I’m constantly surprised that nobody makes disparaging comments about an odar writing about Armenia. Now I would like to “grow” Blogrel and find some local Armenian bloggers to contribute posts.

The idea is to get a variety of perspectives and make Blogrel a little more relevant to those in Armenia. I believe it can be a great forum for some interesting discussions. It would also be a great fill-in when I am on holiday!

So, if you live in Armenia, and would be interested in contributing posts about any of the topics you see here, then let me know.

While it’s clear that there those on both sides of the Turkish-Armenian border who are both in favour and against its opening, it’s far from clear when it will be opened. Hardly a week passes by when there is not speculation that the EU will make the opening of the border a condition for Turkey’s membership of the EU.

ArmeniaLiberty.org has a report about a recent roundtable discussion on the relative merits of the border opening.

However, one of the three parties represented in Armenia’s coalition cabinet, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun), takes a different view, warning of a “Turkish political and economic expansion.” Ashot Yeghiazarian, a senior member of Dashnaktsutyun attending the discussion, said the Armenian market would be flooded with cheap Turkish goods in the event of an open border.

There is obviously something to be said for protecting Armenia’s small industries. But wouldn’t the benefits from tourism, and the lower cost of importing and exporting make up for this?

While great-powers’ policy vis-a-vis Iraq and oil is well-known, Britain is being blamed for letting oil be the deciding factor in its policy towards Armenia and Azerbaijan.

In this article (Via Groong), an aid to Robert Kocharyan complains about the recent Council of Europe report on Karabakh.

“British Petroleum’s influence on British foreign policy is very obvious,” Isagulian told reporters, referring to BP’s pivotal role in the multibillion-dollar Azerbaijani oil projects. “They are solely concerned with controlling oil reserves. This is what English policy is all about. Only Baku’s oil matters to the British.”

Armenia Liberty reports that ethnic Armenians in Iraq have pleaded with the Armenian government not to send any troops to Iraq, fearing they might become the targets of attacks.

“We Iraqi Armenians are against that,” said Narek Ishkhanian, a parish priest. “We fear that they will start kidnapping and killing us and attacking our churches and other institutions.

“So we are asking them not take such a step. It would create a very bad situation for our community. Take pity on us.”

I read recently that no troops were to be sent; in fact the small Armenian contingent would be made up of sappers and nurses. This small group would more likely be the victims of kidnappings themselves.

ArmeniaNow.com has a story on Iraqi-Armenians who fled to Armenia two months ago and are now trying adjust to their new home.

‘’It could be dangerous for Armenian community,” says Aram Margaryan. “They don’t tolerate Christians anymore.

“In Baghdad you cannot go outside after 6-7 o’clock. If someone gets sick then he has to die at home as it is impossible to get to hospital. It is a normal thing to kidnap boys and girls. Now it is extremely dangerous to stay there. We could leave for Germany or any other European country but we preferred to go to our homeland.”‘

Photolife magazine has a selection of photos by Robert Kurkjian and Matthew Karanian.

Kurkjian and Karanian published a book in 2002 through Stone Garden Productions called Edge of Time: Traveling in Armenia and Karabagh. They have a new book, The Stone Garden Guide: Armenia and Karabagh.

The Power and Interest News Report has a story about ‘’Armenia: The Dream of Complementarity and the Reality of Dependency'’.

It talks about the “authoritarian-tending strong presidential regime of Robert Kocharian”:
more…

I am now back from my trip to Tatev and can resume posting.
Thanks to those who kept the ball rolling while I was away!

It was a very productive visit, and I spent a lot of time talking to tour operators in Yerevan about the types of hotels that Armenia needs. The general consensus is that tourism in Armenia is gradually increasing, but slowly. I believe that real growth in tourism will come from non-Armenians, and that adjustments need to be made to the tourism sector in order to adapt to the needs of the non-diaspora visitors.
Tourism represents a potential source of income for many rural locations in Armenia, and handled well, could provide a model for sustainable development.

