As one of our readers has noticed, I will be on a panel discussing the recent post-election unrest in Armenia at the City University of New York later this month.  It is organized by Armenians and Progressive Politics symposium (formerly known as Armenians and the Left).

So if anyone will be in New York on Saturday, May 31, I hope to see you there.

Although I knew a year ago that I’d be asked to participate in the symposium (perhaps discussing environment or human trafficking or even the destruction of Djulfa), my (I guess non-partisan) blogging on the unrest was the main reason I was asked to talk about the political developments in Armenia. And since I will graduate with my BA in Political Science next week, this is a panel I am really interested in.

Onnik Krikorian has an excellent analysis of the rise of blogs amid the March post-election clashes in Armenia.

Hetq.am, a popular investigative news source in Armenia, has published an article covering the role of blogs in delivering information during the state of emergency in Armenia in March 2008. This blog is also mentioned.

In a country where few disabled are seen in the general public due to inaccessibility and perhaps shame, it is interesting to learn that there are beauty pageants held for handicap women in Armenia.

Although the news is from 2005, I have come across to a Flickr photograph, posted above, that shows “Ms. Beauty for Disabled Women of Armenia.”

Although on an individual level there is much support for disabled persons (for instance, in the area where I grew up in Yerevan our family would often visit a young hadicap girl and socialize with her) in Armenia, there is no required accessibility for the disabled.

The photo above provoked me to do a brief Googsearch on disabled organizations and I came across to Pyunic’s website. The website has a gallery of some activities and also a devastating photo of the organization’s building.

Armenian-American socialite Kim Kardashian, famous or infamous for a sex video, is planning a trip to Armenia. Responding to criticism that instead of commemorating the Armenian Genocide on April 24 she went to shopping last week, Kardashian writes on her blog that on the evening of April 24, 2008 she and her siblings actually decided to visit Armenia. In Kardashian’s own words:

I read in the comments that some of you thought it was inappropriate for me not to post about the anniversary of Armenian genocide (which took place [during and] just after World War) and that I was being selfish for spending my day shopping instead.

For those of you who don’t already know, I am half Armenian. I do not speak Armenian, but my late father instilled in us a lot of Armenian culture.

Judging by the pictures you have seen on this site and from what the gossip blogs have been saying, I can see why you may have gotten the wrong idea. But that’s what the media put out… They didn’t know I was leaving for Australia […]

After my day of running errands, I spent the evening with my late father’s side of the family. I went to an Armenian dinner with my family, like we often do. Of course, cameras weren’t there for that — and some things I like to keep private.

But all of the chatter really got me thinking… Do I know as much about my Armenian history as I would like to? The honest answer is… no.

That night at dinner my sisters, brother and I decided it is mandatory that we go to Armenia. None of us have ever been, neither had my dad and neither have my grandparents! My great grandparents were from Armenia and escaped the genocide. No one has been back since. All I know about my country is what I read and pictures I see on the Internet.

My parents couldn’t tell us stories because no one has been! So, this generation is going to change that! We don’t know when we are going to go, but we four kids have decided it is something we should do! I heard it is beautiful and we are all really excited about it!

[…]

Writing in his weekly USA ARMENIAN LIFE MAGAZINE  column (received in an e-mail), managing editor Appo Jabarian shares reactions to a broadcast video, also posted at YouTube.com, in which he criticized opposition leader Levon Ter-Petrosyan and defended Armenia’s government’s actions in the March 1, 2008 post-election clashes.

While saying that he wasn’t surprised to receive e-mails of both support and disagreement from individual activists to his message delivered on behalf of a group of Armenain-American journalists, Jabarian – who is often regarded as nationalist for his views – says an offensive letter from a non-governmental organization (NGO) was quite unexpected. The Diasporan journalist says that a short research finds that the NGO in question is, in theory, working for environmental issues and is funded by an organization based in the United States. In Jabarian’s own words:

[…]

On Monday, April 21, the editorial offices of USA Armenian Life Magazine received a letter titled “Repulse from Armenia!”

It said: “‘Armenia[n] Life’ exactly repeats the statements made by Kocharyan, and other barking ‘puppies’ like Tigran Torosyan or Aghvan Hovsepyan, but even in a more disapprobatory [sic] tones. These types of biased statements are more destabilizing rather than stabilizing, and forcing a thorny wedge between Armenia and Diaspora. Who gave you [Jabarian] the right to make an appeal on behalf of the Diasporan Armenians? Do you think that you are the ‘Messiah’ of the Nation? Your recent columns proved once again that you are paid prostitutes [sic] of Kocharyan-Serzh [Sargsyan] regime, and your publications remain at inferior level intended for ‘hade bye’s like you! — P.S. ‘Turkey Life’ would be more appropriate to your bull s**t ‘offline’ magazine.…” — It was signed “Ecological Academy NGO.”

