More content. including photo stories, articles and blog posts, has now been added to Caucasus Conflict Voices.

In the 16 years since a 1994 ceasefire agreement put the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed mainly-Armenian populated territory of Nagorno Karabakh on hold, peace remains as elusive as ever. The war fought in the early 1990s left over 25,000 dead and forced a million to flee their homes.

Since June 2008 Onnik Krikorian has been using new and social media to connect alternative voices in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the Diasporas of both countries. A cross-border project initiated in September 2009 has since given birth to Caucasus Conflict Voices, a collection of contributions to date from Armenian and Azerbaijani bloggers.

The first collection includes color photographs by Onnik Krikorian alongside contributions from himself as well as Zamira Abbasova, Marine Ejuryan, Aygun Janmammadova, Sasun Khachatryan, Scary Azeri, Yelena Osipova, Liana Aghajanian, Kevork Oskanian, and Arpine Porsughyan.

It can be freely downloaded in PDF format (1.7mb) from the project site at
http://www.oneworld.am/diversity/blogs.html.

The blogs section of my project on Armenian and Azerbaijani coexistence has been updated, and most notably with a post in English, Azerbaijani, Armenian and Russian by an ethnic Azeri refugee from Armenia who fled her home at the beginning of the conflict over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh.

I was born in Vardenis in 1984 and four years later my entire family as well as all my relatives had to leave Armenia, fleeing to Azerbaijan due to the mass displacements. I was only four when I left Armenia, but in retrospect I don’t know whether that’s fortunate or not as I am unable to remember everything I left behind. But I do remember our house, our garden, the playground, my friends, my apple tree, and the rooster which I loved so much.

After arriving in Azerbaijan I used to dream about our house and walking in the ruins of our village. At some point, however, everything just faded away. Even so, my family have never lost their belief that one day we will go back home. We believe that two neighbors who have lived together for centuries will come together again even if evil has never left them alone and always whispers hatred.

[…]

Zamira’s post can be found here and the URLs for the blogs section of the project are the following:

English:
http://www.oneworld.am/diversity/blogs.html

Azerbaijani:
http://www.oneworld.am/diversity/blogs_az.html

Russian:
http://www.oneworld.am/diversity/blogs_ru.html

While Zamira’s post is also available in Armenian it will still take a little time to get the Armenian version of the blogs section up and running. Stay tuned…

Ethnic Armenian, Tsopi, Georgia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2009

Following a recent collaboration between Flying Carpets and Broken Pipelines blogger Arzu Geybullayeva and Global Voices Online’s Caucasus editor, an online project using new and social media to overcome negative stereotypes in the South Caucasus entered a second stage last week when two blogging journalism students, Vusala Alibayli and Khanim Javadova, joined a Georgian blogger and Global Voices Online author Dodi Kharkheli aka Dodka in the initiative.

The project aims to promote positive examples of ethnic groups coexisting peacefully in a volatile region riven with frozen conflicts in an attempt to provide an alternative to what is usually a partisan local media that not only self-censors, but also spreads misinformation and negative propaganda. As with the first stage of the project, the focus was on ethnic Armenians and Azeris living in Georgia.

The full post where comments can be left is available in English, French and Russian on Global Voices Online.

Now that the 19 February presidential election in Armenia is over, the Armenia Election Monitor 2008 has become The Caucasian Knot and will take over from this blog as my primary one. The blog has already covered the recent war between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia as well as new moves to find a solution to the 20-year-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh. Facebook users may also join a Caucasian Knot — Oneworld Multimedia group to receive updates of breaking news, photographs and new projects when appropriate or relevant.

A Facebook Group for Oneworld Multimedia, the working name for journalist, photojournalist and blogger, Onnik Krikorian. Having covered the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh as well as human rights and the Kurdish issue in Armenia and Turkey since 1994, he has also covered general issues relating to Armenia and Georgia, including the war with Russia over South Ossetia, since 1998. He is also the Caucasus Editor for Global Voices Online as well as the Armenia Country Editor for Oneworld.net.

Anyway, The Caucasian Knot is here. Please update your bookmarks.

Matenadaran, Yerevan, Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2009

If British folk-rock legends Jethro Tull materializing in the country last week — with the Armenian prime minister going hell for leather in his return from Kazakhstan so he could catch his favourite band perform live in Yerevan — was bizarre enough, then nothing could prepare anyone for the latest surreal development in post Soviet Armenia. Faced with a crucial municipal election in the capital this weekend, how on earth do you find a reason to block off access to the main venue for the opposition to hold rallies?

