The head of the notoriously corrupt Passport and Visa agency (OVIR) was sacked today in the latest bout of corruption swilling attempts by Tigran Sarksians newly formed cabinet.

Having had dealings with this ridiculous agency myself, to say I’m happy is an understatement. Let’s see what happens, though. I personally have had to pay bribes, be ridiculed, and harassed by this one guy at OVIR, who I Hope next time I visit, will have left, and taken his huge gigantic gut with him….Let’s hope!

I found the above titled article on the Hetq website. This touched a nerve with me as someone who looks to perhaps begin a future in Armenia. It really is a testimony to how the goodwill of people can be abused anywhere in the world, but how Armenia’s “system” can leave us all disillusioned. I am not one to focus on negatives, but I just hope this can make us all think a little. The hunger for money, greed, excess and status seems to have reached epic proportions in Armenia these days, especially since many can now “just” afford to show off, it seems that more people are inclined to do it. I speak as someone who has sometimes felt compelled to do this myself. Why is it in Armenia, suddenly the make and model of my mobile phone becomes important? Why is it always necessary to assert authority wherever I go? Maybe it’s a weakness in me, or Armenians in general, or maybe we just all get pulled into the way things are these days in Armenia. Either way, it is ridiculous, and it has to stop. I quote the article from here forward:

“Today I am sad. Thirteen years ago I decided to leave France, my third homeland, and relocate to Armenia, with the intention to invest in the fatherland, which I did by creating the Le Cafe de Paris. I invested my time, energy, health and resources, so that our little Parisian cafe could illuminate Abovyan Street.
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Over time the Cafe has become a favorite place to do business, meet friends and just relax. However my little dream has turned into an unending nightmare. Not wishing to delve into my personal problems, I’d just like to simple note that due to my faith, perhaps misplaced, in my fellow man I gave a loan to a person. This person claimed that he couldn’t repay the loan while actually he just refused to do so. When I took this person into my business, out of a sense of charity, I realized that he was periodically stealing from me along with other employees he had won the loyalty of. These employees, like their patron, had become corrupted, one more than the other. I could say that this is a fairly commonplace occurrence that can happen anywhere. But everywhere else there is a system of justice that serves as strong defender of one’s rights and interests. The justice system is there to grab the hand of the thief…This is the reality everywhere except in my beloved Armenia where the practice of justice is corrupt to the very core, where compromises are made with the guilty party, where the weak are preyed upon for all they have, the spoils to be split with the powerful, and where money is valued more than the truth. This is the reason for my grief. I am sad that our beloved Armenia, so dear to our hearts, has ceased to function normally. I am sad because in the event that things continue in this way I will be forced to close the Cafe and return to France.

Valerie Gortzounian”

Armenia 1 (H1), the national television station, has been put to use by Serzh and his brother. The target, the meat selling area across from Tashir commonly called “Gyum Market”. As we know, there is no free press in Armenia. The closest thing that comes to it is Hetq.am and they are constantly under threat by those with power and money.

The goal of the brothers Sarkisyan is to drive down sales volumes by reporting about the sanitary conditions of the meat selling area. The fact is the area has not changed much in many years. There is no more a risk than there was ten years ago. By focusing the weapon of Armenia 1 against the meat sellers and driving off potential customers, the property becomes cheaper. There has been great resistance by the residents of the area to the forced sale of their land. The Sarkisyans want the land to do what has been done for North Avenue. You steal the land from the local and sell it to the rich foreigners for a tremendous profit.

This is a dirty trick and shows you how the powers-that-be can use the news as a weapon. Of course, this is not new in any society but it is commonly believed that as Sarkisyan and friends gain more power this will become even more common. Kochariyan’s time in office will be known as age of “secret fire sales of land”. People think that Serzh’s time will be the use of the state powers to enrich a select few to a far greater extent then is currently happening.

Stand your ground people! If you wish to help, go ask the meat sellers how you can help protect the last bastion of community in the center of Yerevan.
If you care about Armenia, now is the time to think about supporting freedom, encouraging property rights and removing political control of the nation’s airwaves. For many, optimism about a free Armenia where everyone has equal opportunity to compete and win is quickly waning.

So here I am again, in Yerevan, its been a year since I was here, but I’d say this time alot has changed. I am just going to write a few of my own personal observations, and please feel free to share yours!

