After the Azerbaijani President visited him in the Whitehouse, Civil Georgia reports that the next leader from the South Caucasus to be treated to a tête - à - tête with U.S. President George Bush is Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili. No surprise after Bush’s high profile visit to Tbilisi last year perhaps, but are these signs that things are possibly afoot in the South Caucasus?

In a statement issued on June 19 the White House, which has described Georgia as “a key ally” in an important region and “a valued partner” in the war on terror, said the two Presidents will discuss developments in consolidating Georgia’s democratic transition since the U.S. President’s visit to Georgia in May, 2005; efforts to promote “a peaceful resolution to the separatist conflicts in South Ossetia and Abkhazia;” cooperation in energy security and Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations, as well as common commitment to working together to advance freedom and security around the world.

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As the 2007 parliamentary elections approach, life is anything but dull in Armenia. However, few locals will welcome further speculation that the powerful Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisyan will once again lend his support to the ruling Republican Party of the Armenian Prime Minister Andranik Markarian.

In the 2003 parliamentary elections, Sarkisyan did the same, but what makes this rumor all the more concerning for most in Armenia is the belief that Kocharian will pass on power to his trusted lieutenant when steps down from the presidency in 2008. RFE/RL has more.

Reports in the Armenian press this week said the far-reaching move will be announced at an HHK congress scheduled for July 22. Unnamed Republican sources were cited as claiming that Sarkisian will co-chair the party and top its list of candidates for next year’s parliamentary elections.

“I am not familiar with such statements,” Sarkisian told reporters. “There may be such opinions. I think everything will be clear in the next seven or ten days.”

[…]

Sarkisian, who had already participated in the last parliamentary elections on the HHK ticket, promised earlier to name the party with which he will contest the 2007 polls at the beginning of this year. However, he has repeatedly delayed announcement of that decision, prompting speculation that he is having second thoughts about forming a long-term political alliance with Armenia’s largest and most influential governing faction.

A number of senior central and local government officials as well as wealthy businessmen have joined the HHK in recent days, suggesting that the powerful defense chief has already made up his mind. The Yerevan newspaper “168 Zham” reported on Thursday that a recently formed party reputedly sponsored by Prosecutor-General Aghvan Hovsepian will soon merge with the HHK in a further boost to its electoral chances.

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Republic Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Hetq Online 2006

Via Cilicia.com’s Life in Armenia Blog I heard that a candlight light vigil in support of the current U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Evans was due to be staged in Yerevan’s Republic Square at 10pm on Wednesday night.

Tonight there’s going to be a protest in Republic Square - simultaneous with the Senate confirmation hearings in Washington DC for Ambassador Evans’ replacement. It will be a candlelight vigil, hopefully with a good turnout, and the Senate will be informed of the event. So if you’re in Yerevan and want to do a bit of activism for a great cause, show up at (I think) 10pm tonight and be a part of this.

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It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that’s followed the run-up to the two ill-fated meetings held between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents this year, but the proposed framework peace deal to resolve the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh has finally been revealed. The move comes after a senior U.S. official confirmed much of the speculation circulating in Yerevan for the past year and a half.

In a joint statement that was circulated by the U.S. embassy in Yerevan on Wednesday, the mediating group’s American, French and Russian co-chairs said their hitherto confidential peace plan envisages a self-determination referendum to be held in Karabakh after the liberation of Armenian-occupied territories in Azerbaijan.

The statement was presented to the OSCE’s decision-making Permanent Council in Vienna last Thursday and was not made public until being posted on the U.S. embassy website almost a week later. Washington’s new top Karabakh negotiator, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza, revealed details of the proposed peace plan to RFE/RL shortly after the Permanent Council meeting.

Although those details had already been leaked to the media by Armenian officials last year, Yerevan reacted negatively to Bryza’s interview, saying that the U.S. official failed to present other important provisions of the Minsk Group plan. The Armenian Foreign Ministry said on Monday that those include enabling Karabakh to retain an overland link with Armenia and remain under Armenian control at least until the referendum.

Bryza’s remarks also sparked allegations in the Armenian press that Washington is exerting pressure on Yerevan ahead of the Armenian parliamentary and presidential elections due in 2007 and 2008 respectively. It is not clear if the U.S. State Department decided to publicize the Minsk Group statement through its mission in Armenia in order to end that speculation.

“These principles include the phased redeployment of Armenian troops from Azerbaijani territories around Nagorno-Karabakh, with special modalities for Kelbajar and Lachin districts [separating Karabakh from Armenia proper],” said the co-chairs. “Demilitarization of those territories would follow. A referendum or population vote would be agreed, at an unspecified future date, to determine the final legal status of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

“An international peacekeeping force would be deployed,” added the statement. “A joint commission would be agreed to implement the agreement. International financial assistance would be made available for demining, reconstruction, resettlement of internally displaced persons in the formerly occupied territories and the war-affected regions of Nagorno-Karabakh. The sides would renounce the use or threat of use of force, and international and bilateral security guarantees and assurances would be put in place.”

The full report is here.

Rind, Vayots Dzor, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Habitat for Humanity 2006

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Aghavnadzor, Vayots Dzor, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Habitat for Humanity 2006

Last week I posted some photos of the final work being undertaken on a house built by Habitat for Humanity volunteers from the Diaspora, and today, the home was ready to be blessed. I’m not religious, but it’s always interesting to photograph Armenian traditions and customs. This is what Hye Etch has to say.

