Entries for June 2004

Armenia Tree Project Celebrates its 10th Anniversary | June 30, 2004
The Armenia Tree Project is celebrating its 10th Anniversary with a open air concert at Garni Temple. Luminaries such as President Kocharyan and US Ambassador Ordway have been invited....

Online Commerce | June 30, 2004
There is a very interesting article from the Pictorial Gazette, Connecticut, (Via Groong), about small-scale online commerce. Peter Kwasniewski, who together with his wife spent time in Armenia as Peace Corps volunteers. Peter just launched Peter K Designs, an online...

Targeting poverty | June 29, 2004
Eurasianet.org has a relatively upbeat article on investment in Armenia. New funds from the World Bank and also the Millenium Challenge Account set up by the US will be targeted at trying to aleviate rural poverty through investment in roads...

Pressure mounts | June 29, 2004
On the sidelines of the current NATO summit in Turkey, the foreign ministers of Turkey, Armenia, and Azerbaijan met, reports ChannelNewsAsia. NATO and the EU are trying to get the three countries to patch up their differences and settle the...

Erdogan blames Armenia for bad relations | June 29, 2004
Bakutoday.net reports that Turkish prime minister Erdogan blames Yerevan for the worsening relations between Ankara and Yerevan. "The Armenian Diaspora is still sticking to its so-called genocide claims. Turkey and Turks will never accept this. It is impossible to forge...

Project Harmony | June 28, 2004
There will be a presentation on the Armenian Schools Connectivity Project (ASCP) by Mourad Mouradyan of the Project Harmony on Tuesday 29, 2004 7:00PM at Armenian Society of Los Angeles....

Lessons in history | June 28, 2004
The Montreal Gazette has a good article (via Groong) about the book "From Empire to Republic" by Turkish scholar Dr. Akcam. Dr. Akcam stresses the important to Turkey of coming to terms with its past, but also makes the point...

Power taken from the masses? | June 25, 2004
Emil Danielyan has written an article on Transitions Online about Kocharyan and the worsening human rights record of Armenia. "Armenia has taken a big step backward in the past three months in terms of human rights protection," says Vartan Harutiunian,...

A New Vision for Armenia? | June 25, 2004
EurasiaNet has a commentary about Armenia's supposed attempts at political reform, and the recent controversy over the opposition demonstrations and political crackdown. The Armenian government's brutal crackdown against opposition protests this April, its attacks on journalists, the ransacking of opposition...

Genocide denial lecture | June 24, 2004
Haigazian University was the location for a lecture by Prof. Henry C. Theriault, an academic from the US. The Department of Armenian Studies has issued a press release (via Groong)about the lecture. In it, he draws interesting parallels with denialist...

The rich man's view | June 24, 2004
The Vahakni development, which I posted about two days ago, has a write up from the Institute for War and Peace Reporting. They interview Vahak S. Hovnanian, the man behind the project. "But Vahakni is in itself a lifestyle, which...

What now for the opposition? | June 24, 2004
It seems unclear now what course the opposition will take. There have been reports that the opposition will carry on with their protest. Prime Minister Markaryan stated in an interview with Aykakan Zhamanak (Via Groong) that he believes the opposition...

Internet crime | June 23, 2004
Maybe I spoke too fast. The Computer Crime Research Center reports that most computer crimes in Armenia are committed through the Internet. She said that these crimes are not solved in Armenia, like anywhere in the world, because banks try...

Armenian Spam | June 23, 2004
Well, not quite. I got the following email from the [name removed] Restaurant in Dubai about their 'Armenian Night': Tonight ARARAD is performing at [name removed] Restaurant at [name removed], Dubai. Now, how did I get on their spamming list?...

Daily Soap | June 22, 2004
Another good crop of articles over at ArmeniaNow.com include this story about the Brazilian-produced soap set in Morocco. "Clone" is a Brazilian-produced serial set in 1980s Morocco, about a love affair between a Brazilian man and an Arabic girl, about...

Cilicia to set sail | June 22, 2004
Here's a lovely story about the ship Cilicia, about to set sail from the port of Poti on an epic voyage to Amsterdam. I was lucky to clamber aboard the Cilicia on a cold and windy October day last year...

Selling a piece of the homeland | June 21, 2004
The Los Angeles Daily News talks about the time shares being marketed to Armenians in the US for the Vahakni development north of Yerevan. "To local Armenians, I say, It's your land, it's your responsibility, to go back and see...

