Republic Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online

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As it’s December 31, and as I’m a photographer as well as a journalist and blogger, it seems appropiate to mention a number of galleries documenting the past years in pictures. Rob Galbraith points us in the direction of three such galleries, from the New York Times, Time, and Reuters.

Unfortunately, it would appear that some problems may occur with the otherwise excellent Firefox browser so it’s advised you use something else instead.

By Zarchka

I continue to write about the New Year as that’s the most current affair in the world as well as Armenia. I ‘ve been asking all my friends and acquaintances what their expectations of the coming year are. Most of them didn’t even know, and “yesim” followed as an answer. Was it apathy for their lives or the coming year I can’t say exactly, but one thing I know for sure — they expect that a miracle will happen and someone will transform their trying circumstances into a bed of roses instead of them.

Anyway, taking into consideration several characteristics and features common to Armenians, here is the result of my inquiry:

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The Regnum News Agency has more on a possible peace deal that might be finalized next year, nearly all the details of which have been circulating since the end of 2004, and as has been reported on by RFE/RL. According to the Russian news agency, The Economist believes that a phased solution is indeed being discussed.

They say that the most probable scenario is to resolve it in a package-stage by stage way, i.e. Armenia gives back 6 of 7 “occupied” districts to Azerbaijan, this followed by a referendum in Nagorno Karabakh in the subsequent 10-15 years for determining its status. The researchers also say that deployed in the conflict zone may be international peacekeeping forces comprising contingents from the OSCE Minsk Group co-chair countries.

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RFE/RL has some interesting if fairly quirky news items that indicate that at the end of every year, people like looking forward to the next one. In what is more like an op-ed than an article, Emil Danielyan reflects on recent progress in negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh and suggests that a “momentous” deal on Karabakh is imminent.

The past year will be remembered by many in Armenia and Azerbaijan for fresh electoral fraud and missed opportunities for democratization, but it may also go down in history as a turning point in the long-running efforts to resolve the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.

[…]

There are strong indications that the two men have already agreed on the basic parameters of a peaceful settlement that would almost certainly formalize Armenian control over Karabakh. For longtime Karabakh conflict watchers accustomed to deadlocked negotiations, this may be too good to be true. But never before have there been so many upbeat statements by international mediators and even the conflicting parties.

According to Danielyan, the Armenian President Robert Kocharian is due to meet his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev in January or February, and while many might scorn the idea that either would concede to the other, there has been considerable speculation since the end of 2004 that a peace deal is close.

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MDP, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online

I ran into Ed Abrahamyan, lead vocalist and keyboard player with Manic Depressive Psychosis (MDP) last night, and he pointed me towards a downloadable new version of Falling in Love, re-recorded with Ella Taronc on vocals. Taronc is perhaps Armenia’s only truly original contemporary pop singer, and while I’m still not sure on the vocals at the beginning, it certainly grows on me for the final two thirds of the song.

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Metal Church, Spitak, Lori Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia, 2000

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RFE/RL’s Armenia Liberty site reports that Artashes Geghamian has explained why the members of his opposition National Unity party did not participate in the anti-government rallies held to protest the outcome of the 27 November referendum to amend the constitution. According to Geghamian, his absence was due to recent progress in attempts to resolve the long-running but frozen conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh.

Geghamian said he believes it is wrong to challenge Armenia’s leadership now that there is a real possibility of securing a solution to the dispute acceptable to the Armenian side. He at the same time complained that the West is disinterested in regime change in Yerevan for that reason.

[…]

The Karabakh peace process, which may well yield a breakthrough next year, is seen by analysts as the main reason for the West’s cautious response to serious fraud reported during the referendum. While the European Union and the United States questioned the Kocharian administration’s commitment to question, they are unlikely to impose any sanctions on Armenia. They have taken a similar stance on the leadership of Azerbaijan which held a reputedly fraudulent parliamentary election last month.

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Katy over at Blogrel says that the adoption of Linux in Azerbaijan is making ground thanks to what might be a smart move by the government. Although commercial versions are available, Linux is a free open source operating system that can be adapted for local requirements, including language, and offers a low cost alternative to mainstream commercial operating systems such as Windows XP.

Ministry of Education of Azerbaijan Republic is expected to promote open source software in all high schools and install home-grown Linux distributive known as “Lin.az”. By the end of this year desktops and thin clients will be installed in 150 schools. Thin clients will be mainly used in large labs, while desktops will be installed in labs with a small number of seats. Nevertheless, final decision about the operating system has not been made yet officially.

For countries such as Armenia, the Linux OS and open source applications are not only adaptable to local needs and requirements, they are also usually free. However, Global Voices and Geekcorps founder Ethan Zuckerman, says that one problem frustrating its adoption by developing countries is the fact that widespread piracy often negates the benefits of lower cost equivalents.

[…] free software frequently costs users in developing nations more than proprietary software. Widespread copyright infringement means software often is available for the price of the media on which it’s delivered. In Yerevan, Armenia, I recently found Microsoft Windows XP and Red Hat 8 shelved side by side, both selling for less than $5 US.

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I’ve just found a posting on Registan.net regarding the appalling state of the Armenian Blogosphere. As Nathan rightly points out, most serve a propagandist purpose and are written by Diasporans too out of tune with the reality of today’s Armenia.

With a few exceptions (some of which will be named shortly), Armenian blogs have been very painful to read of late. In fact, nothing has recently made me less sympathetic to or interested in Armenia or Armenian issues than a good chunk of the Armenian blogosphere (Diasporans, primarily).

[…]

I was already well-acquainted with the divide in the Armenian blogosphere between those who think any criticism of Armenia is absolutely out of bounds (those with their own version of Reagan’s 11th commandment) and, well, the rest. But the racism is new to me.

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Komitas Street, Arabkir, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia

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