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.

Azerbaijani Prisoner of War, Stepanakert, Republic of Nagorno Karabakh © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 1994

True, we’ve been here before with the media reporting that a solution to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh might finally be in sight, but the possibility for peace is once again resurfacing. However, such hopes have always been dashed at the last moment, but what makes the situation different this time round is the active involvement of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in convening a meeting between his Armenia and Azerbaijani counterparts tomorrow in Moscow. RFE/RL has more.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet his Armenian and Azerbaijani counterparts in Moscow on November 2 for potentially decisive talks on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, it was officially announced on Wednesday.

[…]

Medvedev announced his initiative following upbeat statements on Karabakh peace prospects made by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. In an October 7 interview with the “Rossiiskaya Gazeta” daily, Lavrov described as “very real” chances for the resolution of the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict. “There remain two or three unresolved issues which need to be agreed upon at the next meetings of the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan,” he said.

The full post where comments can be left is available on The Caucasian Knot.

ARF-D Karabakh Indepence Anniversary, Matenadaran, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2008

Yesterday marked the 17th Anniversary of the declaration of independence for the self-declared Republic of Nagorno Karabakh. Situated within Azerbaijan, but inhabited mainly by ethnic Armenians, Nagorno Karabakh is just one of three frozen conflicts in the South Caucasus. Repeated efforts to find a solution to the conflict, which ended with a ceasefire agreement signed in May 1994 have failed. Although there didn’t appear to be any official celebrations to mark the anniversary, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation — Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D) held an event at the Matenadaran. Despite the importance of Nagorno Karabakh for many Armenians, the number of people attending was quite small at not more than 5,000.

Despite being represented in the coalition government, speakers used the occasion to declare that the nationalist party would stage street protests if the Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, attends this weekend’s football match between Armenia and Turkey in Yerevan. As RFE/RL explains, the statement comes in stark contrast to the message of reconciliation that the president, Serge Sargsyan, has offered to his counterpart in Ankara. Vahan Hovannisian, a key figure in the party, also took the time to comment on the recent war between Armenia and Georgia. The party line is that ethnic Armenians living in Georgia’s Samtskhe-Javakheti region should be granted autonomy.

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

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. 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.

ArmeniaNow has published my article based around the recent BarCamp held in Tbilisi and attended by bloggers, journalists and new media specialists from the Caucasus, Central Asia and Eastern Europe. The article also examines the emergence of blogging as a tool for change.

The idea of over a hundred people from the Caucasus, Central Asia and Eastern Europe gathering at an open air event held in the grounds of an ethnographical museum in the capital of the Republic of Georgia with no fixed agenda might at first sound like a recipe for disaster, but the concept of BarCamps is fast becoming popular the world over. An international network of participant-generated conferences – or “unconferences” usually focusing on the Internet and New Media – had come to the Caucasus.

The first ever BarCamp was held in Palo Alto, California, three years ago and over 30 have since been held worldwide. The Tbilisi event staged on 7-8 June was the first in the Caucasus and Azerbaijan will be staging its own at the end of August. Elsewhere in the former Soviet space, BarCamps have been held in the Baltic Republics, Ukraine and Belarus while Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia will hold their own later this year.

The BarCamp in Tbilisi was followed by a two-day workshop funded by the Open Society Institute (OSI) and the National Endowment for Democracy on new media and blogging. The training by the Prague-based Transitions Online for participants from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia is part of the online publication’s continued interest in promoting blogging in the Caucasus and Central Asia.

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Following last weekend’s BarCamp in Tbilisi, one of the event’s main organizers, Giga Paitchadze, briefly considers its success and provides a small glimpse into the Georgian blogosphere. Also known as DvOrsky [GE], the blogger claims to be the oldest in the country. Global Voices Online interviewed Paitchadze after the Caucasus BarCamp.

GV: How would you describe the blogging scene in Georgia?

GP: About 5 percent of all internet users in Georgia have blogs. With Internet penetration now at about 10 percent of the whole population, then that means about 10-15,000 bloggers. However, this figure would include both active and inactive bloggers, i.e. with one post only.

The main language is of course Georgian, and the second is Russian because many bloggers use LiveJournal and have a large audience there in terms of friends, people making comments, readers and visitors.

