Entries for May 2004

The Children of Kharberd | May 31, 2004
HETQ Online have another in their series of photo stories. This series of photos, by Onnik Krikorian, are about the Specialized Children Home in Kharberd where 200 children with varying degrees of disability reside. After scandal after scandal in the...

The BBC gets criticised from both sides | May 31, 2004
The BBC has been criticised from by both Armenian media and the Azeri government on its coverage of Karabagh on its Russian website. Newspaper Golos Armenii: The web site does not contain any Armenian view on the Karabakh conflict, excerpt...

Dual Citizenship | May 28, 2004
Civil Georgia is reporting that Saakashvili will grant dual-citizenship to Georgians living abroad. I believe this is primarily aimed at getting those living abroad to come home, without risk of losing their foreign citizenship. Personally, I am a triple-citizen, and...

A view of Armenia's future | May 28, 2004
The Armenian Center for National and International Studies (ACNIS) has released the results of two surveys they carried out. Entitled "My View of Armenia's Future" and "Armenia's Foreign Policy, Orientation, and Attitude toward Power Centers of the World," they embraced...

Karabagh Roundtable | May 28, 2004
An Armenian journalist and Azerbaijani scientist have worked together to produce a brochure 'Karabakh conflict, settlement-schemes: ideas and reality'. Reported on ArtsakhWorld, the work looks at various aspects of the conflict. First published in 2002, it has been updated with...

Rebuilding Kashatagh | May 27, 2004
Always a source of well-written article, ArmeniaNow this week has a story about Kashatagh.   "Kashatagh is the land of our ancestors," says head of administration of Kashatagh Alexan Hakobian. "Armenians living here began thinning out 100 years ago. As...

Going for a song | May 27, 2004
Ara Manoogian over at Martuni or Bust has posted the story from Azg about a cold food storage facility in Gyumri being sold for $150,000. This facility was originally built with money from the Diaspora, and was (or is) worth...

Relationship with Turkey may hinder NATO cooperation | May 26, 2004
MediaMax reports that Armenia's stalled relationship with Turkey may harm cooperation efforts with NATO. Kocharyan has refused to join the Istanbul NATO summit in June, apparently to draw attention the bad state of relations between Yerevan and Ankara....

WWF to the rescue | May 26, 2004
The WWF Caucasus Programme has announced an $8.5 million grant to help protect endangered species in the Caucasus. The forests, high mountain ecosystems and arid landscapes of the Caucasus contain more than twice the animal diversity found in adjacent regions...

OTE to stay in Armenian market | May 26, 2004
OTE's Georgios Vasilikis says his company has so far invested $216 million in Armentel, Armenia's until now telecoms monopoly. (Via Interfax) He said that the company will continue to work in Armenia after the company's monopoly on mobile communications and...

Opposition protests on hold again | May 25, 2004
More about the on-again off-again opposition protests in Yerevan. Interfax reports that Aram Sarkisian (a former prime minister), has announced that the opposition intends to cease all opposition protest until June 4th. "If our arrested friends are not released by...

Lethal Toys | May 25, 2004
HETQ Online has another photo story, this time about unexploded ordinance and mines left over from from Karabagh conflict. Onnik Krikorian, a British-born photojournalist, similarly has this series of photos on the same website, about mine clearance in Karabagh....

Kocharyan complains about opposition which is 'is not taken seriously abroad' | May 23, 2004
Armenian President Kocharyan is complaining about the opposition: "Opposition is part of Armenia's political system and when the attitude towards its is unclear, this extends also on the whole country. It is here where the opposition should feel the responsibility...

Aid parity to Armenia and Azerbaijan | May 23, 2004
Congressman Frank Pallone, JR, has called for aid parity for Armenia and Azerbaijan in response to Aliyev's statements about the possibility of reclaiming Karabagh by force. Aid parity has been called into question recently by the Bush administration, with their...

