Archive for the ‘Caucasus’ Category

Hrant Dink 1954-2007

Friday, January 19th, 2007

Wikipedia now has an updated page on Hrant Dink which also now details his assassination as well as life and career.
According to eye witnesses, he was shot by a man of 25-30 years of age, who fired three shots to Dink’s head at point blank range before fleeing the scene on foot. According to the […]

Notes from the Turkish Blogosphere — on Hrant Dink’s Murder

Friday, January 19th, 2007

As the murder of Hrant Dink in Istanbul will continue to dominate the blogosphere in the next few days, I think it’s particularly important to look at what Turkish bloggers have to say on the matter. As I mentioned in my first post, and as implied by the condemnations issued by international media and writers’ […]

RSF / CPJ / International PEN Condemn Hrant Dink’s Murder

Friday, January 19th, 2007

Following the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist and editor Hrant Dink in Istanbul, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the Committee for the Protection of Journalists (CPJ) and International Pen have issued strong condemnations. In particular, RSF is supporting calls for a demonstration which will be held outside the Turkish Embassy in Paris.
No doubt similar demonstrations will […]

Hrant Dink Shot Dead in Istanbul

Friday, January 19th, 2007

Hrant Dink, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2005
The BBC reports that Turkish-Armenian writer Hrant Dink has been murdered in Istanbul. According to the report, Dink was shot three times outside of the office of the Agos weekly newspaper he edited. Oneworld Multimedia expresses its condolences to Dink’s family and calls […]

Love, Sex & Marriage in Armenia

Friday, January 19th, 2007

Zarchka has an interesting post on love, sex and marriage over at Life Around Me. So interesting was it that the forum page which resulted in Zara posting has since been taken down. So much for open discussion, but one thing’s for sure, her post had an impact and if discussion was censored and actually […]

Armenia “Partly Free”

Thursday, January 18th, 2007

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 […]

Unemployment in the South Caucasus

Wednesday, January 17th, 2007

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. […]

Calls for opening Armenian-Turkish Border

Tuesday, January 16th, 2007

Armenian-Turkish border, Khor Virap, Ararat Region, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2004
After last weekend’s conference on the economic and social consequences of opening the Armenian-Turkish border, The Washington Post carries a story detailing calls from businessmen on both sides to establish economic relations sooner rather than later.
Turkey refuses to open […]

Notes from the Armenian Blogosphere

Tuesday, January 16th, 2007

Raffi Kojian at Cilicia.com’s Life in Armenia has an albeit short post on Armenia’s ranking by the Wall Street Journal and Heritage Foundation which once again paints a rosy picture of the climate for investment. Still, it appears as though the rankings are more based on legislation passed rather than actual investment or indeed, […]

An Uncommon Return

Monday, January 15th, 2007

After literally just returning from the U.S. at the weekend, Garo (a.k.a. Christian Garbis) at Notes from Hairenik has some bad news about his father. Despite initially recovering from open heart surgery, Khosroff suffered another heart attack in his sleep although he is thankfully in a stable condition albeit not responding to verbal communication.
It […]