https://ann.org/ro/Recent content in Review & Outlook on Armenian News Network - GroongHugo -- 0.128.0en-usSun, 10 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20210110.htmlSun, 10 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20210110.htmlArmenians have been going from one crisis to the next, from genocide, deportation, armed resistance, revolutions, responding to earthquakes, blockade, and of course to the urgency of the problems that need to be addressed today. The short-sighted approach for profits now, has derailed the people and the leadership in Armenia from setting priorities that should have used domestic resources, and foreign aid with strategies for success to invest with purpose into the future of the nation.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20201010.htmlSat, 10 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20201010.htmlSummary While the American mainstream media was busy discussing the fly on Mike Pence’s head during Vice Presidential Debate, the Armenian-Turkish conflict entered the second week of violence across the entire line of contact (LoC) between the Republic of Artsakh and Azerbaijan, and many regional and extra-regional powers took a neutral to stand and watch attentively from the sidelines. An attempt by Azerbaijani-Turkish and ISIS-linked formations to encircle Artsakh by taking over its strategic communication highways with the Republic of Armenia while carrying out devastating blows against Artsakh’s Defense Army in a new and enhanced blitzkrieg strategy has failed dramatically.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20200526.htmlTue, 26 May 2020 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20200526.htmlSummary In a time of pandemic where all warring countries and entities were asked to stop various conflicts to focus on containing the spread of COVID-19 virus around the world, Azerbaijan decided to conduct large scale military exercises on Armenian-Azerbaijani front lines along the borders of Artsakh and Republic of Armenia between May 18-24 without advance warning as required by international norms and conventions. While major military exercises were taking places at a distance of 800m-1km from the Armenian-Azerbaijani frontlines, a group of Azerbaijani special forces attempted to penetrate Armenian defense lines in the south of Artsakh.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20191121.htmlThu, 21 Nov 2019 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20191121.htmlThree weeks ago, the western region of the Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) announced that it will be closing its AGBU Vatche and Tamar Manoukian High School in Pasadena, California. A flurry of protests and protestations flooded the public Armenian-American square, unanimously condemning the decision and imploring AGBU to reconsider. Unfortunately, many issues central to the Diaspora’s existence in the West that were inherent to the decision to close the school and were unexpectedly thrust into the limelight went largely ignored.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20170729.htmlSat, 29 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20170729.htmlSUMMARY Recent revelations by Bulgarian newspaper (Trud) of connections between Aliyev’s regime and the state-run Silk Way Airlines accused of shipping weapons and ammunition to various terrorist groups in the Middle East under diplomatic cover were hurriedly pushed under the rug military hardware from Russia, followed by its regular war rhetoric to take back Artsakh through military means. Similar tactics were utilized by Azerbajiani media last year, preceding the Four Day War in April of 2016 when international media was awash with revelations about billions of dollars’ worth of offshore accounts held by a number of foreign leaders, including Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20170707.htmlFri, 07 Jul 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20170707.htmlSUMMARY Constant violations of ceasefire along the Line of Contact culminated in a failed Azerbajiani military aggression against the Republic of Artsakh on April 2nd of 2016. The incident came to be known as the Four Day War in Armenia which ended on April 6, 2016 at the behest of Aliyev’s regime in light of a powerful and devastating Armenian military response in conjunction with immense pressure by the international community demanding from Azerbaijan to end the war as soon as possible.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20170626.htmlMon, 26 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20170626.htmlSUMMARY As the dramatic events unfold in the Middle East a new map of the Near East is beginning to emerge. A new country is about to take stage in the region; a clash between major powers is about to break loose in Syria; and a new strategic realignment of regional powers and their corresponding super powers is taking shape while others are exiting the region. In the meantime, a rift is emerging between the US and its European allies over many issues including global warming, economic relations and security within Europe and around the European continent.