Youth Group Pushes for Change
Sksel a, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian, Oneworld Multimedia 2007
EurasiaNet has also just published my article on Sksel a and attempts to target youth in Armenia by political parties such as Prosperous Armenia as the 12 May parliamentary election approaches. I’ve covered Sksel a on this blog here and here, but the EurasiaNet article puts it all into some kind of context.
Youth in newspaper hats stand on street corners and read aloud from Armenian dailies. Masked young people march by parliament yelling “Don’t Eat Too Much!” at deputies. It’s election season in Armenia, and with the parliamentary vote just over a month away, one unconventional youth group is waging weekly war on widespread political apathy.
[…]
The group claims that its purpose is not overtly political, and, at first glance, for many passers-by, the February march through town that also aimed to “wake up society from its winter slumber” appeared to be just a celebration of the traditional Lenten holiday of Barekendan. But hidden among the color and noise which define every Sksel a event, a political message is becoming more evident as the May 12 vote approaches.
Posters calling for the release of recently detained former Karabakh commander, Zhirayr Sefilian, have been on display at recent events, for example. The group’s most recent demonstration was staged to protest the eviction of tenants from their homes in downtown Yerevan to make way for new construction, a topic with political overtones.
[…]
Twenty-seven-year-old Mikayel Kazarian, one of the group’s most active participants, has his own expectations of what he hopes will be achieved. “We’re part of the process that will bring change,” he told EurasiaNet. “The authorities should feel that they’re being watched by the people. When society is passive, the authorities can do everything and anything they want, and we need to apply pressure to change that.”
The authorities, however, have not rushed to second that intention.
[…]
Yet some civil society activists are more optimistic about the possibilities for youth to become involved in Armenia’s political life. The mixture of lighthearted fun and seriousness at Sksel a events, opined Jeffrey Tufenkian, president of the local Armenian Forests NGO and a veteran American environmental and human rights activist, provides a critical opportunity for “positive activism.”
Said Tufenkian: “It is actions and initiatives like this which gives me hope for Armenia.”
The full EurasiaNet article is here.
Incidentally, as Sefilian is mentioned, my article on his arrest in December for EurasiaNet is also available here. There’s also something on the latest demo in support of Sefilian here.
Comment by Onnik — April 6, 2007 @ 1:55 am
Onnik - Uzogh and Isabella have comments addressed to you at my blog: here -
and here -
PS: I’m back but still struggling with the new working schedule, internet connectivity, etc., so I’ve been really passive this week.
Comment by Observer — April 6, 2007 @ 3:38 pm
I don’t see any comments in the first link addressed to me, and anyway, wouldn’t sending me an email be better than putting unrelated links in this post?
I’m deleting them as a result because I don’t want unrelated links posted on my site. I consider this to be the same as spamming.
For future reference, please only post links to materials related to the subject at hand.
Thanks.
Comment by Onnik — April 6, 2007 @ 3:59 pm
Garo (aka Christian Garbis) at Notes from Hairenik also has something on Sksel a and youth apathy in Armenia, and there were also related posts on this blog here and here. Another attempt to change this situation was detailed here.
Comment by Onnik — April 7, 2007 @ 1:37 pm