Why? Because rural villagers need a realistic model for the future development of their communities, with the resources they have at hand. There is a growing hunger in the west for “new” destinations and Armenia certainly qualifies as somewhere that is undiscovered by the foreign traveller. The real argument is how Armenia positions itself, and how it tries to cater to these visitors.

One tour operator told me that the “Diaspora are not tourists”, which in a sense is true, but they remain the majority of foreign visitors and account for the majority of tourist dollars. However, they are a finite resource, and to achieve real growth (unless we get nonstop LA-Yerevan flights) we need to attract non-Armenians.

Sorry for the lack of posts, I have been in rural France the past few days. For the next week I will be in Yerevan then Tatev so again, posting will be sparse.

The Armenian vs. Armenian post has certainly been an interesting topic to talk about. If anyone wants to digress onto a different topic then by all means use this as a staryting point. Again, please be nice to each other!

I’m off to Paris tomorrow so I thought I would try an experiment. As an odar one of the subjects that has intrigued me since I became involved with Armenia and Armenians is the relationship between the Spyurka (Diaspora) and Hay (Armenians from Armenia). So, while I fly over Siberia I’d like to turn this post over to you and see what you have to say.

Some suggestions:
What part can the Diaspora play in the future of Armenia?
How important are the Diaspora to Armenia?
Do you think Armenians should have a movement to encourage a homecoming (like Israel).

OK, please behave yourself!

President Khatami of Iran has arrived in Yerevan for an official state visit, and his trip is being quite widely reported.

IRNA, the Iranian state new agency has reported on the usual official pleasantries and also on Khatami’s warm remarks on Armenians great impact on human civilizations.

Speaking to reporters, he referred to Iran`s glorious
civilization of the past eras and the Armenians` pivotal role in its
development and said that even today the Iranian Armenians keep on
attempting towards Iran`s independence and progress along with
their Muslim compatriots.

more…

I would be very skeptical at anyone telling me that poverty is on the decrease in Armenia. However the government has claimed just this in a report. Armenialiberty.org reports:

According to a senior official from the National Statistical Service, preliminary results of a household income survey conducted by the government agency show that the proportion of Armenians living below the official poverty line stood at 42.9 percent at the end of last year. The poverty rate reported by the government a year earlier was 49.7 percent.

The government claims that this is evidence of a trickle-down effect from the growth of the economy, which expanded by 13.9 percent in 2003 and 9.2 percent in the first half of this year.
However, as the article points as: The official per-capita poverty threshold is set at 12,260 drams ($24) a month. That means a four-member family with a monthly income worth $100 is not considered poor by the government — a highly questionable judgment given the cost of life in Armenia.
more…

Edgar Arakelyan has been freed (Via Groong). His was a cause celebre back in April after the 24 year old was convicted of hitting a policeman with a plastic Jermuk bottle during opposition protests.
His sentence was one year and six months.
more…

It’s a touching story - Sargis Sargsian and his dreams come true story of playing tennis in the US. Brought to the US with help of a former peace worker, and hosted by Armenian-Americans. And he’s buddies with Agassi too.

For a good read head over to Newsday.

Raffi Kojian’s excellent online resource, Cilicia.com, has been home to the online version of the travel guide Rediscovering Armenia, originally written by Brady Kiesling (one brave guy).

Now, Raffi has updated the guide so that anyone can update the text. This is a great approach, one taken by the free Wikipedia, but not one without risks.

So, as long as everyone plays by the rules, we may have an even more detailed and up to date and resource. I will write more about Tatev and the surrounding area…

Edik Baghdasaryan, editor-in chief of Hetq Online, was called in by the police to answer charges made by Artashes Bisharyan, the ex-head of the Department of Medical and Technological Supply of the Ministry of Health

Bisharyan wanted charges brought against for insulting his honor and dignity Baghdasaryan has been investigating the expiration of 1 billion drams worth of medicine donated to Armenia. (See also: Humanitarian medicine was intentionally left to expire- 4 , Humanitarian medicine was intentionally left to expire - 3, Humanitarian medicine was intentionally left to expire-5: Bisharyan resigns).

