Now that the 19 February presidential election in Armenia is over, the Armenia Election Monitor 2008 has become The Caucasian Knot and will take over from this blog as my primary one. The blog has already covered the recent war between Georgia and Russia over South Ossetia as well as new moves to find a solution to the 20-year-old conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh. Facebook users may also join a Caucasian Knot — Oneworld Multimedia group to receive updates of breaking news, photographs and new projects when appropriate or relevant.

A Facebook Group for Oneworld Multimedia, the working name for journalist, photojournalist and blogger, Onnik Krikorian. Having covered the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh as well as human rights and the Kurdish issue in Armenia and Turkey since 1994, he has also covered general issues relating to Armenia and Georgia, including the war with Russia over South Ossetia, since 1998. He is also the Caucasus Editor for Global Voices Online as well as the Armenia Country Editor for Oneworld.net.

Anyway, The Caucasian Knot is here. Please update your bookmarks.

Several thousand supporters of the former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, participated in an unsanctioned rally held at the Matenadaran in the center of the Armenian capital, Yerevan. The demonstration was the first major opposition rally since the 1 March post-election clashes which left 10 dead and hundreds wounded.

The opposition accuses Armenian authorities of ballot-stuffing and intimidation in the Feb. 19 election won by Serzh Sarksyan, an ally of outgoing president Robert Kocharyan.

His main challenger, former president Levon Ter-Petrosyan, was placed temporarily under house arrest after the election.

Addressing about 8,000 of his supporters on Friday, Ter-Petrosyan said he would continue to fight for the presidency and vowed fresh protests.

“This criminal group … shot at its own people,” he told the crowd in central Yerevan, referring to the March 1 clashes between opposition supporters and police in which 200 people were also injured.

“Be sure, sooner or later these criminals will be brought to justice in front of its nation,” he said.

“We will fight till the victorious end!” the crowd chanted.

The full post accompanied by photographs is available on The Caucasian Knot.

Armenian-Turkish border, Khor Virap, Ararat Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2003

As one of the oldest nations in the world, Armenia occupies a fraction of its ancestral lands. Invaded and subjugated to foreign rule throughout the centuries, many of Armenia’s present day policies have been shaped by unresolved conflict and disputes with its neighbors. As a landlocked country with few natural resources, its full potential for economic development has been frustrated by effective isolation from the surrounding region. More than a million Armenians have emigrated to seek better lives abroad.

Millennium Development Goals

In August 2003, the Armenian government finalized its long-awaited Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) which aims to reduce poverty to 19% by 2015. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), most of the PRSP’s objectives are in line with achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which include combating poverty, improving the environment and addressing other pressing social issues.

However, the 2005 MDG progress report produced jointly by the government and UN agencies still considers it unrealistic for Armenia to halve the number of people living in poverty by 2015 compared to 1990 levels. Because of insufficient funding levels and inadequate access to healthcare for the poor, reducing infant and maternal mortality by 2015 might also prove unreachable.

Given the rate of deforestation in Armenia, environmental sustainability is unlikely to be achieved by 2015. New indicators concerning the country’s Lake Sevan have been added to dress concerns with lowering water levels. Access to drinking water is also a concern with 81 percent of rural areas having a centralized water supply according to 2003 data. The figure was 98 percent for urban areas.

However, having already achieved universal primary education, MDG goals in this area have been modified to include secondary education. Secondary professional, professional graduate and postgraduate education has also been mentioned of special significance as is improving its general quality.

The full post is available on The Caucasus Knot.

Ahead of next month’s Global Voices Online Summit in Budapest, Hungary, I’ve just compiled a backgrounder on the role blogs played during the recent presidential election and especially in its immediate aftermath. Armenia will be specifically included in a session, The Wired Electorate in Emerging Democracies.

Arguably the most active country in the South Caucasus when it comes to blogging, the content and relevance of blogs on Armenia was at first nothing really worth writing home about. Most posts by foreigners living in the capital almost entirely focused on how good their lives were while others were simply copy and paste exercises reproducing articles without comment. Perhaps the only time when bloggers started to write original posts was whenever the Armenian Genocide came into the focus of the international media.

Even so, the situation slowly started to change in the run-up to last year’s parliamentary election as the political climate intensified in preparation for the inevitable transfer of power which occurred during this year’s presidential election. Under the constitution, the president is prohibited from holding office for two consecutive terms and as the then incumbent head of state was coming to the end of his second, Armenia would elect a new leader.