This ancient and pious custom is attributed to the Apostles. Now, the priest travels to the homes of the faithful at Christmas and Easter, blessing the home and passing on the Good News of Christ’s Birth or Resurrection. Likewise, House Blessing symbolizes God’s protective care over the home of Christian faithful, its inhabitants and the goodness therein.

There’s more on the tradition of house blessing on the web site of the St. Gregory The Illuminator Church in Philadelphia here.

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Aghavnadzor, Vayots Dzor, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Habitat for Humanity 2006

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After the new U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Matthew Bryza, revealed details of the proposed framework peace deal to resolve the Karabakh conflict last week, much to the annoyance of the Armenian President, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has now released more details. Actually, we already knew what was being discussed, but this is the first time that American and Armenian officials have confirmed them openly, and in so much detail.

The presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan have accepted the idea of enabling the people of Nagorno-Karabakh to decide their status in a referendum but disagree on other, less significant issues, the Armenian Foreign Ministry said late Monday.

[…]

“Those items over which the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to disagree do not include a referendum; that concept has been agreed to by the presidents,” it said. “The area of disagreement between the presidents has to do with the sequence in which the consequences of the military conflict are removed.”

Aliev and Kocharian reportedly disagreed, among other things, on a time frame for Armenian withdrawal from Kelbajar, one of the seven occupied Azerbaijani districts sandwiched between Karabakh and Armenia, during their previous meeting held at the Rambouillet castle outside Paris in February.

“In an attempt to resolve this remaining area of disagreement, a proposal was made by the co-chairs after Rambouillet. This proposal was accepted by Armenia in Bucharest. Azerbaijan rejected it,” the Foreign Ministry said without elaborating.

The full news item can be read here.

Aparan, Aragatsotn Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Tufenkian Foundation 2006

Yesterday saw a third trip out into the field with Armenian Forests as part of continuing work for the Tufenkian Foundation in Armenia. After visiting Kotayk and the Botanical Gardens for the environmental organization, this time it was to coppicing being used to restore trees that had been cut down by others for fuel or business.

Coppicing is a traditional method of woodland management, by which young tree stems are cut down to a low level, or sometimes right down to the ground.

In subsequent growth years, many new shoots will emerge, and after a number of years the cycle begins again and the coppiced tree or stool is ready to be harvested again. Typically a coppice woodland is harvested in sections, on a rotation. In this way each year a crop is available. This has the side-effect of providing a rich variety of habitats, as the woodland always has a range of different aged stools growing in it. This is beneficial for biodiversity.

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In one of the most bizarre stories this week, Armenia has been urged by a senior U.S. official to follow Azerbaijan in terms of democracy building. According the report, last year’s parliamentary elections in Armenia’s arch-rival in the South Caucasus were considered to have improved over previous ones, although Azerbaijan still lags behind Armenia in terms of actual political freedom as a recent report by Freedom House identified.

However, Matthew Bryza, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasia, said that the pace of reform in Azerbaijan was stronger than in Armenia. Personally speaking, and although we have yet to see how much of a farce next year’s parliamentary elections will be, this all sounds a little too weird to me, and I suspect that the U.S. has other reasons things in mind viz-viz its relations with Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Bryza claimed that there were “some significant improvements” in the Azerbaijani authorities’ conduct of the November parliamentary election even if they “didn’t go as far as we would like.”

A monitoring mission from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, headed by a U.S. congressman, described the polls as deeply flawed, citing numerous serious violations witnessed by its observers. Western human rights groups also condemned a brutal break-up by security forces of a big opposition demonstration in Baku against the official vote results.

[…]

Bryza insisted that democratic reform is high on the Bush administration’s agenda but admitted that other factors such as Azerbaijan’s oil reserves and geographic location are also at play. “Just because Azerbaijan hasn’t gone as far as we would like on democracy doesn’t mean we’re going to ignore our energy interests or our military interests,” he said.

The full report is here, while in other news, Kocharian’s Press Secretary has lashed out at Bryza for revealing the details of the framework peace proposal on the table to resolve the Karabakh conflict, and a man has been arrested in connection with last week’s assassination of a senior figure in the Yerkrapah Union of Karabakh War Veterans.

Unfortunately, because of work commitments and a lack of time in general, I haven’t been able to keep up with my weekly round-up of the English-language Armenian blogosphere. However, from time to time I will point readers to interesting posts when appropiate.

Now is that time, and to start the ball rolling, Ara Manoogian over at Martuni or Bust posts news of even more evictions to facilitate the continuing land-grab by state officials and government-connected businessmen in central Yerevan. Shahan Natali’s grandson asks a poignant question.

How many people do you know who have purchased or are looking at purchasing housing in the new buildings on North Avenue? I know of a couple from the Diaspora.

I wonder by knowing how that land was stolen (this recognized by the Constitutional Court) from the common Armenian citizen, if living in such a house is really the right thing?

If you have purchased or are planing on purchasing a place in the new buildings knowing all this, please don’t bother inviting me over. The idea of what this whole thing is doing to our people makes me sick.

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