“I don’t doubt that my articles contributed to the fact that Bisharyan was dismissed, but what can you do? Everyone has to take responsibility for his own actions. I refused to answer the questions at the police station or provide an explanation. I only noted that my investigation is not over yet, and there will be new articles, and new information will come to light. I pointed out that all the answers to the investigator’s questions were contained in my articles, and I had no further answers or explanations.”

Read the full story.

Yerevan’s remaining green spaces are coming under increasing pressure from development. The latest to pick up on this theme is ArmeniaNow.com.

In 1995, Yerevan had 19.6 square meters of green area per capita. Today the number is 5.8.

Now, Yerevan is not alone in seeing its green spaces dwindle as the value of land increases and speculators try to make a profit from every undeveloped scrap of land. However, in the last few years the pace of this (often illegal) development has increased exponentially.
more…

Armenia’s dismal showing at the Olympics in Athens is causing passions to run high. An earlier post on Blogrel referring to Hrach Kalsahakian’s Azad-Hye blog sparked a heated discussion between readers.

ArmeniaLiberty.org has an article about the outcry from within the country since the Armenian team came home empty-handed.
more…

John Kerry has clarified his position vis-a-vis recognising the Armenian genocide, according to an article from ArmenPress.

“John Kerry Edwards administration will launch a fight against denial of Armenian Genocide,” the statement says.

“As a president, I will fight against denial of Armenian genocide. My administration will recognize April 24, 2005 as the 90th anniversary of the atrocities and I will do everything that the lessons learned from the crime against humanity be used in prevention of other genocides. There can not be any compromise in the moral issue of putting an end to massacres,” John Kerry’s statement says.

There’s not much new here, but Kerry is trying to persuade Armenians in the US to go out and vote for him. If he got into office, would he really have the courage to follow through on that pledge? Certainly after the promises of former candidates who then reneged I am sure there would be some loud protests if it didn’t happen. How would turkey react? Perhaps in the way it did to France - temporary anger which subsided after a while.

Emil Danielyan writes on Eurasianet.org:

On August 27, the executive board of the opposition Justice alliance, headed by Demirchian, decided to continue the boycott during the next legislative session.

The alliance bloc’s key ally, the National Unity Party (AMK), is expected to follow suit. Justice and the AMK are the only opposition forces represented in Armenia’s National Assembly, holding 23 of its 131 seats.

Justice leaders complain that Kocharian’s administration has not met any of their
demands. “None of the reasons for our walkout from the National Assembly has been addressed,” one of them, Victor Dallakian, said, singling out the authorities’ refusal to hold a “referendum of confidence” in Kocharian.

Emil also notes that few believe the opposition can organise protests big enough to force Kocharian from office by so-called ‘people power’. Nonetheless, recently officials tightened rules for the holding of public gatherings. Those rules are grounded in a new Armenian law that Council of Europe legal experts believe violates European standards on freedom of assembly.

Kocharian may try and run for a third term, even though the constitution bars it, but if not, he will certainly be looking for a trusted lieutenant to take over. We may not have an Azeri-style dynasty in the making, but will this predictability in government lead to stable growth or growing despair?

Tsakhkadzor was the scene of a protest by Armenian journalists on the 28th, according to the Central Asian and Southern Caucasus Freedom of Expression Network.

Advisor of the president of Armenia for fight against corruption Bagrat Yesayan joined the journalists on the way. Yesayan said that he had come to get acquainted with the situation in the place. Talking to journalists he did not exclude that the trees are cut down for carrying out construction works there. But he mentioned that this process must be regulated by a relevant legislation. Yesayan expressed hope that similar actions will promote increase of awareness of the society about the processes taking place in the republic. The advisor of the president condemned the recent incident when the guard of one of the elite cottages beat journalists who had tried to take a photograph of the territory guarded.

It’s sad that journalists have to protest like this, but encouraging that the protest went ahead without any more violence. The reason this protest was held in Tsakhkadzor was because of the previous attack on two journalists who had gone there to report on the destruction of the forest caused by housing construction, mainly luxury villas.