Archive for the ‘Democracy’ Category

What else does it take….?

Wednesday, February 28th, 2007

Armenialiberty.org reports on some shocking news. A 44 year old father of 4, Jivan Hakopian, from the Armavir region, set himself alight by pouring petrol on himself and chanted anti-government slogans outside the main government buildings in Yerevan. He was taken to hospital but died later.

His family are not commenting, and the Mayor of […]

On A Eurovision Mission?

Friday, February 16th, 2007

Well, it’s that time of year again.. for the second time at least…A joke in the UK, huge in France, and even bigger in Eastern Europe - The Eurovision song contest is a chance for small, often ignored nations, to show themselves to the world through culture…or cheesy pop. Whatever your take on […]

Journalism matters - not just to journalists but to everyone

Saturday, February 10th, 2007

The year started up bad for journalists in Armenia - even worse than the previous year, here’s a troubling list of some of the recent events:
“…The three-and-a-half year jail sentence handed to the editor of “Zhamanak Yerevan” - Arman Babajanian…” RFE/RL.
“…The Toyota Prado belonging to Suren Baghdasarian of the “Football Plus” weekly and parked […]

Elif Shafak: Writing Under a Watchful Eye

Wednesday, February 7th, 2007

I’ve grown to admire Elif Shafak’s opinions, especially nowadays as they give us a solid preview of what life can be like for a progressive Turkish contemporary writer/intellectual living and working in a post Hrant Dink world.

Listen to this recent interview on NPR’s Fresh Air radio program and please share your thoughts:

In this particular […]

Exporting Democracy - A Global Fiasco

Saturday, February 3rd, 2007

Armenianow.com had an interesting article “Present and Future Power Debate: Who will be the choices in 2008?” which examines the possible scenarios of political developments, probable candidates and the effects of these decisions on the political life in the country. However, all the arguments brought to and for this or that candidate in the article […]

Who’s insulting Armenian Dignity?

Friday, February 2nd, 2007

So, Nigel Charnock, a British based dance artist has been condemned by the Minister of Culture Hasmik Poghosian, by dancing on the Armenian flag, as well as wrapping it around his naked body. Some ministers have gone as far to brand the dancer ” a criminal” under a law which claims any defacement […]

Suspect Caught

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

A video grab released by Turkish police shows an image of a man suspected of killing journalist Hrant Dink, one of Turkey’s most prominent ethnic Armenians, as the government came under fire for failing to protect him despite nationalist threats.(AFP/HO)

According to a recent AP news release, Turkish Police detained a suspect early today in the […]

“We are all Hrant Dink…We are all Armenian..”

Saturday, January 20th, 2007

I have been following the developments on the assassination of Hrant Dink over the past hours. I am both surprised and proud that so many people came out and showed their support for this man. I must confess that I only really familiarised myself with his work just a couple of days ago, as part […]

Armenian Ranking Very Low in the Global Integrity Index 2006

Wednesday, January 17th, 2007

2006 Global Integrity Report Investigates and Assesses Anti-Corruption Mechanisms in 43 Countries, including the United States

Armenian Media Shape Up for The Election Battle

Monday, January 15th, 2007

“Some things never change in this world” - the advanced internet user of today might think looking at the website of some major Armenian media outlets, like that of AZG daily Armenpress, Arminfo, and a number of others. Many of these guys have been going with the same interface for AGES (3 or […]