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20170221.htmlTue, 21 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20170221.htmlSUMMARY As the one year anniversary of the Four Day War in April of 2016 is fast approaching so is the military escalation along the frontlines in Artsakh gradually intensifying. Almost no week goes by without human losses suffered on either side of the unresolved conflict. Relative military parity established by the warring sides since last war coupled with a cold winter and barely passable roads in the region seemed to have deterred new Azerbaijani military aggression from resuming thus far, however as the weather warms up in addition to declining oil output and devaluation of the manat-Azerbaijani currency, and new accumulations of military capabilities by Azerbaijani military, Armenian armed forces are expecting to face yet another violent attempt by Aliyev’s government in Baku to forcefully change the status quo on the ground either this year or within next two years.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20170109.htmlMon, 09 Jan 2017 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20170109.htmlSummary For the past twenty six years Armenian strategic thinking in Armenia and diaspora was mostly reactive rather than proactive, static rather than flexible. Politically Armenia failed to register significant gains in its foreign policy and ended up significantly isolated in various international forums. Furthermore, Armenia lost its strategic significance in the eyes of the international community and became an irrelevant actor in the region. Thus the time has come for Armenia to reassess its national interests and play a pro-active role in the region and abroad that will enhance its national security, improve its economy and make Armenia matter in the region.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20161225.htmlSun, 25 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20161225.htmlThe highlights of 2016 for Armenia (if we can call them “high” lights) would be the Four Day War in April, the popular and violent acts of discontent in July, and the change of ruling government in September. For 2017 the outlook for the country may be grim as well, but hopeful as the newly formed cabinet lead by Karen Karapetyan makes efforts to reduce the corruption in the government, improve the nation’s defense capabilities and raise economic living standards for the populace.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20161106.htmlSun, 06 Nov 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20161106.htmlPrologue The purpose of this article is to suggest political and geopolitical priorities for Armenia (including Artsakh) and the Armenian diaspora to focus on in an effort to secure the existence of the Armenian statehood and the Armenian nation for the next sixteen years. The timeframe provided divides one century into three equal parts, each thirty three years long until 2099. The article doesn’t attempt to predict any event or development in Armenia, the surrounding region or the world at large, and will not be focusing on mid-term and long-term goals.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20161005.htmlWed, 05 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20161005.html“In my opinion we don’t have any other choice. Every Armenian knows that if we fail to defend this little sacred land, we’ll no longer exist.” Colonel Armen Vardanyan Director of Air Defense Forces of the Republic of Armenia. The quote is taken from a recent documentary called “My army. Our Piece of the Sky.” As the Four Day War in April has shown, the conventional warfare in Artsakh’s battlefield has dramatically changed since the 1990s.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20160808.htmlMon, 08 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20160808.htmlBACKGROUND On July 17th, an armed opposition group stormed the Erebuni police station in Yerevan killing one policeman and wounding several others. They demanded the resignation of Armenia’s President Serj Sargsyan and liberation of their jailed leader Jirair Sefilian, a former Artsakh Liberation War veteran and the leader of a small opposition party called Founding Parliament. Furthermore, they encouraged the public to organize street demonstrations in support of their demands and vowed not to lay down their arms until their demands were fully met.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20160509.htmlMon, 09 May 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20160509.htmlPart 1 PROLOGUE This article analyzes the role of regional and global players in the conflict as we try to identify who stood to benefit from the resumption of the war in the Caucasus, what caused the resumption of the war in the first place, what were the immediate consequences of this war for the parties involved and what are the most immediate military and political implications for the region in the coming years.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20160411.htmlMon, 11 Apr 2016 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20160411.htmlBackground On the night of April 1 and morning of April 2, Azerbaijani forces attempted to break through Armenian defenses and occupy new positions on the border with Artsakh. The blitzkrieg involved heavy use of infantry, special forces, air forces, armored units, artillery and multiple launch rocket systems which were indiscriminately used against Armenian towns and villages in the border areas. Despite small gains made by invading forces in the Mardakert region, the counter-offensive launched by the Armenian forces drove Azerbaijani troops back to their original positions which allowed the Armenian side to regain its previously lost positions in the Mardakert region.