Entries for October 2004

A town called Gohar | October 29, 2004
I'm not sure what I make of this. Aleppo was the first place I went to an Armenian Church (and made a donation to hear the priest sing). Arka news agency reports on the development of a new village not...

Economic and drug-related crime on the rise | October 29, 2004
Mediamax reports (Via Groong) on the rise of economic and drug-related crime. While the number of reported crimes dropped by 4%, those involving drugs rose by over 30%. In the course of the fight against drug trafficking, 339 drug-related crimes...

Abandoned | October 27, 2004
HETQ Online has a photostory on the Nork Children's Home in Yerevan. "It is also one of the main depositories for children waiting to be adopted. However, in an investigation conducted last year by American-Armenian Ara Manoogian and RFE/RL reporter...

That conference again | October 27, 2004
Another report has surfaced about a conference in Vienna between Armenia and Turkey on the "Armenian problem": "Turkey will discuss for the first time, the Armenian problem, internationally. During the Turkey-Armenia historical meeting to be held in the first half...

Turkification | October 25, 2004
Ara Manoogian posts about what he calls "Turkification". One of the ways Armenians from Artsakh migrate to the West is via political asylum. And who better to qualify than a child from a mixed marriage, the father being Armenian and...

Misery for all | October 22, 2004
Out of a survey of 81 countries to see who are the world's most unhappy countries, Armenia has come 79. Contrary to popular belief, economic wellbeing is not a key factor in one's happiness. People from developing countries, Mexico and...

Genocide not a pre-condition? | October 22, 2004
The Turkish Daily News reported yesterday that Oskanian had said that 'Genocide' not condition for normal ties with Turkey. But isn't it Turkey which is imposing the blockade and Turkey which has stated that normalization depends on Armenia ceasing its...

Corruption | October 21, 2004
Armenialiberty.org has some good news of sorts: "Armenia again fared better than most other ex-Soviet states but was just a whisker away from being rated as a highly corrupt nation in a closely-watched annual report on corruption around the world...

New route for Russia-Armenian trade | October 21, 2004
Georgian paper The Messenger reports that Russia is allowing traffic through the Roki Tunnel, between North and South Ossetia, and Georgia officials have stopped some buses entering Georgia proper from South Ossetia. It also mentions the new Astrakhani (Russia)-Enzeli (Iran)-Meghri...

Stone Garden Guide to Armenia and Karabagh | October 21, 2004
Stone Garden Productions have a new book out: The Stone Garden Guide to Armenia and Karabagh. Amazon has some encouraging reviews: Adventure Magazine (UK), July, 2004 "Well researched and incredibly informative, this guide is a must for anyone considering a...

Armenia means welcome | October 19, 2004
SFGate.com has a glowing article on travel to Armenia. The author weaves her way past Khor Virap, Noravank, and Zorats Qarer, to my favourite place, Tatev: The road to Tatev is bumpy, but it soon opens to reveal a lushly...

Instability ahead | October 19, 2004
The International Crisis Group has a report on the future stability of Armenia. The report carries a series of recommendations: To the government it says "Conduct a credible and public investigation into the behaviour of law enforcement agencies during the...

I .am Google | October 19, 2004
In the middle of moving to a new computer, I found that Google have added Armenian to their list of languages. You can use their Armenian home page, or google.com and set your default language to Armenian. Select Preferences and...

Energy Crisis | October 16, 2004
Thanks to Onnik for passing this on. It's good to see a first-world newspaper giving voice to this kind of article. Rob Maguire is a student living in Yerevan, and has written about the rise in the price of electricity...

Ticket to ride | October 15, 2004
This story appears both in Bakutoday and ArmeniaLiberty.org. Russia's pledge to lobby for the resuming of a rail link between Russia and Armenia: "Our delegation will fly from Armenia to Azerbaija... and then on to Georgia in order to try...

Shop til you drop | October 14, 2004
ArmeniaNow.com reports on the shopping center (mall) opened recently in Yerevan by Robert Kocharyan and Yerevan Mayor Yervand Zakharyan. According to the Chief - designer of Tashir, Ashot Arshakyan, only GUM's walls are left to hold up a brand new...

Turkey and the EU | October 13, 2004
There is a lot of buzz about Turkey's upcoming accession talks with the EU, even though most estimates say it will take up to 15 years for Turkey to formally become a member of the European Union. ArmenPress reports: artan...

Oops, they did it again! | October 09, 2004
Does my memory fail me, or was there not a very emphatic statement by the Kerry campaign back in August about recognising the Armenian genocide? Still, this from Zaman Online (Via Dhimmi Watch)has appeared. Kerry denied claims made by the...

El or Yel? | October 09, 2004
I've had a bit of free time today, courtesy of this super-typhoon bearing down on Tokyo, so I've changed the logo ever-so-slightly. Thanks to Hakob for pointing this out and Katy for seconding him. I have rectified the typo. In...

Karabagh rivers polluted in Soviet times | October 08, 2004
Armenpress reports on the so-called Dortmund forum, a conflict-resolution group set up to mediate the Karabagh conflict, with representatives from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Nagorno Karabagh, USA and Russia. Azerbaijan insists that all Azeri lands occupied by Armenian troops be given back,...

Who killed Joshua? | October 08, 2004
The murder earlier this year of Joshua Haglund, an American working in Yerevan as a university teacher, has remained unsolved. Rumours abounded at the time of his murder that it was a hate crime (he was gay), or that he...

Slave Trades | October 07, 2004
HETQ Online has some good, punchy stories at the moment, well all the time really. The latest is a piece on the sentencing of 'Mother Pimp', who was convicted of trafficking in young women. According to the charges against her,...

Going to Iraq | October 06, 2004
Controversy around 50 Armenians going to Iraq is increasing. RFE/RL (Via Groong) reports on the Armenians uneasy at proposed Iraq deployment. Armenians across the political spectrum appear to share those misgivings. Parliament deputy Grigor Harutiunian of the opposition Artarutiun faction...

Road to Armenia | October 05, 2004
I stumbled across this site by chance and thought I would share. Not particularly newsworthy, but there is a long journal of the authors travels in Armenia, another page on the Shoghaken Folk Ensemble which I've been wanting to hear...

Hostel Yerevan | October 05, 2004
Not Hotel Yerevan. In the year that a new 5 star hotel was opened in Yerevan, with more than $18 million in money from the US Government and World Bank, we have people living in scenes like this. HETQ Online...

Island haven? | October 04, 2004
Raffi over at Cilicia.com has a very interesting proposal for his readers: Would you live on this Armenian island? He is referring to creating an Armenian community on an island off the Mexican coast near to Los Angeles, where Western...

Formula for corruption | October 01, 2004
A depressing series of events is outlined in this article by Edik Baghdasaryan on HTEQ Online. ...The journalist appeals to the Court of Appeal on Civil Cases. Three judges of the court, Noyem Hovsepyan presiding, dismiss the journalist's appeal, siding...

More border disorder | October 01, 2004
As relations between Russia and Georgia go from bad to worse and the countries' border remains closed, Armenia is feeling the strain. First, 45 unlucky passengers from Armenia to Russia have been stranded on the border since September 3rd, according...