That's good leg work, and a good scoop. I have to say, though, there are also reports of trafficking of Armenian women to Turkey. I wonder whether they covered that direction as well.

Trafficking of women is a tough problem to tackle in that the problem is social, like prostitution. Obviously, it will help to track and prosecute organized crime networks and their advocates. However, the fact is that a substantial number of adult victims may engage in trafficking voluntarily. How is it possible to defeat that, I wonder? Simple propaganda and restrictions on travel can be counterproductive.

On a side note: such extensive investigation requires substantial funds. Do you know if the HETQ reporters are able to tap into one of Western anti-trafficking funds or used their own resources?

Dear Onnik,

I do not understand what does trafficing of wemen have to do with the government? The legal Government first investigates the case, then prosecutes who are accountable for the unlawful actions. Hetq online does nothing but speculation. And I have seen law enforcements taking actions for this unlawful actions. What really stands behind the HETQ's propaganda is misdirecting Armenians (diasporan) who have access to the internet. Have you, or Matt viewed your httpd log files? I can bet .am netblock users do not even come here a lot.

And I still think that people who have commited the unlawful investigation; which is publicly announcing the vehicle license plate numbers and the owners of the vehicles, should to be punished.

Hagop, PLEASE!

Hetq is published in Armenian and is read here in Armenia. It is also republished in the local Armenian press. Edik's film, including this one, will be shown on Armenian Television now that we have one TV station, Yerkir (ARF-D), that isn't afraid to show them. In fact, Yerkir Media, the same people that publish your favorite Yerkir newspaper, want Edik to do a weekly investigative TV show for them. Do me a favor, please.

As for the government, for god's sake, get real. Who's actually in charge of ths country?!?!?! And when traffcikers are arrested and turn out to have some official connections and the judicial system gives them a light sentence or none at all, who's responsible for that? Or when a few Armenian under-age girls travel on false passports outside of the country how did they get new passports?

However, in this case, most of them were apparently on Russian passports from what I understand but anyway, here's the deal with under-age girls at least. Any Armenian citizen travelling from Yerevan to Moscow still needs an exit stamp from OVIR in their passports whether those documents are original or false. Those passports are also checked at the airport and there are also stories of blackmail by police when they return. Key to the issue of what the government is doing anything about this is the same with corruption. Are people being prosecuted for breaking the law and when they are, does the legal system function correctly.

On the otherhand, Hovakim is right when he says that the phenomenon is social and that many -- I think it is probably most -- women and girls go to UAE and Turkey willingly. However, there are 20% that don't. There are also some other issues that Edik and Ara will touch upon in later reports and I think that you'll understand why such investigations are important as a result.

But it's amazing, isn't it? When people touch upon pressing social issues in Armenia, others (almost always a few Diasporans) accuse them of propaganda. It's as if logic and the role of the media is something totally different in these small Diasporan circles than anywhere else in the world.

Hagop, if you were in Armenia now and speaking like you comment on these blogs, the vast majority of local Armenians would laugh in your face and walk off shaking their heads in disbelief.

THe same with numberplates. Firstly, this was NOT Ara's doing. It was RFE/RL so send a complaint to the government and request that they prosecute. They may laugh and shake their heads in disbelief as well but...

Or notice that the point about these oligarchs and their Hummers in addition to their occasional firefights has now started to concern the Government. In the past week, the heads of the ARF and Republican factions have raised concerns and want to introduce a law on bodyguards (effectively bands of thugs with guns who can break the law) and Kocharian's advisor on National Security has openly stated that they are now getting out of control and something needs to be done.

But rather than say the same, you try to turn other readers against those who report on the matter and who and what these people are. Besides, I'm not sure that there's a law on number plates and if the Dodi Gagho's, Lfik Samo's etc wanted anonymity best they not drive around in armed motorcades with their own special numberplates, breaking the law, running people over, beating journalists and shooting people.

I'm really sorry, what is the crime here?

Back on-topic to trafficking. It's simple re. the government. Armenia has INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS to prevent trafficking from Armenia and the point is, is the government seriously taking steps to live up to those obligations? Well, Edik will touch upon that in later articles and also, as with the homeless investigation which you hated (but everybody IN ARMENIA appreciated), the government will presumably take new steps to address the problem and issue a statement or two.

If they don't, then yes, they are at fault.

THIS IS HOW THE MEDIA IS MEANT TO FUNCTION IN ANY SOCIETY THROUGHOUT THE WORLD!!!

Re. funding, I can't give you full details of this but I will say that a Diasporan Foundation that I think wants to remain anonymous funding the first two visits and an Embassy funded the third.

