Gyumri, Shirak Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2005

As of today, Habitat for Humanity are exhibiting some of my photographs for the next 2 weeks at Yerevan’s The Club. The photographs were recently exhibited at an event to launch the Catholicos Karekin II Work Project which Zarchka blogged about here.

Half constructed buildings, volunteers of all ages with tools in their hands, faces of an extended family members full of hope to live in normal shelters, smiles of innocent children… Those are dumb witnesses of the unlimited love people may have for their work and humanity in general.

Anyway, many of the images on display are posted under the HFH category on this blog. Donations to Habitat’s work in Armenia can be made throughout the period of the exhibition or via their web site.

President Robert Kocharian, Spitak, Lori Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 1998

Until I get round to announcing some exciting news regarding the 2007 Parliamentary Election in Armenia, I’m going to post weekly updates on the run-up to next year’s vote. I think almost everyone understands that these elections will determine the future course of the Republic in terms of democratization as well as set the scene for succession to the incumbent President, Robert Kocharian, in 2008.

Although campaigning has not officially started yet, almost everything that happens between now and next May can be seen in the context of perhaps the most important election in Armenia’s albeit short history as an independent State. First up is news from RFE/RL that Kocharian has promised to formally invite international observers to monitor the conduct of the election.

However, Yerevan seems to be dragging its heels on the matter much to the frustration of the international community.

President Robert Kocharian on Friday assured European diplomats in Yerevan that his government will allow the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to conduct a comprehensive monitoring of Armenia’s next parliamentary and presidential elections.

The assurances came in response to apparent Western concerns about Yerevan’s failure so far to formally ask the OSCE to send observers for the parliamentary elections slated for next spring.

The U.S. ambassador to the OSCE headquarters in Vienna, Julie Finley, exposed those concerns as she visited Armenia last week, stressing the need for a “long-term” observation of the polls. “The OSCE is the gold standard for monitoring elections,” Finley said. “They are coming to the United States to monitor our mid-term elections in November. Why the heck shouldn’t they be over here to monitor the Armenian elections?”

Vladimir Pryakhin, head of the OSCE office in Yerevan, echoed those worries at a meeting with parliament speaker Tigran Torosian. A written statement by the office quoted Pryakhin as saying that the OSCE can send an observation mission “provided an invitation was issued by the Armenian authorities in a timely manner.”

[…]

Western observers acting under the OSCE aegis have criticized as undemocratic just about every presidential and parliamentary election held in Armenia since its independence. Their findings have been endorsed by both the EU and the United States.

(more…)

Aram Khachaturian House-Museum, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Yeraz Art 2006

Because I hope to be starting some work for Yeraz Art next month I’ve added an appropiate category to this blog. I’ve posted about Yeraz Art before, and the photo above has been used in their publicity material albeit without credit.

YerazArt is a U.S based organization with a mission to discover, nurture and promote the Armenian musical talent of tomorrow. We believe Art is one of the best means to perpetuate our heritage and culture and thus it is as vitally important as ever to support Armenia’s new generation of creative and performing artists. Through YerazArt we want provide to our talented young generation the promise of the future and the opportunity to expose their talents throughout the globe.

I saw their Country Director at his office in the Chamber Music Hall yesterday and interestingly, I’ve interviewed Arman Padaryan before. Not only does he represent several classical musicians and conductors, he also manages local rock band MDP.

That interview is here.

Via iArarat, news that 24-year-old Armenian-American computer science student Christopher Soghoian has had a run-in with the FBI for highlighting an airline security flaw. Soghoian was responsible for creating a web site that generated fake boarding passes for Northwest Airlines.

BoingBoing reports that Soghoian stopped responding to instant messages after 3.50pm on 27 October when the FBI paid a visit to his home. The visit followed calls for Soghoian’s arrest by U.S. Congressman Edward Markey.