Actually, it’s quite simple, really. In the past the government would suddenly hold children’s concerts in the same venue although after last year’s bitterly contested and controversial presidential election they tried a different approach, deciding to instead build an underground car park in Yerevan’s Liberty Square to keep it off-limits to everyone until Autumn 2010. But now the opposition are holding rallies at the manuscript museum in Yerevan, what do you do then?

[…]

The full post where comments can be left is available on The Frontline Club.

Ian Anderson, Yerevan, Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2009

With the Armenian prime minister rumored to be one of the biggest Jethro Tull fans in the country, rumors circulating last year that the legendary British rock band would perform in Yerevan were certainly not to be sneezed at. However, while initial efforts to have the band perform last year didn’t come to fruition, the speculation was only confirmed a few months ago. Their concert which some joke might be attended by as many government members as ordinary citizens is scheduled for tonight. PanArmenian.Net covers the news.

Within the frames of its European tours, Jethro Tull legendary rock group will organize one concert in Yerevan on May 22. Armenian rock fans and connoisseurs of the British rock group can attend the concert in Sports-Concert Complex after Karen Demirtchyan. During the concert which will last two hours, the group conducted by Ian Anderson will perform both old and news songs of its repertoire.

“World-famous celebrities, Jethro Tull musicians turned out exceptionally modest, and unlike Scorpions, didn’t demand 7 limousines of latest fashion,” Head of Vibrographus company Vardan Grigoryan told a news conference.

The group’s music is a mixture of blues, folk-rock and a little bit of jazz. Jethro Tull was formed in 1963, out of the amalgamation of the John Evan Band and McGregor’s Engine, two blues-based local UK groups. Over the 40 years of its existence Jethro Tull has released 40 albums and sold over 60 million recording discs.

Concert organizers say they are now negotiating with Deep Purple, Paul McCartny and Russian DDT and Mashina Vremeni groups for inviting them to Yerevan.

The full post accompanied by a video interview with Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson where comments can be left is available on The Caucasian Knot.

In its annual worldwide survey on the media, Freedom House has once again categorized Armenia as “not free,” a situation which has been the case since 2002 when the pro-opposition A1 Plus TV station was taken off the air. A huge question mark then hung over the future of the company as many of its staff left to work elsewhere.

The Council of Europe and international media watchdogs decried the move seen by many as a precursor to later attempts to silence the press in the run-up to the presidential election held less than a year later. However, demands to let A1 Plus return to the air fell on deaf ears.

In June last year, the European Court of Human Rights even ruled in the station’s favour in an action against the government, but the victory was only symbolic. The station still remains without a broadcasting frequency. Instead, and undaunted by attempts to silence its voice, A1 Plus went online.

Also using blogs and YouTube, especially during last year’s contraversial presidential election, its web site is probably the most visited online news source in Armenia, with around 10,000 visits per day. That might not seem much, but in a country where Internet penetration stood at 5.7 percent in 2007, it’s quite something.

Now, in an effort to expand its reach, the banned station this week turned its attention to an estimated 1.9 million mobile phone subscribers in the country, offering short video headlines for users to download. True, the news is hardly extensive, but it does represent another attempt to take on governmental control of the broadcast media.

[…]

The full post where comments can be left is available on the Frontline Club blog.

Tensions appear to be rising as official campaigning kicked off for this month’s crucial municipal election in Yerevan. While the Republican and Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) parties planted trees in various districts of the city, Prosperous Armenia held a free concert in Komitas on Sunday. RFE/RL also reports that the ARF-D, recently departed from the ruling coalition government, seems to be setting its sights on the traditional opposition.

“We must realize that it is wrong to say that by winning [control over] the municipality we can create a state within a state and that the next step, regime change, will not be long in coming: the president of the republic will resign and these authorities will go,” said another Dashnaktsutyun leader, Armen Rustamian.

The message was clearly addressed to the main opposition Armenian National Congress (HAK) that has pledged to turn the municipal polls into a “second round” of the disputed presidential election and use its possible victory for toppling Sarkisian. The HAK rallied thousands of supporters in downtown Yerevan on Friday.

Its top leader, former President Levon Ter-Petrosian, described proper conduct of the May 31 vote as Sarkisian’s “last chance to gain some authority with Armenian society and the international community.” Ter-Petrosian did not say, though, what his 18-party alliance will do if it considers the vote to have been fraudulent.

Full coverage of the campaign period leading up to the 31 May Yerevan election can be found on The Caucasian Knot and The Frontline Club. You can also join The Caucasian Knot Facebook group for further updates and breaking news or keep an eye on Twitter.

