Archive for the ‘Society’ Category

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

The Diaspora(s) and Armenia

Sunday, January 14th, 2007

As the subject of the Diaspora in the process of nation-building in Armenia recently came up in two recent posts here and here on this site, as well as being the subject of one by Zarchka over at Life Around Me, it was interesting to receive a link to an article in part on this […]

Landmark Ruling at European Court

Friday, January 12th, 2007

Opposition demonstration, Liberty Square, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2004
Via Martuni of Bust, RFE/RL reports that in its first-ever ruling on Armenia, the European Court of Human Rights yesterday ruled against the arrest of an opposition activist at an anti-government demonstration in Yerevan’s Liberty Square four years ago. One can […]

My First Dead Bomzh

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006

Homeless, Northern Avenue Construction Site, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2004
Well, not really, as a few of the homeless people I’ve photographed in the past two years died as well. Former actor and Karabakh war veteran Gor, for example, died a few weeks after taking the photo above despite the […]

Top Ten Rich People in Armenia

Thursday, December 14th, 2006

Hayk Newspaper reports, that the Forbs - Armenian service soon to be launched in Armenia, will publish the following list of ten richest people in Armenia in the first issue of the magazine. Hayk draws readers attention to the fact, that 6 of the 10 people in the list are high ranking state officials.
Gagik Tsarukyan […]

Kanayq Hayots Action

Sunday, November 26th, 2006

Kanayq Hayots, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia 2006
As I recently posted, an albeit small action to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, as well as raise awareness of the arguably regressing role of women in peace-building and society in general in the South Caucasus, was […]

RSF 24-hour Online Campaign Against Net Censorship

Monday, November 6th, 2006

Reporters Without Borders is organizing an online campaign against net censorship. The campaign focuses on 13 countries with particularly bad records in this area as well as Yahoo who have self-imposed restrictions, as well as worked with the local authorities to persecute dissidents and journalists, in China.
More than 60 cyber-dissidents around the world are currently […]