The Bush Administration must immediately act to investigate, apprehend those responsible, shut down the website, and warn airlines and aviation security officials to be on the look-out for fraudsters or terrorists trying to use fake boarding passes in an attempt to cheat their way through security and onto a plane,” Markey said in a statement. “There are enough loopholes at the backdoor of our passenger airplanes from not scanning cargo for bombs; we should not tolerate any new loopholes making it easier for terrorists to get into the front door of a plane.

(more…)

State Funeral of Vazgen Sarkisyan, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 1999

RFE/RL reports that the relatives of those slain in the 27 October 1999 terrorist attack on the Armenian National Assembly still believe that there was a high level cover-up to conceal the identity of those behind the assassination of several high level government officials. Among those killed were then Prime Minister, Vazgen Sarkisyan, and Speaker of Parliament, former Soviet era leader of Armenia Karen Demirchyan.

The eight men were shot dead on October 27, 1999 moments after gunmen led by an obscure former journalist, Nairi Hunanian, burst into the National Assembly and sprayed it with bullets. Although all five gunmen were arrested the next day and sentenced to life imprisonment in December 2003, there are still nagging questions about whether they acted alone or had some powerful backers. Military prosecutors that investigated the shootings appeared to believe in the latter theory, arresting but subsequently releasing several other individuals, including President Robert Kocharian’s former chief of staff.

[…]

Friends and relatives of Sarkisian and Demirchian, whose Miasnutyun (Unity) alliance swept to a landslide victory in the May 1999 parliamentary elections, were quick to point the finger at Kocharian, triggering a bitter power struggle that ended in the president’s victory in May 2000. They continue to suspect Kocharian and his chief lieutenant, Defense Minister Serzh Sarkisian, of involvement in the crime, citing the authorities’ controversial handling of the criminal inquiry and the ensued trial. Kocharian and his political allies have repeatedly rejected such suggestions.

“The trial only deepened, rather than dispelled the public’s suspicions, and the severe consequences of October 27 continue to be felt today,” Demirchian’s son Stepan, who was Kocharian’s main challenger in the 2003 presidential election, said after laying flowers at his hugely popular father’s grave. “The authorities have done everything not to establish the truth and to cover up the crime,” he told reporters.

Sarkisian’s brother Aram, who leads the radical opposition Hanrapetutyun, was careful not to directly implicate anyone in the bloodbath, but made no secret of his suspicions. “They did nothing to prevent October 27, and they did everything not to solve the crime,” he said.

Anahit Bakhshian, the wife of the assassinated vice-speaker Yuri Bakhshian, went farther, claiming that one should look for the “organizers” of the parliament attack within Armenia’s current leadership.

Prime Minister Andranik Markarian, who had accused the Kocharian camp of obstructing justice before being name prime minister in May 2000, shrugged off the statement. “She repeats the same thing each year,” he said. “If such suspicions had been substantiated, the organizers would have already been identified.”

(more…)

Now that Artyom is back from Armenia and Karabakh, he’s posted news of an Armenian connection in the controversy that is Borat. The U.K.’s Guardian newspaper reports that as everyone’s favourite Kazakh journalist made his way around the U.S. for the mockumentry, Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, his sidekick, Azamat, was played by ethnic Armenian actor Ken Davitian.

The film involves Borat leaving his home in Kazakhstan to come to the United States and record a documentary at the behest of the Kazakh Ministry of Information. He leaves behind his mother, wife and the town rapist, bringing along his obese producer Azamat. While in America he watches an episode of Baywatch and falls in love with Pamela Anderson, so he buys a dilapidated ice cream truck and drives from New York to Los Angeles to have her vagin and make her his wife. Through the course of his trip he interviews people from across the country. Most of the movie is not staged; rather, Cohen, in character as Borat, interviews and interacts with people who do not know they are being filmed for a movie (they later sign releases allowing the footage to be used). In one scene, which rather worryingly is not staged, Borat goes into a gun shop and asks the man behind the counter: “Which gun would be best to shoot the Jews?” The man recommends to Borat a 9mm handgun without flinching. Some other comedic highlights include a naked wrestling match between Borat and Azamat which spills over into a crowded business seminar, and Borat’s appearance on a crowded beach wearing only a tiny green wrestling thong which stretches from his crotch over his shoulders. Also throwing a decorative bag over Pamela Anderson’s head to try to capture her to marry her. For the movie, Borat made a song called “You, Be My Wife” with spectacular and bizarre Croatian keytar player Belinda.

