Oneworld / Blogrel Blog Wars
Everyone is innocent until proven guilty of course, but it’s amazing to me how Hovakim over at Blogrel can just continue and continue to distort information and try to discredit news sources in an attempt to push the Armenian ultra-nationalist position.
On July 18, the Georgian police issued a photo of a suspect and posted a $82,000 reward. Given the angle, I’d say a million young men in the Caucasus would fit the profile.
Late evening on July 20, the police went in to apprehend Arutyunov. Reports say he was involved in a shoot-out with cops, managed to kill one, and was himself shot. This is suspicious, of course. I hope he doesn’t ‘die’ in custody.
It’s interesting the different readings of his last name. Is it possible that Civil Georgia manipulated the story to make his name more Armenian-sounding?
Coinicdentally, fed up with this guy’s spindoctoring I left Blogrel after I could no longer take any more. Ironically, Matt had originally asked me to be in charge of the blog but I declined and instead suggested Katy who now has me on permanent moderation without informing me of the fact.
Even when I was blogging for Blogrel, both Katy and Matt refused to tell me even privately who Hovakim was apart from saying that the name was a pseudonym. Recently, Katy told me that the guy was worried if people knew who he was. But of what? All he does is push nationalist propaganda and spindoctor news for the Government. Who the hell has he got to be scared of?!??!
Anyway, also interestingly, I had originally blogged on Blogrel in May that it was believed that the grenade was Armenian and once again, Hovakim got down to his propagandizing and attempts to convince people that everything is a conspiracy against Armenia.
I’ve posted that entry here because the way these guys are running Blogrel I suspect that the post will mysteriously disappear. Certainly, my comments on this latest news haven’t appeared.
It’s also interesting to monitor my stats and see how many times almost per hour Katy accesses my blog from Vermont before posting one or two stories without the typical acknowledgement that I at least give her when I see something at Blogrel.
Armenian-Modified Grenade thrown During Bush Address
Filed under: News, Neighbors — Posted by Onnik on May 22ndCivil.ge confirms claims made by the Azerbaijani Foreign Minister to the Republic of Georgia that the live grenade found 30 meters away from the US and Georgian Presidents in Tbilisi two weeks ago was indeed manufactured in Armenia.
Georgian Military Analyst Irakli Aladashvili wrote in May 16-22 issue of Kviris Palitra weekly, that a hand-grenade thrown during George W. Bush public address in Tbilisi was not a Soviet-made RGD-5, as reported earlier, but its slightly bigger, modified version which was produced during and after the Nagorno-Karabakh war in Armenia.
Nevertheless, if anything, this news doesn’t mean much until the person responsible for the grenade is found. Until then, perhaps the main issue is that of concern regarding the proliferation of small arms and munitions from frozen conflicts in the South Caucasus.
The full article can be read online here.
2 Comments »
1.
Is this ‘Kviris Palitra’ a reliable source, or (which is more likely) are they simply repeating what the Azeri Ambassador sounded without checking?
If this was reported by civil.ge directly, it would have been credible. But you see that civil.ge is referencing a secondary report.
Comment by Hovakim — 5/25/2005 @ 3:56 am
2.
Understood but the Azeri Ambassador did not refute earlier reports on the type of grenade and also, one hopes that Civil.ge wouldn’t just quote any old military analyst.
Main point, however, is that when such claims are made where Bush is involved, there would (or should) be at least an almost immediate comment or statement made by someone from the Armenian Government (MoD or MFA) by now.
Anyway, it could well be an Armenian-made or modified grenade. Why couldn’t it be? The point is that I’ sure dozens of these things have ended up in unofficial hands. Russians, Azeris, Armenians, who knows?
Probably, there are hundreds if not thousands of weapons in unofficial circulation as a result of the frozen conflicts in the South Caucasus.
I remember that a photographer friend of mine from London was given a live hand grenade by a soldier in Karabagh in August 1994 to take back with him as a souvenir.
Not surprisingly, he didn’t really warm to the idea of smuggling a live grenade onto a flight to London and didn’t reckon his chances on getting through customs at Heathrow.
Comment by Onnik — 5/25/2005 @ 7:34 am
Still, of course, Arutyunyan could be innocent but isn’t it more appropiate to say that you hope it’s a mistake, you’re shocked etc rather than launch into an attempt to discredit news which will unfold over the next coming days, Hovakim?
Onnik, I keep your blog open in a window on my screen, just like I do many other blogs. Is it a crime to see that you’ve posted something that you saw on Google News or whatever around the same time that I did?
Comment by Katy — July 21, 2005 @ 12:59 am
and, just FYI, I have every single item posted on “permanent” moderation. It doesn’t matter who posts it.
Comment by Katy — July 21, 2005 @ 1:01 am
No Katy, looking at Google is not a crime. However, as you click on some of my stories (I can see this all in my stats) and then post something similar 20 minutes later, I have to ask why do you write “via Registan etc” in those cases but never “via Oneworld” in mine. Okay, so you’re ambitious but that’s what I do for Blogrel and actually, that’s blogging etiquette.
Either, you are being sycophantic towards the other sites and hope for “recognition” or you don’t want to acknowledge your sources in some cases.
Whatever, I don’t really care beacause unlike you, the anonymous Hovakim spindoctor and Google, I live in Armenia, follow these stories, in some cases are part of them and will always try to bring the opinion in of as many sources as possible. Vermont obviously has a different effect on people.
Anyway, I just posted a comment on Blogrel which I know won’t appear because of the policy of censorship in place. So, here it is.
Comment by Administrator — July 21, 2005 @ 8:12 am
Do we absolutely have to be part of this bickering? This small, insignificant, down-right stupid and nonsense issue?
And I would appreciate a non-generic response (not the “If you don’t like this, go away” crap)
Comment by Levon — July 21, 2005 @ 10:07 am
Actually, that is the only response there is. If you don’t want to be part of it, don’t read this blog and certainly don’t involve yourself by becoming part of the argument by posting.
Anyway, the issue is quite serious. I consider it as breaking blogging ettiquete and also, it should be pointed out that I spent a lot of time helping build Blogrel up only to have someone like Hovakim use it for propagandist and nationalist purposes while never identifying himself to his fellow bloggers for no reason at all.
He’s apparently not in Armenia, is not posting anything that can get him into trouble anyway (in fact, Kocharian will likely give him a medal) whereas I am here and do face a lot of trouble. Already, there has been one threat against me via a comment on Blogrel but Matt and Katy refused to take it seriously although that’s not the point really. Intimidation is a serious issue as well.
So, I hope Blogrel will at least conform to Blogging ettiquette rather than this petty way to purposely ignore linking to my site while accessing it constantly. I don’t do that to them even though I feel as though I put in a lot of effort to make Blogrel succesful.
Comment by Administrator — July 21, 2005 @ 10:15 am
“Blogging ettiquete ” my ass. Onnik, do everyone a favor and put a sock in it.
What is the trouble that you can get into ? Becoming dilusional ? But wait, you already are. You dind’t make Blogrel succesful, Katys addiction to internet and her ability to keep a cool head did. Just as a FYI.
Comment by Robert Kocharian — July 21, 2005 @ 1:36 pm