However, I want to stress again that most of this material will be published in Armenia and a film by Edik will even be broadcast on Yerkir TV, the channel affiliated to one of the coalition government members, the ARF-D.

Go rationalize that...

BTW: Hovakim, what media outlet here has it's own resources? Also, incidentally, don't imagine that Hetq is well-funded. In fact, it was a struggle to get the funding for this investigation during its final stage from what I know and I think even that Ara Manoogian might have spent some of his own money on it.

The same with the homeless btw. Nobody funded us to do that investigation. As you know, many media outlets only write what they're paid to. Hetq writes what it wants to. Sometimes there's funding available, sometimes it's not. That's probably the problem with guaranteeing our existence but it's also how the media should work.

But anyway, it wasn't easy for Edik to get funding for this trafficking project and a surprising number of organizations who state that they want to work in a particular area won't fund us because they can't control us. Other media outlets are another matter and there's the additional issue of people working in funding bodies who only fund their friends.

In my opinion, civil society and the NGO sector in general in Armenia is in crisis and its effectiveness is questionable. The same goes for many international organizations here. I can only think of two or three that seem tireless in their commitment to their own mandate. MSF-France, btw, is one of them.

Anyway, I think someone really needs to examine the issue of how to make the media in Armenia self-sustainable. Then again, the country isn't self-sustainable so it's not really possible, is it?

Probably difficult to make print press self-sustainable when the circulation is in low thousands. Isn't Iravunk the largest, with only 8,000 copies?

It's a vicious circle: if a newspaper wants to increase its circulation, it needs to raise the quality of its content - do investigative pieces, analysis, etc, but still, most people get enough negativity from daily life - they won't pay to get more from a newspaper. That's why Eter and Spid-Info are more popular among newspapers. It's probably true everywhere - even NY Times is losing to NY Post and NY Daily News in circulation.

One solution may be to cut costs dramatically, and reach out to Armenia's regions (which don't get newspapers). But in the first case, the editor would be loath to lay off his friends, and in the second, what Yerevan-based reporter knows what's happening in the regions?

And finally, quality newspapers require quality journalism. Edik Baghdasarian is an exception - and he doesn't even have a newspaper of his own.

Your points taken although I don't necessarily agree with the point about negativity. I think the point is more that any article that is negative should not be so for political reasons only.

In Armenia I think the problem is more that people don't know whether they can trust and believe the newspapers. Ironically, it also works the other way around with the saturation of "good news" on government-controlled TV. They don't trust that either and react against the propaganda.

That's why, for example, A1 Plus' news was more popular than state-controlled news. On the other hand, most intelligent people prefer Russian TV. Still, Yerkir TV -- even with its news -- might be changing that situation.

Anyway, the issue is that the media here is generally not professional and articles are often poorly written and researched. We also know that many journalists take money from sponsors to write propaganda for them.

A newspaper that would succeed, I believe, would be one that earned the trust of the population AND also had sections for entertainment, culture, sport etc. as we do in the West. People buy the newspaper for different reasons and for the different sections.

One last thing about negativity. We saw AIM magazine try to attract a following with it's positive propaganda controlled from the MFA but it failed. It's circulation was a lousy 4,000 people. Consider the size of the english-speaking Diaspora and the amount of money spent to make that publication "glossy," and you can realize that it's more than about presentation or even content.

It's about trust and perhaps even interest. Maybe most of Armenia and the Diaspora is simply apathetic. Still, Edik believes that there is a demand in the regions for newspapers and yes, he wants to start one. However, he lacks the finance to do so.

One last point about negativity in the media is that I've actually gone into shops since the homeless presentation / action and people have recognized me. Even in a computer shop, the owner actually said, "I saw you on TV and want to say that you're doing great work."

Cheers,

Incidentally, Hagop, you ask why trafficking has anything to do with the government. Just occured to me that there was no allegation that it had anything to do with them.

Of course, we have yet to see what Edik and Ara have uncovered, and perhaps that's what you're worried about.

Hagop, while you discuss how "no one" in Armenia may visit here, I would like to point out that Blogrel is one of the few places on the internet that I have found to be a welcoming, intelligent and thoughtful discussion space for Armenia-related issues.

For me as a non-Armenian I am accustomed to feeling dis-invited to many conversations. I am thrilled to be a part of something that is bringing together Diasporans (Near and Far), Hayastantsis, Hayastantsi ex-pats, non-Armenian Americans and who knows who else!

We all share a love for Armenia and a hope for improvement.

Let's focus on how wonderful this is and not on who may or may not be reading this (or HETQ for that matter.)