Protectionism? | June 20, 2004
Foreign Minister Oskanian has described the Turkish blockade as beneficial to Armenia's economy, reports the Washington Times. He made these statements while speaking in Washington after a meeting with Colin Powell and Condoleeza Rice. "We have strengthened our [information technology]...

Azad-Hye Blog | June 20, 2004
Hrach Kalsahakian who runs the Azad-Hye email group has set up an accompanying blog. There is a site feed, unfortunately only in the as yet not widely used Atom format. Azad-Hye concentrates on news from the Armenian community in the...

Bordering war | June 20, 2004
According to Golos Armenii (Via Groong), Azerbaijan's new strategy is to wear down Armenian forces with a localised war of attrition. This involves pushing forward in places and firing on Armenian farmers, etc. Since May 1994 the cease-fire regime has...

The Sun shines on Georgia | June 17, 2004
Eurasianet.org reports that the EU is singling out Georgia to be the main beneficiary of its aid in the Caucasus region. What is seen as President Mikhail Saakashvili's genuine desire for reform has propelled Georgia far ahead of its two...

Do you speak Armenian? | June 17, 2004
The Modern Language Association has produced a very interesting interactive map using 2000 census data. This map shows the distribution of languages in the United States. If you go to this URL, select Armenian from the pull-down menu, and hit...

Judicial farce | June 16, 2004
HETQ Online, the Association of Investigative Journalists of Armenia, has some strong words in reaction to the fines imposed on thugs who attacked journalists in April at one of the opposition rallies. "This was a judicial farce. The trial was...

World Bank focuses on quality of life | June 16, 2004
The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors today discussed a new Country Assistance Strategy for Armenia. Priorities of the new CAS include assisting the government in improving the business environment and thus create more jobs, promoting a better and more...

Cooperation of Birthright and the Armenian Medical Association | June 16, 2004
The Armenian Medical Association is cooperating with Birthright Armenia to bring young diasporans to Armenia to volunteer in the field of medicine....

Rallies to continue | June 15, 2004
Just when you thought they were really over, the stop-start rallies of the Armenian opposition are set to start again, according to the leadership of the Artarutyun alliance. BakuToday has this artcle about it. There's a funny comment at the...

Money to burn | June 15, 2004
Interfax reports that the Japanese government will invest $4.5 million in a thermal power plant in Armenia. Interestingly, this will involve the incineration of waste, no doubt using Japanese technology. These power plants are ubiquitous in Japan, dotting the skyline...

New sources of power | June 14, 2004
There are a flurry of stories about the nuclear power issue in Armenia. This follows the stopping of 100 million Euros in aid by the EU on the insistence that Armenia close down Metsamor. ArmeniaNow has an article about the...

A new peace? | June 14, 2004
Bakutoday.com reports that there is a new peace plan being forged between Armenia and Azerbaijan. "Azerbaijan stands for a step-by-step approach, and the Armenian side stands for a package approach. What we are right now working on is to try...

Fined for assaulting journalists | June 14, 2004
Two men have been found guilty of assaulting journalists in last month's opposition demonstrations, according the RFE. Meanwhile in Baku the Azeri authorities have banned two opposition demonstrations. I presume they are trying to follow the example of Georgia rather...

AGBU London lecture Series | June 11, 2004
Onnik Krikorian will give a photo presentation and lecture in London at the end of June, entitled "Poverty, transition and democracy in Armenia". Centre for Armenian Information and Advice 105a Mill Hill Road, Acton London W3 8JF Nearest tube: Acton...

Metsamor to go? | June 10, 2004
There's more news about Metsamor (the nuclear power plant that everyone - except Armenia - wants closed down). Prime Minister Markarian said today that Metsamor "will work until alternative sources of energy are found". He was talking about the EU...

Raising a glass to profits | June 10, 2004
Makers of the famous Ararat brand of brandy, are breathing a sigh of relief as Russian sales of brandy (its main market) has recovered in recent years from a slump in the mid-90s. The BBC has an online story about...

Blind leading the blind | June 10, 2004
The ever-topical Eurasianet.org website has a story about Kocharyan, and the end of opposition protests. The protests have fizzled out because of a combination of heavy-handed tactics, apathy, and complete frustration at the lack of progress. According to the article,...

Cold Storage | June 10, 2004
More on the Gyumri cold storage facility that was sold for $150,000. Professor Osheen Keshishian has written the following article about the scandal which is currently unfolding. It's hard to see this is an an isolated incident....