The website of “Ecological Academy NGO” describes its “mission statement” as follows: “‘Ecological Academy’ visualizes Armenia’s future in sustainable and socio-economic development of the society, in parallel with environmental improvement and harmony. The ‘Ecological Academy’ is a non-profit, non-governmental organization that favors enhancement of environmental quality in the Republic of Armenia, advancement of environmental science and education, by carrying out educational, research, technical-advisory, project-appraisal, public-awareness-raising actions.”

A brief research on the “Ecological Academy NGO” revealed that this particular NGO is financially linked to The Natural Capital Institute, a U.S.-based privately funded organization. The Institute boasts on its website: “Our donors choose to invest in the Fund because of our commitment to safeguarding their privacy.”

The mere conflict of interest and action by the Ecological Academy raises a number of questions.

Is “Ecological Academy NGO” confounding its vision of “Armenia’s future in sustainable and socio-economic development of the society, in parallel with environmental improvement and harmony” with its anti-Armenia political activities?

Are Ecological Academy’s U.S. backers aware that their “Project” in Armenia is in fact conducting political opposition to the Armenian government as opposed to focusing on its “stated mission?”

Isn’t Ecological Academy a non-profit organization that is exempted from income taxes, and as such is governed by the strict laws of Armenia?

Does one of the Armenian laws not explicitly bar NGO’s from any overt or covert political activity?

Speaking of NGO’s in Armenia, there is no question that several NGO’s are honest and genuine humanitarian enterprises. However, according to various reliable sources, there are a number of Armenian NGO’s that are set up by foreign funds for the explicit purpose of covertly meddling in Armenia’s internal political affairs. Is Ecological Academy one of these covert “NGO” operations?

Shall any of us be surprised to discover that certain NGO’s are fronts for espionage and other treacherous activities, undermining the national security of a target nation — in this case Armenia?

There is no question that Armenia’s national security authorities are highly aware of the potential dangers presented by certain so-called NGO’s. However, they may need to further step up their scrutiny of these foreign-funded NGO’s.

Video snapshot: An Azerbaijani truck dumps ancient Armenian gravestones, khachkars, into the River Arax in December 2005. The destruction ammounted to the complete annihilation of the world’s largest medieval Armenian cemetery, Djulfa. For more photos see www.djulfa.com/photos/

Armenia’s ex-presidential candidate Vahan Hovhannisian from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) has said that the December 2005 destruction of Djulfa (Jugha) cemetery by Azerbaijan should have been the point for Armenia to pull out of negotiations with Azerbaijan over the conflict of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh).

Hovhannisian is quoted in ArmeniaNow as saying: “The day Azerbaijan began to barbarically destroy the monuments in Jugha, we had to leave the negotiation process. You would see what would happen: they would try to keep us, would seek our forgiveness.”

I am not sure whether I agree with Hovhannisyan or not. Although I have devoted the last two years working for Djulfa awareness (and today received my University’s Outstanding Undergraduate Award largely for my work on Djulfa) and am currently writing my honors thesis on its legal implications, Azerbaijan might be looking for an excuse to militarily attack Armenia. 

The deputy is correct in the sense that the destruction and its aftermath should be in the top list of Armenia’s ongoing talks with Azerbaijan.

The Armenian government has taken an independent TV station in the north of the Republic off the air following an unprecedented fundraiser in the former Soviet country where citizens helped GALA TV pay off taxes that the authorities had attempted to use for silencing the station.

Although the government claims the closing to be temporary – it is actually requiring GALA TV to take its main broadcast dish off a tele-tower owned by the city of Gyumri – many see this as continous oppression against freedom of expression.  The report about the closure is available in Armenian at http://a1plus.am/amu/?page=issue&iid=59643.

Wow, the new president really wants to piss people off.

According to a press release posted on the website of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, the latter agency will hold a hearing on Armenia on April 17, 2008.

U.S. HELSINKI COMMISSION TO HOLD HEARING ON ARMENIA
(Washington, D.C.) Congressman Alcee L. Hastings (D-FL), Chairman of the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission) and Co-Chairman Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD), will hold a hearing entitled, “Armenia after the Election,” on Thursday, April 17 at 2:00 p.m. in room B-318 of the Rayburn House Office Building.

Since the February 19 presidential election, Armenia has experienced its most serious political crisis in over a decade. The March 1 confrontation between the authorities and supporters of the opposition resulted in at least eight fatalities and the imposition of a state of emergency, causing serious damage to Armenia’s reputation. Although Prime Minister Serzh Sarkissian has been elected President, some opposition leaders refuse to recognize the outcome and government opposition relations remain tense. The state of emergency has been lifted but restrictions on freedom of assembly continue in effect.
The hearing will focus on the ramifications of these developments for Armenia and the United States, especially the ongoing Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia s qualifications for assistance from the Millennium Challenge Account.