According to Wikipedia, while Borat, played by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen from Da Ali G Show speaks Hebrew, Polish and Czech to Americans who can’t differentiate it from Kazakh, Davitian speaks Armenian. Anyway, as a big Ali G and Borat fan, I’m really looking forwards to seeing this film if it ever makes it to Armenia. The film’s official site here.

After Arsineh started the ball rolling here with a follow-up here, it would appear that for once we have a real “conversation” going on in the Armenian Blogosphere for once. Interestingly, it’s on the medical system in Armenia — one of the most corrupted, inefficient and incompetent aspects of life as experienced by most citizens in the Republic.

Anyway, now Zarchka at Life Around Me is back to weigh in with her own personal experience that makes what Arsineh and I encountered look like a stroll in the park.

Already got tired of all this system, all the doctors who think they are professors and clever if they know all the names of diseases and medicine but none of their treatments, and who think that they are privileged to do experiments on living people, we took my brother home as soon as his wound recovered. The doctors would only shrug their shoulders. Even one day when my mother called at the doctor’s office and he wasn’t there she found a medical encyclopedia on his table. The page was open on “brucellosis”. But we had read that encyclopedia far before him. Was that the only thing he was being conducted by? The results were evident. The more they could do was to ask money for a document where they would write that my brother could be released from army service. His state was all the same if not even worse. If one looked at his veins they would think he was drug addicted, as those were all swollen and blue, mainly thanks to the perfect nurses who would heat him for several times before finding the proper vein. But you never study to rise unless you fall. We found a blood center called “Viola” and that was the only place where they would take proper blood tests and give adequate results. Certainly the hospital didn’t like that the test of their patient was being done in another place, but did we care already? We literally kidnapped my brother from that hospital and brought home refusing to give him to the hands of those charlatans.

It’s a long post and looks as though it will be continued later. Incidently, the comments section on this post is closed so if you want to respond to Arsineh and Zarchka’s posts, please do so there. I’m merely linking to them.

Zarchka’s post is here.

Via Blogian, an interesting post on the power of blogging as a political tool. The BBC reports that the UN envoy to Sudan was expelled after blogging about Darfur on his personal blog. Actually, it’s a perfect example of why many of us believe that blogs represent a truly valuable source of information, especially from countries where the traditional media is controlled or repressed.

Mr Pronk was expelled from Sudan after government anger at comments he made on his personal website. The government accused him of “psychological warfare” after he wrote that government forces had suffered two defeats in Darfur and that it had broken Security Council resolutions.

[…]

His blog was startlingly detailed, the kind of information that is normally sent back, encoded, only to national capitals. Sometimes in a one-on-one talk, a journalist can get something similar from a lively envoy, but to get it in the raw on the internet is an innovation.

(more…)

Via Groong, Noyan Tapan reports that 930 Family Doctors (GP) and Nurses will be trained in Armenia by 2009. Given my last two posts on the medical system here and here, I consider this to particularly important given the over reliance on narrow specialists at hospitals for treatment which unavoidably make corruption, inefficiency, incompetence and misdiagnoses more likely.