Yerevan's quiet spaces | June 08, 2004
A short article from A1 Plus (Via Groong) reports that courtyards behind apartment blocks, so ubiquitous in Yerevan, are to be sold. Apartment blocks' backyards in Yerevan are likely to be sold by auction, Samvel Danelyan, the head of urban...

A nuclear row | June 08, 2004
More fallout (pun not intended) from the argument over Metsamor Nuclear Plant. The Argus, a blog which watches the Caucasus and Central Asia, has this post on the decision by the EU to withold $100 million in grants. Unsurprisingly, the...

System of a Corruption | June 05, 2004
Serj Tankian, the lead singer of System of a Down, has come out with a sentiment not rare amongst the Diaspora. In an interview on RFE/RL (scroll down the page), Tankian talks of the frustrations of those wanting to invest...

Opening borders | June 05, 2004
Here is a voice in favour of opening the borders with Turkey and Azerbaijan. Of course this isn't Armenia's choice at the moment. I've heard arguments against opening the borders however. The argument is that once the borders open Armenia...

Interview with Igor Mouradian | June 04, 2004
AZTAG has an interview with Igor Mouradian, who is a a member of The International Institute for Strategic Studies, and also the author of numerous books on geo-politics. The interview on their website is only in Armenian, but Groong has...

The Road to Democracy | June 04, 2004
Amid a flurry of news on the resumption of opposition protests and the ongoing detention of the 'political prisoners', Kocharyan has been quoted as saying there is no political crisis in Armenia. "There is a conflict between the government and...

The Armenian Table | June 04, 2004
A new Armenian cookbook, The Armenian Table, by Victoria Jenanyan Wise has been published. The signature ingredients for this style of cooking are herbs such as fenugreek and tarragon, and such seasonings as orange flower water. To get to know...

Armenia's troubled aviation industry | June 04, 2004
The IWPR (Institute for War and Peace Reporting) has a story about the Armenian aviation industry, stating that Armenian Airlines is formally bankrupt. AA has already given up its routes, which have been taken over by Armavia mostly. According to...

Armenian fonts | June 03, 2004
This is something I have been thinking about recently: Armenian computer fonts. Getting Windows and Mac computers to properly display Armenian letters is often difficult. What is more, making web sites correctly display Armenian is not as straight forward as...

Planned Protests Banned | June 03, 2004
Radio Free Europe is reporting that planned protest by the opposition have been banned. Meanwhile, arrests continue of opposition figures. The OSCE is questioning the arrest of these people, according the BakuToday.net The Russian diplomat acknowledged that the OSCE played...

An Armenian newspaper in Turkey | June 03, 2004
Nor Marmara, is an Armenian newspaper in Turkey. Turkish Daily News yesterday ran a story about minority newspapers in Turkey, and features Nor Marmara. Nor Marmara, which publishes a supplement in Turkish on Fridays for Armenian citizens who cannot read...

Deja-vu all over again | June 02, 2004
Onnik Krikorian has written an in depth-piece on the current anti-government demonstrations and their origins. This piece was originally published on May 24th on HETQ Online (where I see there is a prominent story about Raffi Kojian of Cilicia.com), but...

A blog against denial | June 02, 2004
I discovered a blog dedicated to protesting the 'denialist statements by the British Ambassador to Armenia', Thorda Abbott-Watt Denying Genocide. The blog is a collection of letters and reports about the UK diplomat and her now infamous statement, which to...

Orran Children's Center opens | June 02, 2004
The Orran Children's Center has opened in Yerevan. Orran was founded in 2000 with the mission of assisting children who have resorted to street life out of poverty, eliminating street begging by children, helping families in spiritual crisis and economic...

Who are the Udins? | June 02, 2004
ArmenPress carries a story about a new controversy in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijani defense minister Safar Abiyev has officially dismissed media ruckus that Russian citizens of Armenian origin were serving at Gabala Radar Station, leased by Russia in Azerbaijan. The minister said...

Armenian Cultural Week in Tehran | June 01, 2004
Armenian films and art will be on display at an Armenian cultural event in the Iranian capital, starting June 24th....

Chamber of Commerce heads meeting in Yerevan | June 01, 2004
Tuesday, CIS Council of Heads of Chambers of Commerce and Industry will meet in Yerevan, reports Itar-Tass. The Yerevan meeting is expected to demonstrate achievements in the sphere of small and medium business on the post-Soviet territory, to reveal the...

EU aid halted | June 01, 2004
The Irish Times is reporting (free registration required) that the EU has halted aid to Armenia in a row over Metsamor, the nuclear power facility that the EU, Turkey, and the US want closed down. Alarmed at the potential for...