It seems that YouTube.com has been blocked in Armenia adding the ex-Soviet country to a list that often includes Armenia’s historical enemy Turkey.

While the suspected YouTube.com blockade in Armenia is most likely invalid under the constitutional clause of restricted media during state of emergency, it sure talks of the fact that Armenia’s population is overwhelmingly using the Internet as a source of information. During the March 1, 2008, protests, for example, it was often impossible to open Armenian websites such as www.hetq.am because of the high value of visitors.

And even my blog, that usually receives a handful of daily readers from Armenia, now receives much of its readership from there. While in April of 2007 (a month when Armenians are active in the Internet because of the genocide commemoration) users from Armenia were 18th in the list of countries, currently Blogian readers from Armenia are among the top three countries.

A video, sent to me by a supporter of Armenian opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan, shows riot police shooting from long distance toward post-election protesters on March 1, 2008 in Yerevan. The edited and dramatized footage also features a clip from an official announcement where a government spokesperson claims that the authorities have not used firearms against the protesters. Nonetheless, a police chief in Armenia has not denied that the police fired. The chief claims it was after the first shot was fired by the protesters that the servicemen were armed .