Armenia

In the 15 years since a ceasefire agreement put the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh on hold, various peace proposals have faltered.

Originally posted here:
Armenia & the South Caucasus | The Caucasian Knot » A web of Peace

RFE/RL reports that the republic is once again considered “Partly Free” by Freedom House. RFE/RL quotes the U.S. based organization as laying the blame firmly on a “limited respect for political rights and civil liberties.”
The Washington-based group again evaluated the state of political rights and civil liberties in each of the 193 countries surveyed [...]

Amenia Blog carries an ArmenPress story on unemployment in Armenia which is rather misleading given the true state of the local economy. Sure, there is economic growth, but it’s registered only in a few select areas of the economy, and we still have the perennial problem of the distribution of any wealth that is generated. [...]

The world is made of 200 different situations, and if you do something here, doesn’t necessarily apply to everywhere else. This is what The Rt Hon Lord Hurd of Westwell CH CBE PC told us today in his speech on “Britain and the World”. This comment was while answering to the questions: why the invasion [...]

It seems that all three capitals of the South Caucasus Republics are facing a crisis in terms of traffic congestion and pollution. The Instiute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR), for example, published an article on traffic jams in Baku and how the Azerbaijani Government is seeking to address the problem.
In March 2006, the [...]

Demonstration in support of Zhirayr Sefilyan and Vardan Malkhasyan, Arabkir District, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2006
Following the arrest of Zhirayr Sefilyan and Vardan Malkhasyan by the National Security Service (NSS) for allegedly plotting a coup d’etat, a few hundred supporters staged a demonstration in their defense. For some reason [...]

Via Bekaisa, there’s an account of a recent visit to Armenia by two Azerbaijanis and a Turk. As it’s in Russian, there’s thankfully an English translation. Anyway, it starts off interesting enough with their journey into Armenia from Georgia. As anyone who knows the route well will tell you, buses and cars from Armenia usually [...]

Opposition Protest the outcome of the 2003 Presidential Election, Matenadaran, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2003
I was pondering calling this post “Out of the Frying Pan,” for a moment, but decided against it even though next year’s parliamentary elections are shaping up to be the most tense in the eight [...]

Opposition protest the outcome of the 2003 Presidential Election, Armenian National Assembly, Baghramian Avenue, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2003
Well, as reported in the last 2007 Parliamentary Election Monitor on this blog, there is renewed speculation that Kocharian will seek to retain control over the country as Prime Minister after [...]

While most observers are not expecting any breakthough in continuing negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan to resolve the conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, RFE/RL carries what some might consider to be surprising news. That is, progress has been made after Kocharian and Aliyev yesterday met in Minsk on the sidelines of a CIS summit.
“I can [...]