Testifying before the Commission will be:

Mr. Matthew Bryza, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs

Mr. Vigen Sargsian, Assistant to the President of the Republic of Armenia

Mr. Arman Grigorian, Spokesman for former President Levon Ter-Petrossian

 A woman holds a black flag as she stands behind a riot police cordon during an opposition protest in Yerevan April 9, 2008. Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan promised at his inauguration on Wednesday to heal rifts with his opponents, one month after clashes between police and protesters killed eight people. REUTERS/Nazik Armenakian (ARMENIA) 

Reuters reports:

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan promised at his inauguration on Wednesday to heal rifts with his opponents, one month after clashes between police and protesters killed eight people.

After the inauguration Sarksyan, as expected, appointed central bank chief Tigran Sarksyan to be his replacement as prime minister. The two men are not related.

With his right hand lying on the Armenian constitution and an ancient religious text, Serzh Sarksyan was sworn in as president at Yerevan’s opera house in front of an audience of hundreds including parliamentarians and foreign guests.

“This ceremony takes place about a month after painful events, which inflicted wounds that are still fresh,” Sarksyan said in a speech.

“These wounds caused pain and bitterness to all of us. Today, I urge everybody to look forward, together, to seek and find the path of reconciliation, of development, for the future of Armenia.”

Former Soviet Armenia, a Christian state of around 3 million people which lies on the edge of the volatile Caucasus region, is an important energy transit route between Asia and Europe.

Anti-government protesters say Sarksyan and his ally, former President Robert Kocharyan, rigged a Feb. 19 election. Sarkysan was declared winner of the vote with around 53 percent, beating his nearest challenger who polled about 21.5 percent.

Armenian security forces broke up a peaceful rally in central Yerevan on March 1, triggering the worst urban violence in Armenia in a decade. Rioters smashed and looted shops during clashes with police in which eight people died.

During the clashes Kocharyan imposed a 20 day state of emergency which banned public meetings. Armenia’s parliament adopted legislation tightening restrictions on holding protests, drawing criticism from rights groups.

On the eve of Sarksyan’s inauguration both the New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the Brussels-based International Crisis Group released reports which strongly condemned the violence and restrictions on demonstrations.

“The new Armenian leader is facing serious challenges,” said Holly Cartner, Europe and Central Asia director at HRW. “He should take decisive steps to investigate the excessive use of police force and lift restrictions on freedom of assembly.”

Sarksyan, 53, indicated in his inauguration speech he would consider softening the restrictions.

“For any limitation of rights and freedoms, including the right to peaceful assembly, we must strike a fair balance between public order and respect for the rights and freedoms of others, on the one hand, and the right to peaceful assembly on the other,” he said.

During Sarksyan’s inauguration between 1,000 and 1,500 protesters laid flowers in the central Yerevan square where the eight people had died in March’s violence.

Police watched on but did not intervene when the crowd started shouting anti-government slogans. A Reuters reporter said the crowd remained peaceful and dispersed without incident.

According to the BBC:

[…] 

According to Armenian media, 200 people gathered on Wednesday for the memorial ceremony outside the mayor’s office in the capital Yerevan, where the clashes took place.

Police tried to turn them away, saying the rally had not been permitted.

[…] 

A1Plus has posted the text of the inaugural address:

Distinguished President Kocharyan,

Your Holiness,

Fellow Citizens of the Republic of Armenia,

Dear Friends,

Today is an extremely responsible day for me. A few minutes ago, I swore an oath to our people to unconditionally follow the provisions of our Constitution. On this historic day, we all swear an oath: I do it aloud, and ask you to do it silently. I am confident that each of you has an oath of your own to serve our fatherland and people.

We all swear this oath for a brighter future of our country, for development, for democracy, for the rule of law, for a stronger and more prosperous Armenia.

May the Lord give me strength to not disappoint anyone of my supporters! May the Lord give us all strength to overcome difficulties, to find the cure for all the problems that worry the disappointed or disillusioned ones, the ones who today need hope, faith, and optimism.

Dear compatriots, dear guests;

I recognize the enormous responsibility I have assumed. I know that I will be the one whom you will consider responsible for everything. I pledge not to avoid the responsibility, the magnitude of which I realized when joining the Republican Party and declaring that I would agree to be nominated for the presidential elections only in case the Republican Party won the largest number of votes in the parliamentary elections. I realize the magnitude of the responsibility now, and I shall recognize it every day for the next five years. I shall bear with honor the responsibility of being the President of all citizens of the Republic of Armenia.

On this day, I wish to thank my supporters, all the individuals that have voted for my program. I am grateful for the confidence. I assure you that together we can improve life in our country. Today, I call for a change. Once again, we are proclaiming a new beginning for change. Everyone must be ready to start change from one’s own self.