As there are no catalogues or any services where Georgian blogs are classified and where some statistics are available, I’ll say that the most widely covered topics are politics, music, sport and other outdoor or lifestyle activities, tech news, IT and everything else.

Also there are many bloggers who just write about everyday life.

The full post and interview accompanied by photographs is available on Global Voices Online. Comments can be left on the original post.

On the sidelines of this weekend’s Caucasus BarCamp in Tbilisi, capital of the Republic of Georgia, Global Voices Online’s Caucasus Editor Onnik Krikorian had a brief opportunity to talk to BarCamp Ambassador and Regional Program Manager for Transitions Online, Emin Huseynzade, on blogging in Azerbaijan and the potential for its future development.

Huseynzade was also in Tbilisi to coordinate special training by Transitions Online for journalists and bloggers from all three South Caucasus republics. The training deals with the latest trends in new media, including podcasting, video casting, RSS feeds, and social networks, as well as the impact of blogs on traditional media.

Over 150 people from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia as well as Eastern Europe and Central Asia registered for the conference although perhaps only half attended. Neverthless, the unconference dealt with topics such as the use of mobile telecommunication for social and environmental surveys, research and activities, as well as other topics as diverse as social networks such as Birge.az.

With the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over Nagorno Karabakh still frozen, both events also gave bloggers and journalists from both countries the rare possibility to meet with each other. Although interaction was minor for the BarCamp, participants from both countries attended presentations by the other and Huseynzade says that communication between the two would likely be greater for the smaller Transitions Online training.

However, with Azerbaijan due to stage its own BarCamp on 29-31 August in Lenkoran, Azerbaijan, it is unlikely that Armenians will be able to participate.

The full post and interview accompanied by photographs is available on Global Voices Online. Comments can be left on the original post.

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.

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

With the first of the semi-finals in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade, Serbia, just days away, the countries of the South Caucasus are becoming increasingly excited about the international song contest and how their representatives will fair. What makes the situation all the more interesting is that this year will be the first time all three republics compete.

While this will be the third consecutive appearance of Armenia in the competition, Georgia entered for the first time last year, and Azerbaijan will be making its debut. However, of the three contestants, it is Armenia that currently appears to be the favorite not only from the region, but in general as well.

The British bookmaker William Hill currently has 21-year-old Sirusho at 6/1 to win and the popularity of her song, Qele Qele, has extended way past the borders of the country as the Eurovision Blog confirms.

Another tune almost certainly destined for the final is the Armenian entry, Qele Qele. As one of the countries whose national final we paid attention to, we’d heard this one before it was chosen but having heard the other options, we were screaming “Armenia! Choose! This! NOW!!!!!!!!!” before a note of the contest had even been sung. Coming over as Shakira crossed with a healthy dose of Helena Paparizou, only an entirely tone-deaf performance from Sirusho can possibly stop this one from bringing the house down on the night.

All Kinds of Everything for Eurovision 2008 agrees.

ARMENIA : This just gets better and better with every run through. Sirusho sounds confident and looks a lot more confident that before. The choreography is complex and involves a lot more rolling on the floor than I would like, but it is effective for the overhead shots. They have almost all the camera angles right, which is more than can be said for several entries, and even if the song is a tad repetitive, the dancing and fireworks add a bit of variety.

Other people may be less impressed but for me this is an absolutely certain qualifier, and it’s not totally out of the running to win.

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.

It looks quite impressive and futuristic on first glance — a hotel that bears an uncanny resemblance to the Death Star from the Star Wars films. Remarkably, however, the hotel will not be built in Las Vegas or Dubai. It is instead planned for Baku, capital of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Fan IQ thinks that the project is an attempt to increase Baku’s chances of hosting the 2016 Olympic Games, and if so, the sports blog believes it might just have succeeded.

So although the 2016 Games are a long way off, if you’re a city that wants to host them, you better get your act together.

Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, officially has it’s #$%@ together. They’re in the intense running for the 2016 Games - which will be announced next year - and I think they just took the lead.

How so?

Well, my friends, they’re going to build a hotel based off of the Death Star from Star Wars for the Games.

The full post is available on Global Voices Online.

Simon Maghakyan at Blogian just sent me an email to draw my attention to a new site he’s partly responsible for — the Djulfa Virtual Memorial and Museum. Interestingly, and somewhat commendably in my opinion, there’s also a blog component, Djulfa Blog: Sacred Stones Reduced to Dust.