Armenian Newspapers Online | May 21, 2004
I found this online newspaper service today: http://www.armeniannewspapers.com/ They offer online version of three Armenian newspapers (Aravot, Azg, and Golos Armenii) in PDF (Acrobat) format, priced at $10 per month. I haven't tried it out, but it looks well set...

Kocharyan gets support from Putin | May 21, 2004
Not exactly a surprise. Moscow News reports that the real reason for the talks was the Iran-Armenia gas pipeline. This pipeline, which will bring gas from Turkmenistan to Armenia via Iran has angered Washington, and Russia is also displeased, seeing...

Another Genocide Remembered | May 21, 2004
The Pontic Greeks, those who lived along the southern coast of the Black Sea, were also massacred at the hands of the Turks. ArmenPress has this story about the recent commemoration at Tsitsernakaberd in Yerevan. Of the 700,000 Greeks living...

A bid to preserve Yerevan's green spaces | May 20, 2004
This Saturday will see a protest, not political this time, but environmental, against further construction in the remaining green spaces of Zeytun district, according to A1 Plus. Coalition for Preservation of Green Plantations and the Armenian Environmental Union will be...

The price of aid | May 20, 2004
Bakutoday is reporting that the US administration is pressuring Armenia for political reform in return for more aid. This extra aid is available under its poverty reduction program. So, we those countries that want extra aid to help relieve poverty...

Aliyev belicose on Karabagh | May 19, 2004
Here's a report from Izvestia on the background to Aliyev's belicose statements on Karabagh. The majority of experts state that the Azerbaijani Army is not prepared for defeating Armenian units. Of course, the ratio of force has changed over the...

American killed in Yerevan | May 18, 2004
An American citizen was killed yesterday and his body discovered on Sayat Nova street. Via Ara Manoogian's Martuni or Bust. So who was he and what was he doing? His name was Joshua Haglund (also being reported as Joshua Heglantz),...

A Window on Ararat? | May 18, 2004
Property speculation is heating up in Yerevan. Everybody's talking about it. My lawyer said I should consider buying my property now because by September it will have gone up. And that's in Tatev, which I don't think the property market...

Armenia sticking to 3 principles on Karabagh | May 18, 2004
Bakutoday is quoting Serge Sarkissian (Armenian Defence Minister) as rejecting Baku's offer of opening communication lines in return for the return of the 'seven districts'. The principles are: Nagorno-Karabakh in no way can be subordinated to Baku it has to...

EBRD to support Armenia | May 17, 2004
President of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) Jean Lemierre will arrive in Yerevan on Tuesday. Itar-Tass is reporting that the European Bank for Reconstruction is planning to support Armenia as 'one of the poorest countries'. The EBRD...

Opposition to block President's office | May 17, 2004
It looks like the 'truce' may be over (I am referring to the truce called by the opposition a few days ago in the ongoing opposition demonstrations). Mediamax is reporting that Viktor Dallakyan, the secretary of the Justice parliamentary faction,...

Karabagh Special | May 16, 2004
ArmeniaNow.com has a special edition this week on Karabagh. I always enjoy reading ArmeniaNow.com, and this collection of articles gives some more insight into the Karabagh issue. Here is a list of articles: Ruben Mangasaryan remembers victory. And boxes ....

Turkish - Armenian Dialogue | May 16, 2004
The Zoryan Institute has put out a press release about the new book "From Empire to Republic" by Turkish scholar Dr. Akcam. Their website also a Turkish-Armenian Dialogue section which lists another of Dr. Akcam's books, Dialogue Across an International...

Karabakh ten years on | May 14, 2004
There are two interesting stories on Karabakh and the tenth anniversary of the cease-fire which I thought warranted a mention. First, EurasiaNet has a photostory called Nagorno-karabakh; A Decade Of Frustration In Search Of A Negotiated Peace. This article makes...

Learning Armenian Online | May 14, 2004
Birthright Armenia has created the "Depi Hayk" Eastern Armenian language tutorial on its website. The Depi Hayk on-line tutorial is by far the most exciting component of the list of meaningful tools and resources Birthright Armenia offers to enhance the...