Onnik, re negativity and investigative reporting, I think most people in Armenia are mature to separate the two. When one sees a problem like homeless people, trafficking, drugs, etc that escapes the public eye and is not discussed, my impression is that people appreciate an interesting inquiry and honest discussion. It's not something you can watch on Hailur, so it's natural that people would express their appreciation with HETQ's work.

But when the readers open the newspaper only to find a poorly researched or illogical article, which as you point out happens often, I think that causes disgust. For example, Haikakan Zhamanak regularly reprints Azeri propaganda from Azeri newspapers and online news sites co-opted by that country's special services. E.g., last fall there was a conference on Armenian community in Jerusalem in LA, organized by Professor Richard Hovhanisian. An Azeri newspaper published a report quoting one of the Armenian participants as saying Jerusalem was founded by the Armenians, and Haikakan Zhamanak reprinted it as is, adding a stinging comment about the Armenian historian in question. As it happened, it was a lie - a lie that Haikakan Zhamanak should have been able to catch by simply calling and asking the author for the veracity of the comment.

Or, let's say people in 9th Massiv have trouble getting around because there are not enough ertughayins to go around. If they open the newspaper to read why it happens, why all the ertughayin routes are improperly distributed without a tender etc, that may make them think, and maybe next time around they will not sell their votes, or get involved in the political process to make a difference. If on the other hand they buy a newspaper and only read stupid stories about Elisabeth Jones and PACE and victorious Azerbaijan, why waste 100 dram to know how bad things are? I know how bad things are without wasting my 100 dram, most would think.

Negativity is not caused by investigative reporting; it's caused by bad reporting. People don't hate the truth, they hate hopelessness.

Hey Hagop,

I’m not sure how old you are, but I would suggest that you read things over really well before you comment in the future.

As far as I know, I have done nothing illegal and if I have, I invite those who feel I have done them wrong to press charges. I’m always ready to answer for what I do.

As for your idea that the government needs to investigate and so on, you're just too naïve my friend. When the film comes out, you will better understand everything.

I would respond to the rest of the comments, but I’m still recovering from my one week trip to Dubai that turned into 3 weeks, the last week I had in all about 12 hours of sleep.

As for finance, the lion share came from my family, followed by an un-named American-Armenian, followed by the United States Government, who has stipulated that in the film we give them credit.

BTW: Hagop, I don't doubt that few people in Armenia will access this site for understandable reasons. Firstly, the majority of Armenians don't speak English. Secondly, internet use is extremely low per capita in Armenia (although higher than in some other CIS republics).

Instead, there are other publications available in Armenia such as Hetq, A1 Plus, Noyan Tapan etc. Then, as Hovakim points out, the newspapers have such a low circulation that even then, what is republsihed there is not widely read. Instead, the TV is the main and most accessible medium but is firmly under the control of the Government with the exception of Yerkir TV who allow Edik a medium after he's been blacklisted by almost every other TV station, specially Kentron which is alledgedly linked to Dodi Gagho.

The internet, therefore, is a blessing for freedom of speech and I'd like to see costs come down and more people have access to it here.

Incidentally, what non-Armenian language discussion boards do exist in Armenia are actually in Russian and not Armenian so the idea of a pan-Armenian forum hasn't yet been realized. In this case at least, I will agree with you as I guess you will probably say that this is unfortunate. Undoubtedly, it is.

The reason Armenian forums are either in Russian or English is because of lack of Armenian UNICODE standards. So you need specialized computer skills to type in Armenian. Now that's unfortunate.

Good point and I suppose the other issue is the perpetual battle between competing standards for Armenian font-encoding and keyboard layouts.

Some interesting links, however (and I'm sure there's more on this area of development):

http://www.armunicode.org/

http://portal.unesco.org/ci/en/ev.php-URL_ID=15871&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

Dear All: For the past several months, I have been doing a research on human trafficking in Armenia. Human Trafficking does not APPLY TO WOMEN ONLY, it applies to force labor for men and selling newborn to Turkey and Georgia for $1500.

Dear friends; Please, I encourage you to go to my site and read the article and the paper I submitted to the World Bank so you can educate youself and spread the message that "HUMAN TRAFFICKING DOES EXIST IN ARMENIA" it is a horrifying act against human right an not everyone is doing it volunteerly......when 76% of the entire country live in the urban/rural areas with 43% living under the povery line....what do you expect?

Please.......friends, before making any color statements, get your facts straight. Individuals like Edik Baghdasarian who puts his life online should be commended for their hard work.

Thank you for your attention

Hilda, thanks for your comments. Your article on trafficking was also published on Hetq Online today (23 Feb). You're also right, trafficking also involves men and women for cheap non-sexual labor as well as for adoption etc.

Cheers,