YEREVAN, OCTOBER 25, NOYAN TAPAN. 320 family doctors and 440 family nurses work at present in offices of family medicine of Armenia, rural out-patient’s clinics and urban polyclinics. Development of family medicine is one of important components of the four-year credit program of 25.5 mln U.S. dollars on modernization of the healthcare system. 7.1 mln U.S. dollars were allocated for it according to the agreement signed between the RA Government and the World Bank in 2004. As Samvel Hovhannisian, the Chairman of the Armenian Association of Family Doctors informed the Noyan Tapan correspondent, the program envisages to train till 2009 other 930 doctors and nurses of same number, correspondingly, according to 12-month and 6-month education programs. In his words, family medicine chairs were created still in 1998 at the Yerevan Mkhitar Heratsi State Medical University, National Health Care Institute and Medical Fulcrum College. It was also mentioned that work conditions of family doctors will be improved by the program: 14 rural out-patient’s clinics will be restored and 5 ones will be built, and medical equipment and accessories will be given to 150 out-patient’s clinics.

Anyway, the whole idea of these reforms is also to ensure that medical staff in Armenia keep up to date with modern medical developments as well as to introduce the concept of patient rights and proper gatekeeping. It’s the system we’re used to in the U.K., and as the medical system is in such an appalling condition here, it’s one that I welcome in Armenia.

After posting a link to Arsineh’s recent post on her experiences with the medical system in Armenia and subsequent comments before I had to close that section, she’s responded back at home base on Cilicia.com. Given that I’ve had so many bad experiences with hospitals and doctors here I’m glad this conversation in the Armenian Blogosphere is continuing.

Another fellow blogger commented on his blog and I’d like to respond. He said to go to another hospital. I went to the hospital recommended by everyone: Markarian on Mashtots. I spoke to a couple people there who were very helpful, but the nurse who came to my house to draw blood and yelled at me for wasting her time (even though I paid her) came from there. The sonogram experience took place there as well. Behavior aside, when blood tests come back and say different things, who do you believe? I got a completely false test result and thus an unproductive diagnosys from the doctor. By the way, I wanted to take Advil to reduce my fever and the doctor sorta laughed at me and said, “Oh, all you Americans love your Advil. Don’t take Advil, I’ll recommend antibiotics that will work.” It didn’t work. I didn’t get better. The second I spoke to my father on the phone for 5 minutes describing my condition, he said to take Advil. It worked. As he says, most of his work is listening to the patient. You could recommend Madzoun to improve my fever, or you could do the proper tests to prescribe the proper antibiotic to combat the infection causing the fevers in the first place. That’s the difference.

(more…)

RFE/RL reports that controversy and many unanswered questions still surround the crash of an Armavia A-320 as it approached Sochi in May. As many people here suspected, the reason for the tragedy that resulted in 113 deaths has been given as pilot error by Russian investigators. However, while there are still many rumors circulating here that have been dismissed by the Government as well as the owner of Armavia, the authorities in Yerevan are also reportedly unhappy with the outcome of the investigation.

Citing their findings , Russia’s Transport Minister Igor Levitin said in July that the crew of the Armenian Airbus A-320 lost control of the plane as they made a second attempt to land at the Black Sea city of Sochi. This conclusion was endorsed by the Moscow-based Interstate Aviation Committee (ICA) of the Commonwealth of Independent States which also investigated the deadliest air disaster in Armenia’s history.

The Armenian government’s Civil Aviation Department essentially accepted this verdict at the time. At the same time, its director Artyom Movsisian said that although the “human factor” apparently played a role in the crash, Yerevan believes that there are still some key unanswered questions about its causes.

It emerged on Wednesday that Movsisian’s department has presented the ICA with a six-page document that questions some of the conclusions drawn by the Russian investigators. In particular, the Armenian side complained that the Russians failed to take note of Sochi airport’s alleged failure to “detect dangerous weather conditions” that are thought to have prevented the plane belonging to the national airline Armavia from landing safely on first attempt.

Armavia’s owner Mikhail Baghdasarian insists that the A-320 would have avoided the crash had it not received a last-minute order to veer away from the airport’s runway and make a second approach. Baghdasarov, who is a Russian citizen of Armenian descent, has rejected the ICA verdict and demanded an “independent inquiry.”

(more…)