The Biggest change I’ve ever seen has to be the opening of the new airport terminal. I arrived, hardly believing I was in Armenia, to a clean, fresh, air conditioned, brand new smelling terminal. It is fair to say it’s all been very tastefully done, and the arrivals process was absolutely perfect. I kind of missed the fights for visa, the bizarre “queuing” system. All of this was no more, I even had a bit of a joke with a customs person. It is no exaggeration that I was out of the airport in 15 minutes! This is a record for anywhere i’ve ever been! It seems everyone working there is young, and much more inclined to help. I think this is a perfect way to enter the country, and really does make a huge difference.

As for Yerevan ….. It’s a shameful mess. Dusty, smelly, reminding me of more of a middle eastern bazaar at the moment! It seems everywhere I look there is construction, but not even nice building, the kind of building which seems to involve digging up entire streets, throwing piles of bricks everywhere, and not cleaning up the dust. I guess we can’t complain. I arrived at our apartment to find the street is now dug up in 3 places, apparently to build a new subway. I guess this is neccessary, but it’s little things like putting the bins back on the stands which I think need to take priority. I don’t think Ive seen anywhere else in the world where brand new litter bins can fall off their stands and just lie on the floor, looking even worse than the rubbish itself! I would have thought the city may have prepared for tourist season by cleaning up a little, it seems not, I guess they know the numbers are guaranteed. But certainly, it is a mess, and I hope it cleans up in the next couple of years. Much of the lincy work on the sidewalks seems to have been wasted, as they are now dug up or littered once more.

Russian music seems to have taken the back seat to Armenian pop now, out of the random places I passed on my walk today, only one had the token Russian dance music blasting out. The rest was new generation Armenian pop, small observation, but if music is your sphere, this represents a decent shift in pop culture , before it was extremely rare to hear anything but rabiz on the streets if anything.

Prices? Up again, quite drastically. I am paying the same for fresh vegetables as I am in the UK, which is known for high prices. I don’t honestly know how the average Armenian family manages to make ends meet.

Other than that, it’s nice to be in Yerevan, to hear Armenian, and to smell the air! It’s going to be a good summer

I can’t really think of anything else….I’ll post some photos soon.

After a few weeks of work in Yerevan, I am happy to return to rural Armenia. The greater Yerevan area is getting harder and harder to enjoy and the expense of staying there is becoming unreasonable. Sadly, in my time in the capital, I went visiting old friends in my favorite part of the center which is Tigran Mets past St. Gregory. It is part of Yerevan that still has some neighborhood charm with Tashir being the only major blight on the area. However, that is about to change.

My dear friends are beside themselves as what happened in the area of which is now North Avenue is due to repeat itself with the recently passed law allowing the government to use eminent domain for development purposes. The area from Tashir to the Erebuni area border on Tigran Mets will soon be seized by the government and auctioned off. The area’s best known residents are the owners of the large meat market that starts opposite the Gyum Shuka. Plans are even calling for the ripping down of the triangular shaped apartment building that starts on the south corner across from Tashir which would displace hundreds of families. Will these families receive $200,000 so they can buy a similar apartment in the center? I doubt it.

Rumors are thick but it is suspected the Sarkissiyan family is behind this push as it is the last area of the center of Yerevan that is populated by local Yerevansti. Of course, knowing the current leadership’s business interest it is also a power grab as some of the most successful small meat merchants reside in this area. As we know, most of the current oligarchs have major interest in the food chain as it provides great cash flow. Again, we see the use of the government to condense power for a few and remove the ability for small business owners to make a reasonable living.

My friends have condemned the current building spree that seems to be fueled by investment from outside Armenia. I am constantly asked, “Who is buying these apartments in the center?” Most people who read this blog are Diaspora or like myself care greatly for the country. Many people from this love wish to live in Armenia some of the year so they buy a modern apartment in the city center but it seems most remain ignorant of the social injustices that occurred to build that apartment. At the same time, as Onnik talks about today, there doubts about the structural integrity of those buildings.

The locals are angry and they are frustrated because at every turn they are loosing the opportunity to compete. Many feel they are being pushed out of the center and even the areas of Komitas, Barikamutsun and Monument, people are realizing they can no longer afford property but foreign peoples can easily buy the property for what by developed nation standards is a bargain. My friends, if you are investing in Armenia, be sure you are investing in a way that makes you part of the community. What makes Armenia strong is its sense of community. Having the whole center of Yerevan full of rich people will quickly end the culture which people have come to be a part of.