A part of our people supported other candidates, and I now appeal to them: it was your right to vote for someone other than me, but I do not have the right not to be your president. We should not part, should not create division between various parts of our people, should not disregard each other’s concerns and pain, and should not go beyond each other’s reach. Even if a wall of misunderstanding stands between us, I urge you to join us in eliminating that wall.

I express my gratitude to President Robert Kocharyan, a man who will have a solid place in the Armenian history, as the decade of his presidency were years of significant achievements for our country, achievements based on which we have set ambitious targets for the future. President Kocharyan has performed an invaluable role in the establishment, advancement, and protection of the Republic of Mountainous Karabakh. I am confident that generations will duly appreciate his service and contribution to the development and strengthening of our statehood.

Dear Friends:

Although the election campaign was intense and did not do without insults, I wish to thank my opponents for the struggle, with a special thank you to those who admitted their defeat with dignity, those who reciprocated the extended hand of cooperation and accepted the offer to come together to develop the Republic of Armenia.

I shall remain committed to all of my pre-election promises, and we shall join our efforts in fulfilling them.

We shall build the Armenia that brings together all Armenians, one that will be the fatherland of any Armenian.

We shall build the Armenia where mutual respect, love, and tolerance will prevail.

We shall build the Armenia where our citizens and families will live and realize their potential in security and dignity.

We shall carry out a proactive foreign policy, and do everything to find a just, peaceful, and favorable solution to the Artsakh issue.

We shall build a strong, proud, and democratic state of Armenia, where everyone shall be equal before the law.

I am confident that you, our fellow Armenians and friends, also hold the key to the success of all of our initiatives. To accomplish this historic mission, I once again urge us to unite. Unity will be the platform for fundamental value creation and progress along the path of democracy and freedoms.

I shall do all of this, because I wish to be a president who will fully implement his program, bring peace and stable development to Armenia, enhance the reputation and image of our country, overcome all of the major problems we currently face, and be capable of foreseeing and responding to all of the potential challenges. This is the type of President I can and shall be.

I am ready to contribute all my strength for an atmosphere of confidence to prevail in our society, for us to overcome any polarization, rough confrontation, and discredit. Alone, no one can turn Armenia into a country of dreams. All structures, various political and non-governmental forces, and civil society need to unite. This is where the President should act as the key actor in uniting the nation, a man who must use all the tools and mechanisms of power available to him in order to promote the best ideas and to preserve, develop, and put to the best use our country’s most precious capital, our human resources.

I shall seek ways of cooperating with all the political forces. My efforts will focus on achieving the nation-wide objectives, strengthening the link between generations, combining the interests of different social groups, ensuring respect for ethnic minorities, and preserving the Armenian identity.

I shall encourage a change of attitude towards the intelligentsia in our country. It is long time for the state to treat seriously our culture, scientific and educational potential, and every individual engaged in intellectual and creative work.

I shall make my humble contribution to the strengthening of the Armenian Apostolic Church, which will continue to remain a pillar of the Armenian soul and national identity.

Dear Friends:

This ceremony takes place about a month after painful events, which inflicted wounds that are still fresh. These wounds caused pain and bitterness to all of us. Today, I urge to look forward, together to seek and find the path of reconciliation, that of development for the Armenia of future. I am confident that we cannot have real and tangible success, unless we learn lessons from the past. What happened should teach all of us a lesson of vigilance and sobriety, compelling us to work with greater vigor and devotion.

Unchecked freedom can result in conflict with the public interests and the rights of others. To prevent such conflicts and to reconcile various rights and interests, the state may interfere with the exercise of certain fundamental rights.

Limitations of fundamental rights, however, cannot be absolute, as they would simply render the fundamental right meaningless. Limitations should not undermine the essence of fundamental rights enshrined in the Constitution.

For any limitation of rights and freedoms, including the right to peaceful assembly, we must strike a fair balance between the public order and respect for the rights and freedoms of others, on the one hand, and the right to peaceful assembly, on the other.

Over a short period of time, along with dozens of other laws, we should revisit the legislation regulating the right to peaceful assembly with a view to safeguarding everyone’s right to peaceful assembly in accordance with European standards and precluding any public event that is either not peaceful or does not pursue a legitimate aim.

Dear friends:

Our people have given me their vote of confidence, and I must implement my program during the next five years. Our people have confided in me to overcome the challenges faced by our country and to meet everyone’s expectations. Five years is a rather short period to do all of this, hence it will be a period of everyday hard work. During this time, we shall manage to do what is possible and beyond, to address the development challenges faced by our country. That is why I consider this ceremonial day a working day for me and my political team.

So thank you, and let us get down to work!

Let us get down to work, and forward, Armenia!