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20120108.htmlSun, 08 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20120108.htmlWe are now less than a year away from the 2012 elections and the campaign trail is already heating up. The race for the white house has catapulted various GOP candidates to the top of the mountain, only to see them tumble from its peak. So far we have seen some historic debate gaffes, incredibly bold policy proposals and unorthodox candidates try to distinguish themselves from each other, all in an effort to be the anti-Romney; the presumptive GOP nominee.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20110623.htmlThu, 23 Jun 2011 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20110623.htmlA seething revolt across much of Syria is being met with ferocious repression by the Ba’athist government’s security forces. But so far, the two cities where close to half of Syria’s population lives - Damascus and Aleppo - are relatively calm. In this evolving situation, what are the prospects for Syria’s regime and people? Vicken Cheterian reports and reflects. A visit to Damascus, at a time when so much of the rest of Syria is burning, offers a striking contrast to the images of the country presented in international broadcasting media.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20100406.htmlTue, 06 Apr 2010 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20100406.htmlYEREVAN, ARMENIA We are at the brink of a pair of wars, civil and regional, and it is better to speak now. Armenia, that ancient civilization deprived by the tragedies of yore of its capacity for contemporary statecraft, needs immediately to put its house in democratic order. Finally responsible for its own record, it also has legitimate expectations of the international partnership. In this global and so contracted century of ours, where resources and rights often compete for precedence, domestic demeanor and foreign affairs form part of one and the same policy agenda.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20100330.htmlTue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20100330.htmlLuncheon Keynote Address Unofficial Transcript Georgetown University Washington, DC It is an honor to be back at Georgetown University, a very important university in a very important capital city, which has always played its pivotal role throughout the modern history of the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian people. And as a graduate of the Georgetown University Law Center, it is especially enjoyable for me to be back in these hallowed halls, although I would rather not recall too precisely how long I have been gone.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20100323.htmlTue, 23 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20100323.htmlYEREVAN, ARMENIA A couple of sentences in a non-binding resolution, passed by the House of Representatives foreign affairs committee on March 4, softly reaffirming the genocide of the Armenian people and the forcible dispossession of their homeland has got Turkey threatening the world, the US administration complicitly trying to hush Congress by blocking a vote on the floor, and many Armenians celebrating a rare moment against the odds. The Swedish parliament’s March 11 decision to recognize and then its prime minister’s extraterrestrial apology to Turkey have only raised the stakes.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20091216.htmlWed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20091216.htmlQUID PRO QUO? TURKEY BETWEEN ETHICS AND POLITICS: PUT IT ALL ON THE TABLE YEREVAN, ARMENIA In Washington, Brussels, Moscow and elsewhere, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Erdogan, Foreign Minister Davutoglu and others have long advocated combining onto one political agenda their country’s normalization of relations with Armenia and the resolution of Mountainous Karabagh’s conflict with Azerbaijan. I agree. Newly-independent Armenia’s ostensibly mature policy–which I supported as the nation’s first foreign affairs minister–of seeking establishment of diplomatic relations without the positing of any preconditions can today, 18 years into the game, be pronounced dead on arrival.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20091202.htmlWed, 02 Dec 2009 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20091202.htmlYEREVAN, ARMENIA Turkey has always had its share of decent folks. One close example is the righteous family who, during the great genocide and national dispossession of 1915, risked its own to save my grandmother Khengeni from certain death in the coastal town of Ordu. The stories of thousands like them have not been told because of the Turkish state’s official dialectic of denial. Apart from the remnant 50,000 of the established Armenian community, at least two million people in today’s Turkey draw lineage from an Armenian grandparent who was orphaned, stolen or saved–but in all cases turkified–in the killing fields of Ottoman-occupied historic Armenia.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20090629.htmlMon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20090629.htmlDEARBORN, MICHIGAN I will start with a story which I have heard a number of times over the years from some of the people directly involved in it. It reportedly occurred in Lebanon in the late 1950s. A young Armenian female schoolteacher had a suitor, the elder brother of one of her students. Encouraged by the favorable comments the younger sister had repeatedly made at home about her schoolteacher, the family had concluded that she might end up being a suitable mate for their elder son.