We cannot say the market will take care of itself due to the lack of freedom and the use of law to force people out. If you are investing or have invested, look at your motives. Would you be better giving that money in rent then continue to encourage the oligarchs to rip apart what was five years ago one of the nicest city centers I have ever seen.

Armenialiberty reports on a high profile bank robbers escape - from a courtroom.

The suspect Aharon Hakobian, was suspected along with 4 others of stealing $600,000 worth of money and gems from a Yerevan bank recently. He managed to escape from the caged enclosure (used to house suspects in Armenian courtrooms) and is now nowhere to be seen.

I am unsure about this - firstly, how can someone get out of that cage, secondly, did no one spot the lad running through the corridors and outside? Is there no security in the courtroom? This kind of thing is so strange it’s laughable. The cynic in me wonders if this is some preorchestrated deal with the relevant bodies to get out of this crime - but surely, surely , this is ridiculous, if it is the case, however, it seems the authorities are getting better and better at fooling people….

I think im just being negative.

It’s been a long time coming but Armenia now has an official authorised Apple Macintosh store, selling Ipods, Ibooks, Imacs, and pretty much everything else they make. I checked out the price of a 30GB Ipod, and it hits $405, which is pretty much exactly the same as here in the U.K.

Obviously the average Armenian citizen is probably not going to spend this on what is ultimately a glorified walkman, but still, I guess it’s at least a supplier of Macs and mac products in Yerevan for the design/media industry… and I guess another one of those proud “we have a ‘…..’ store in Armenia now…!” sort of statements..

As far as I am aware very few Armenian media outlets use mac, which is the standard for most here in the West. Only reporters from Armenia Tv I have noticed carry branded Ibooks around with them, but even the core processes there are done using pc’s. We’ll see what happens I suppose…

Armenialiberty.org reports on the first conclusions from Western observers were released today, by the Council for Europe and the OSCE monitoring commission. They stated that the Armenian elections were “largely democratic” and a “step forward”. They did, however, state that they did fall short of the authorities’ promise that they would be fully democratic, citing the fact that the counting process had problems in about 20% of polling stations. They also witnessed bussing of voters to the polling stations, and some ballot stuffing.

Largely however, I think we could say this is a significant improvement. Serge Sargsyan and his Republican Party won a landslide victory, I guess given the opposition on offer, we couldn’t expect much else.

They are also saying that the faults that were recorded will not affect the outcome of the election. So all in all, I guess we have another five years of the same….?

“We will develop 90 percent of our relations with Russia and 10
percent with Europe and others,”

Taken from Gagik Tsarukyan’s Recent interview on a Russian television station, discussing what his party, “Prosperous Armenia” intends to do with Armenia’s foreign policy agenda. I am seriously becoming worried about what the future holds for the nation if this is the extremity with which the party intends to sever relations with Europe.

This comes after US Assistant Secretary of State has hinted that Armenia is lagging behind its neighbours, despite having more advantages:
Armenia should have been “way ahead of Georgia” in terms of democratic reforms given the strength of its worldwide Diaspora and its links with Europe and the United States. “Armenia should be doing better,” he said. “It should be a leader. It should be a prospering country. It has all the ingredients.”

Many speculate that there will soon be a “crunch point” when Armenia will have to decide which direction it wants to sway, US/Europe, or Russia. We all know the merits/disadvantages of each, but with other nations voicing serious concerns about Human Rights and Democracy in Russia, we can hope for little change in Armenia’s situation. Are we on the verge of becoming another Belarus? ( extreme example, but worth a thought….)

It is no wonder Armenia’s reputation runs risk of turning into some kind of rogue state where people get shot for working in politics. Armenialiberty reports on an assasination attempt on the mayor of Gyumri Vartan Ghukasian, a controversial figure with some corruption accusations hanging over his head. He is also a high ranking member of the republican party. He survived the drive by shooting but 3 of his bodyguards were killed.

In the international press, they are quick to describe Armenia as a “turbulent, impoverished ex Soviet nation”…and they quickly refer to the attack on parliament in 1999. A tourist sitting in Amsterdam will search Armenia and see this. I always like to talk about Armenia being safe and secure, and whilst I know this kind of thing “happens everywhere”, when we talk of Armenians being a close and warm nation - it seems politics is a game only for those who are as violent and unruly as each other.