Meanwhile in Georgia... | May 14, 2004
More on the troubling developments in southern Georgia. The Tsalka region with its large Armenian population saw clashes on May 9th. Now 100 Georgian interior ministry troops have been sent in. Civil Georgia has this report. 100-strong unit of Interior...

Cafes galore | May 14, 2004
HETQ Online has a very interesting article on the cafes of central Yerevan. The cafes that crowd out the green areas. "Our association conducted an unofficial survey of the businessmen who build cafes and restaurants in the green areas," says...

After Freedom | May 13, 2004
Vahe Babaian, who grew up in Iran but now lives in Glendale, California, has made a film about the immigrant experience. The LA Daily News gives it a write-up. There is a bio of the filmmaker on the movie website....

Opposition downbeat | May 13, 2004
Noyan-Tapan have this rather downbeat interview with the chairman of the Motherland and Honour Party, Garnik Markaryan. "The current political consultations between the coalition and opposition forces will hardly yield any result, because the coalition has no elementary powers, which...

Photo Stories | May 13, 2004
HETQ online (Association of Investigative Journalists of Armenia) has a "photostory" site with photos submitted by photo-journalists on social and other issues. Onnik Krikorian has a series of photos on life in Lachin, 12 years after its capture by Armenian...

Tourism information for Armenia gets a facelift | May 12, 2004
This was updated a few months back, but I have only just seen it today. The Armenian Tourism Development Agency has done a great job with their website, armeniainfo.am. It has loads of features, including 'interactive' map, a map of...

More on the Karabakh talks | May 12, 2004
Thomas de Waal has written an article in the Wall Street Journal about the Karabakh conflict. (Via Groong) This sad conflict is actually soluble, if only the two sides can be rescued from their isolation. Armenians and Azerbaijanis have far...

System Of A Down and their new album | May 12, 2004
OK, this is a little off-topic for this blog, but System Of A Down are well-known for their pride in their Armenian heritage. Chartattack.com has a story about them and their upcoming album.    ...

Further unrest in Georgia | May 12, 2004
As is Sakaashvili wasn't busy enough, there have been clashes in the Tsalka region of Georgia bordering Armenia which reportedly were between ethnic Armenians and Georgians. Sakaashvili is reported to have said this was not of the 'Armenian character'. Supposedly...

Karabakh talks | May 12, 2004
The BBC has this story about upcoming talks between the Armenian and Azeri foreign ministers. The BBC's Chloe Arnold in the Azeri capital Baku, says relations between the two neighbours are as bad today as they have ever been. She...

Turkish scholar to lecture on the Genocide | May 11, 2004
The National Association for Armenian Studies and Research has put out a press release on the forthcoming lecture by Taner Akcam entitled "From Empire to Republic: Turkish Nationalism and the Armenian Genocide"....

New loans from the World Bank | May 11, 2004
From Baku Today, the World Bank has released $35 million in new loans for Armenia. The biggest of the World Bank loans, worth $23 million, is aimed at improving supplies of drinking water and wastewater disposal in the regions outside...

Opposition demonstrations fizzling out? | May 11, 2004
Are the opposition protest running out of steam? Apparently so, according to an article at Eurasianet.org. It's not surprising with the lack of independent media in Armenia. There has been coverage of other protest movements on Armenian TV and in...

The benefits of an open order? | May 10, 2004
ArmeniaNow.com reporter Gayane Mkrtchyan has written this piece about the border village of Margara. "Our girls couldn't get married, because people who were not residents of the village couldn't come to see them," villager Samvel Mirzoyan says. "For that reason...

End to Ajarian crisis good news for Armenia | May 10, 2004
Aslan Abashidze's recent departure from Ajaria, an autonomous region of Georgia, is good news for Armenia, as it will hopefully bring to and end to the an interruption of freight traffic coming through the port of Batumi. Armenian officials had...