"Shoghakat" Was Clerical, Not Educational: Tigran Hakobyan

The Chairman of the Television and Radio Commission (TRC), Tigran Hakobyan, has come out with sharp criticism regarding the activities of the "Shoghakat" TV channel. In a conversation with journalists today, the TRC chairman stated that he is not entirely comfortable with the adoption of the National Assembly's draft law concerning "Shoghakat." "In my opinion, a much more effective way could have been found to solve the problem so that 'Shoghakat' would serve the public, as it is, after all, one of the public broadcaster's channels," he noted.

However, according to Tigran Hakobyan, the problem is much deeper, as "Shoghakat" has been operating for 20 years in "almost illegal conditions." He elaborated that two years ago, the TRC sent an official letter to the Public Broadcaster, warning that the TV channel, which was licensed as an educational and cultural entity, was not fulfilling its obligations under the law.

Hakobyan spoke harshly about the channel's content, arguing that it had long deviated from its main mission.

"'Shoghakat' was not educational or cultural. There were almost no educational programs, and it mostly broadcast clerical, spiritual programs," he emphasized.

The TRC chairman also cited monitoring results, which showed that the channel had almost no viewership. "The public hardly watched that channel, unfortunately. The mission that 'Shoghakat' was supposed to carry out, it was not fulfilling," he added. "An educational channel cannot very often broadcast the sermons of a priest, which are more the content of a medieval, obscurantist person, not content befitting an educational channel," Hakobyan noted.