Of course, this being the former Soviet Union where vote-rigging and vote-buying are as much part of the election process as physically casting a vote, it was make or break time for the radical extra-parliamentary opposition in the country. And with the broadcast media controlled by the government, it was only natural that the Internet would be seen as a natural medium to disseminate alternative information.

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.

Now that the main phase of the 19 February presidential election in Armenia is over, the Armenia Election Monitor 2008 has become The Caucasian Knot and will take over from this one as my primary blog. Although the main content will be Armenia-related, this is especially timely given parliamentary elections due in the neighboring Republic of Georgia next month. In October, there will also be a presidential election in Azerbaijan and anyway, the development of all three countries in the South Caucasus is interlinked.

Facebook users may also join a Caucasus Knot — Oneworld Multimedia group to receive updates of breaking news, photographs and new projects when appropriate or relevant.

A Facebook Group for Oneworld Multimedia, the working name for journalist, photojournalist and blogger, Onnik Krikorian, who has covered the conflict in Nagorno Karabakh as well as human rights and the Kurdish issue in Armenia and Turkey since 1994. He has also covered general issues relating to Armenia, Georgia and the South Caucasus since 1998 and is the Caucasus Editor for Global Voices Online as well as the Armenia Country Editor for Oneworld.net.

Anyway, The Caucasus Knot is here.

Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008

With the area around Yerevan’s Opera in almost total lock down, prime minister Serge Sargsyan was inaugurated as president in a ceremony and military parade that citizens could few could get even remotely close to. As it happened, myself and another photographer managed to eventually break the police blockade and get right outside the Opera building, but a lot of good that did us. Sargsyan was already inside and all we managed to get was the back of the head of the outgoing president, Robert Kocharian, as he arrived to enter via a side door.

Despite press passes and being in a public area, we were eventually told in no uncertain terms to clear off by plain-clothes security personnel, probably National Security Service (NSS), when we moved to just opposite Northern Avenue to attempt to photograph the podium erected in Liberty Square from a distance. This wasn’t a surprise as the whole ceremony was conducted hundreds of meters away from any representative of the general public — i.e. the electorate — and the only media present was apparently that authorized by the government.

As it happened, and this was later confirmed by one journalist, Armenia Now reports that even those allowed to attend were not permitted into the main concert hall where the inauguration took place.

A small group of photojournalists were allowed credentials to the inauguration. Upon arriving at the Opera House, however, the press pack was sequestered in a room where they – like everyone else in Armenia – could only watch on TV.

The full post accompanied by photographs is on the Armenia Election Monitor 2008.

Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008

Despite amendments to the law on public marches, rallies and demonstrations following the recently lifted state of emergency in Armenia, the opposition continues to hold meetings on the streets of the capital, Yerevan. In order to circumvent the restrictions, the gatherings attended by less than 100 people are held under the guise of playing chess, reading books or even eating fast food in public.

Human Rights Watch has already lambasted the governmental measure and Unzipped welcomes the action by opposition supporters. Most of the demonstrators support the former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, who claims victory in the disputed 19 February presidential election in Armenia.

Announcement on “daily walks”, or “political walks”, or “popular walks”, as some may call it, came out on Sunday, 23 March 2008. Since then “daily walks” around Liberty sq - which is ‘sieged’ by police - are being organized as an act of defiance against the limitations of civil liberties imposed by Armenian government.

[…]

Excellent idea. Loving it.

Khirimian’s Thought, however, says it can understand why such a measure was introduced and argues that it is necessary in the context of violent clashes between the security forces and opposition on 1 March and what the government sees as continuing attempts to stage a “colored revolution” in Armenia.

By no means am I justifying the government’s strategy toward establishing political stability through public and civil restrictions, however, I can see the necessity to do so in order to avoid further bloodshed and unrest. […] It is blatantly obvious that if demonstrations are allowed to continue, whether they have legitimate basis or not, LTP will take advantage of the emotions and pure intentions of the Armenian people and will continue advocating for the systematic elimination of the current government, also creating the opportunity for further violence to emerge.

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.

Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008

An early afternoon tip-off alerted me to the probable repeat of yesterday’s action to mark the lifting of the state of emergency. However, few people had gathered by Liberty Square — again occupied by riot police who refused entry — and I was later told that the protest would happen an hour and a half later at 6.30pm. As it was, even that didn’t happen although a number of those directly involved in Ter-Petrossian’s campaign did join less than a hundred protesters. Among them were the wives of Alexander Arzumanian and Nikol Pashinian as well as David Shahnazaryan.

Another tip conveyed to me through a Western journalist contact also informed me that if there was a repeat of yesterday’s action, riot police would use force to disperse it. As it was, the police gathered around the Opera to prevent protesters entering were rather offensive and apparently ignorant of the law. I was constantly informed that despite wearing journalist accreditation I could not take photographs. As usual, and despite effectively asking for trouble, I told them that they did not know the law. Actually, I raised my voice in protest and continued shooting along with a photographer from Photolure.

One day I’m sure this is going to get me into a lot of trouble as the commanders of the police in such instances now know me by sight very well. Even speaking English doesn’t help as at last year’s commemoration of the taking off of A1 Plus from the air, the commander of the police present came up and told me he knew I understood some Armenian after overhearing me speaking to A1 Plus’ Victoria Abrahamian. The same guy was overseeing today’s action and again told me not to take any photos.

I “had taken enough,” he said. Still, nobody bothered to instruct me after I basically refused. Even so, when the shit hits the fan I have to wonder whether some kind of “revenge” will be taken.

The full post accompanied by photographs is on the Armenia Election Monitor 2008.

Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008

Yesterday saw a silent protest staged in Yerevan to mark the end of the state of emergency declared on 1 March when seven civilians and one policeman died during clashes between supporters of former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, and security forces. Announced on the Internet, people were called on to gather at various points from Liberty Square to near the French Embassy and stand silently.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get down to Liberty Square until 6.30 — an hour and a half after the demonstration started — so saw nothing apart from riot police preventing people from entering Liberty Square and guard key points en route. A few people could be seen walking to and fro with lighted candles and pictures of prominent opposition members currently under arrest. It’s therefore hard for me to say how many people took part.

The BBC, however, put the number at “more than 1,000″ while Lragir reported “several hundred” and RFE/RL said “about 2,000.” E-Channel also said a “few thousand.”

The full post accompanied by photographs is on the Armenia Election Monitor 2008.

Sirusho, Serge Sargsyan Pre-Election Campaign Rally, Komitas, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008

It might be considered a little cheesy by most music lovers in Europe and beyond, but countries such as Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia take participation in the annual Eurovision song contest very seriously indeed. Not only does the competition represent the South Caucasus moving closer to Europe, but given that this year has proven to be a political turbulent one for all three countries it might also provide people here with a welcome break from rigged votes and post-election unrest.

Well, maybe that’s hoping a little too much. Spectacular Self-Indulgence, for example, already reports that the venue for yesterday’s national final in Armenia had to be changed because of the state of emergency currently in place following clashes between the opposition and security services last weekend.

[…] The government has imposed a 20 day “State of Emergency” after eight people died in street battles between riot police and citizens who were protesting the result of a presidential election. […]

[…]

There will be a backlash, however. Mark my words. It’s one thing to engage in unlawful surveillance of your political enemies. It’s quite a different matter to f*** with a pop music contest.

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.

After a 20-day state of emergency was declared in Armenia when clashes between security services and supporters of the former president, Levon Ter-Petrossian, broke out on the streets of the capital following the disputed 19 February presidential election, access to the media has been severely restricted. According to presidential decree, local media outlets can now only publish official news and political propaganda is banned.

[…]

Nevertheless, pro-Ter-Petrossian activists outside of the country have seized upon the opportunity to instead use blogs to disseminate information during what is to all intents and purposes a media blackout in the country. Interestingly, one such blogger, Artmika at Unzipped, likens it to the old Soviet practice of “samizdat.”

Samizdat (Russian: самиздат) was the clandestine copying and distribution of government-suppressed literature or other media in Soviet-bloc countries. Copies were made a few at a time, and those who received a copy would be expected to make more copies. This was often done by handwriting or typing.

This grassroots practice to evade officially imposed censorship was fraught with danger as harsh punishments were meted out to people caught possessing or copying censored materials.

Vladimir Bukovsky defined it as follows: “I myself create it, edit it, censor it, publish it, distribute it, and [may] get imprisoned for it.”

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.