
Many of them live in Armenian regions where only some TV channels are available, including Public Broadcaster, which operates on state funding consisting of taxes collected from the population, including Yezidis. That is why YNU has applied to the Public-Service TV to give them access to the airwaves.
“Public-Service TV does not find it reasonable to dedicate separate programs to Yezidis, since there are other national minorities in Armenia as well, and if we meet their [Yezidis] needs, the rights of other national minorities will be violated. Besides, they [national minorities] may lay reasonable claims of the same kind to Public-Service TV”, - Aleksan Harutyunyan, Chairman of the RA Public Television and Radio Council announced in response to YNU leader’s last appeal to the State Broadcaster in July 2010.
RA Public Television and Radio Council decided to tell about Armenia’s national minorities’ history, culture, religion and traditions within other programs instead of dedicating separate ones to them.
There have been no programs about Armenian Yezidis since July, but State Broadcaster’s camera crew worked in Ferik village of Armavir region in September and promised to broadcast the materials soon.
Yezidi National Union, however, finds this insufficient and continues to apply to Armenian authorities seeking access to the airwaves. Their last application hasn’t been turned down yet and is still under consideration.
Khdr Hajoyan
khdryezid@gmail.com