My solution? We all move to Glendale, re build somewhere that looks roughly like Armenia..(it’s already almost there!) .wait a few years, let all the oligarchs, mafiosos, party members, and mayors, run over each other, shoot each other, stab each other, poison each other , or kill via any other desirable method…. Then once the last one has died, we can all move back and be safe, and hopefully a little richer.

This is , of course, wishful thinking.

YEREVAN, March 28. /ARKA/. Armenia ranks 96th among 122 countries in the Network Preparedness Index says the 2006-2007 IT Global Competitiveness Report prepared by the Economy and Values Research Center.

According to the report, the strong points of Armenia’s network preparedness are the companies’ capability to apply new technologies, availability of scientists and architects, as well as the number of patented inventions and discoveries per each million of residents.

Among the weak points are high prices for Internet communication, the number of subscribers and on-line services.

I personally take it as a failure for a country which announces IT as a strategic aspect of economy, to be on the 96th place.

R [name witheld] has asked me to post this letter:

My name is R. I was born in Yerevan. At the age of 25 (appr. 5 years ago) I immigrated to USA.
I want to make Armenia a better place to live. I wonder if You could address few issues about life in Yerevan, maybe it’ll help and people around will start paying more attention.
Five years ago on the streets of Yerevan one could find a lot of homeless people, who would roam around, hungry, dirty and, at times, drunk. Some of them had psych.abnormalities. I suspect they weren’t really treated or were released too early from psychiatric hospital in Nork. It tears my heart to remeber the way people who were passing by treated the homeless, some were abusing them verbally, some-assaulting physically.
more…

So here it is, the long awaited Armenian language pack for Windows XP. If it can be implemented correctly, as has been planned in Armenian schools and government institutions, we should see an acceleration in development of software in the Armenian language.

It is quite a novelty to see desktop being called a “Seghan”, and “Meknarkel” doesn’t have quite the same ring as “start”. I think “Sksel” would have been better But I guess we should be using refined Armenian…

Why not have a go at installing it? It only takes a couple of minutes, and it’s easily removable. It’s here.

Well, it’s that time of year again.. for the second time at least…A joke in the UK, huge in France, and even bigger in Eastern Europe - The Eurovision song contest is a chance for small, often ignored nations, to show themselves to the world through culture…or cheesy pop. Whatever your take on it, there is no doubting that last year, Armenia’s first entry - was a respectable victory by all accounts - for a first entry we ended up 8th out of over 40 countries in the world. Not bad.

Last year’s entry was selected internally by the Armenian Public Television, who are responsible for organising Eurovision. This year, the company has decided to “democratize” the selection of our song - albeit with a uniquely Armenian slant…

20 entries have now been submitted, ranging from Hayko, a well known singer, - to R.P, a new, but very unique act. The first two rounds of selections will basically take 4 selections from a jury ( yes, a jury ), and 2 selections from a public SMS vote. Leaving a total of 6 acts.

The FINAL vote goes to the public? How wrong you are, dear Armenian! Of course the public are not entrusted with this act, only the “professional” jury is allowed to do this….

OK, so here goes.. If the jury wants Hayko to represent Armenia ( as part of a pre meditated plan ) then it’s simple - they vote Hayko through in the first round of finals, no matter who the public vote for, they can simply vote Hayko through at the end, as they get the last word.

What a joke. Do the organisers of this “selection” really distrust the Armenian public so much that they would not allow them to select their own entry? The fact is , rumours have been spinning for a while that the entrant has already been decided, the election is just to show the EBU that we are “democratic”.

Sound familiar?

On a lighter note, here are some lyrical gems I found from skimming through lyrics to the songs. Any idea what they mean? Comments welcome .
:) my queries are in brackets…:)

“I’ll Prove I am Stronger” Anush Manukyan
…..
I never fall down.
I’am not any longer
your Saturday fun,
( Saturday fun? what? you can’t have fun on a Saturday, its the sabbath! )
your blossoming rose,
has just faded for you.
You falt I suppose ( of course, you falt - that common expression!)
say what you can do. ……. (huh?) :P

“So I will go..” Arsen Adonts
….
Me I get to another show
Live in me now < ( live in where?)
Me I choose to express my love in another time (did no one check the grammar?)……. (ok then?) :)