World Vision Child Development Center, Malatia-Sebastia, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008

As mentioned in a previous post, The Caucasian Knot has now started to work on shooting images for an exhibition on disabilities and especially the need to integrate handicapped children into mainstream education as well as support them in preparing for later life as adults. As part of this project which will likely last until the spring, The Caucasian Knot today returned to World Vision’s Malatia Child Development Center.

Although World Vision came to Armenia in the aftermath of the 1988 Earthquake, the Center opened in 2002. However, the organization also works with socially vulnerable children and those with special needs in 17 community-based centers and 21 inclusive education kindergartens scattered throughout the country. Last September, 71 children with special needs were thus able to enter the first year of school thanks to services delivered by the organization.

[…] They were treated by a speech therapist, an art therapist and a psychologist; participated in performances organized by World Vision. They learnt to communicate with other children, and were taught to read and write.

Speaking to The Caucasian Knot, Tigran Tshorokhyan, World Vision’s Technical Support Team’s Child Protection Specialist, describes the Malatia center as just one part of the organization’s work in the area of child protection. The main objective is the provision of relevant services to children with special needs in order to integrate them into mainstream education whenever possible. It also serves as a resource center for the other community centers, 10 of which have been handed over to local government.

We also undertake our own awareness raising campaigns which offer the real possibility to change the mentality of society and to make it more inclusive when it comes to children, and especially those with learning disabilities or special needs.

The full post accompanied by photographs and where comments can be left is available on The Caucasian Knot.

World Vision Child Development Center, Malatia-Sebastia, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008

One theme that’s been a consistent one over the past few years of living and working in Armenia has been that of socially vulnerable families, children deprived of parental care, and those with disabilities. It’s for that reason that when the new British Ambassador to Armenia, Charles Lonsdale, and I were discussing the possibility of holding an exhibition here, the matter of disabilities in particular came up. Originally planned to be staged on 3 December — International Disability Day — an exhibition might now be delayed until next year, but the work has already begun.

In cooperation with those working in the area of integrating disabled children into mainstream education and society such as World Vision, UNICEF and other organizations, the idea is to promote reforms being made to achieve such aims as well as to promote those implementing much-needed changes — not only in terms of legislation and the creation of centers which can help support families with disabled children, but also with regards to changing attitudes and stereotypes prevalent in society.

In the past, for example, such children were hidden away at home or placed in institutions, but the real need is to instead integrate them as much as possible. This isn’t the first time I’ve dealt with such matters, of course. In 2005, for example, I wrote two articles on the local Bridge of Hope NGO for UNICEF. While one article touched upon a specific case, another provided an overview of the organization working in this area.

According to official statistics, there are over 8,000 children with disabilities living in the Republic of Armenia. In part the legacy of the soviet-era but also the result of the present socio-economic situation, many of these children have been isolated from society and are excluded from mainstream education.

[…]

“We are creating equal opportunities and access to education for children with disabilities,” says Susanna Tadevosyan, President of the non governmental organization (NGO) Bridge of Hope. Established in 1996, the NGO continues to expand based on its experience to date and is implementing programs in nine different areas.

[…]

“My daughter was born with Cerebral Palsy,” says one mother whose child has benefited from the work of the NGO. “Relatives tried to convince me that my daughter, Ashkhen, wasn’t normal and would destroy my life and that of my family. My husband abandoned me and I was left alone with my child.”

Ashkhen grew up in isolation and was deprived of the opportunity to interact with other children until she was later enrolled into a specialized boarding school that offered only a watered-down curriculum for children with learning disabilities. Separated from her mother for most of the week, Ashkhen returned home on weekends. In 1996, however, when her mother heard about the Bridge of Hope NGO, Tatevik was eager to find out more.

“When I entered the center the first thing I noticed was that there were non-disabled children there,” she says. “I never thought that disabled and non-disabled children could relate to each other.” Sixty percent of the children that attend are not disabled and of those that are, nearly half are diagnosed with cerebral palsy and a third with Down’s Syndrome.

Over the years, while still attending the specialized school, Tatevik says that Ashkhen developed quickly, becoming more communicable and confident. In 1999, at the age of 15, Bridge of Hope helped Ashkhen make the move to a regular school close to where she lives. She is now one of the most active and high-achieving children in her class and thanks to including both disabled and non-disabled children in the centers, stereotypes are being broken down.

The full post accompanied by photographs and where comments can be left is available on The Caucasian Knot.