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20090306.htmlFri, 06 Mar 2009 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20090306.htmlYEREVAN, ARMENIA That an Armenian repatriate, American-born into a legacy of remembrance inherited from a line of survivors of genocide nearly a century ago, feels compelled to entitle his thoughts with a focus on Turkey– and not Armenia– reveals a larger problem, a gaping wound, and an imperative for closure long overdue on both sides of history’s tragic divide. The new Armenia, independent of its longstanding statelessness since 1991, is my everyday life, as are the yearnings of my fellow citizens for their daily dignity, true democracy, the rule of law, and an empowering end to sham elections and the corruption, arrogance and unaccountability of power.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20081229.htmlMon, 29 Dec 2008 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20081229.htmlIn Oliver Stone’s movie ‘Nixon’, when the title character is faced with a group of young anti-war protestors in the middle of the night in front of the Lincoln memorial and questioned as to why he did not end the war in Vietnam as he promised during his campaign, Nixon is not able to give an answer, to which one of the protesters says ‘You can’t stop it, can you? Even if you wanted to … The system won’t let you stop it.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20071121.htmlWed, 21 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20071121.htmlBACKGROUND On October 26, 2007, the former president of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrosyan announced his candidacy for president in the upcoming 2008 presidential elections to be held in Armenia during a major opposition rally at the Freedom Square, Yerevan. The rally was organized by the All Armenian National Movement (HHSh) in collaboration with Armenia’s People Party led by Stepan Demirchyan (HZhK) and Republic Party (HK) led by Aram Sarksyan (the brother of former Prime Minister of Armenia, Vazgen Sarksyan assassinated on October 27, 1999).https://ann.org/ro/ro-20071101.htmlThu, 01 Nov 2007 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20071101.htmlThe announcement of Armenia’s only former President Levon Ter-Petrossian that he is a candidate for the upcoming presidential elections raised many speculations about the election process and at the same time ended other speculations regarding the nature of those elections before Ter-Petrossian announced his candidacy. Before the announcement that he is a candidate on October 26, media and political observers in Armenia considered the presidential race as a one-man show where the election of the current Prime Minster Serge Sargsian was a done deal, however now the speculations and the bets have changed considerably as any observer of Armenian politics and media would concur.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20070607.htmlThu, 07 Jun 2007 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20070607.htmlBackground: On May 12th Armenia held its widely anticipated parliamentary elections registering a major progress in the conduct of its elections and improvement in the transparency of the electoral process. Several thousand Armenian election observers representing dozens of local NGOs and political parties were joined by more than seven hundred foreign observers from CIS, EU and other European structures, invited to Armenia for the same purpose. Despite a number of registered voting irregularities that occurred at some polling stations where several of them resulted in criminal investigations by the Ministry of Justice, and continuous accusations by the radical Armenian opposition of government’s complicity in inappropriate acts constituting electoral fraud, such as bribing of voters at some polling stations and questionable methods of facilitating voter turn out, such as driving voters to the polling stations in mini vans and buses rented or owned by specific political parties taking part in the elections, the overall conduct of parliamentary elections in Armenia has received positive assessments from accredited foreign observers representing CIS, ODIHR/OSCE and PACE.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20070201.htmlThu, 01 Feb 2007 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20070201.htmlThe assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on January 19 in Istanbul galvanized two nations in ways that no analyst or political leader could have fathomed. While all the sides, Armenian or Turkish, agree that what happened was a tragedy, there have been many different interpretations and reactions to Mr. Dink’s assassination. It should be pointed out that while most of the reactions and actions were spontaneous, there were cases where a conscious attempt was discernible by groups to appropriate this tragedy for political ends.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20060517.htmlWed, 17 May 2006 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20060517.htmlThe announcement on May 11, that Artur Baghdasarian will resign from his post as the speaker of Armenia’s parliament and that his party, Orinats Yerkir (Country of Law) will withdraw from the ruling coalition has redrawn Armenia’s political landscape significantly. The schism between Orinats Yerkir (OY) and the ruling coalition - comprised of the Republican Party of Armenia and the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) - has been escalating over the past several weeks when Baghdasarian stepped up his criticism of the government on the latter’s both foreign and domestic policies.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20060411.htmlTue, 11 Apr 2006 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20060411.htmlBalance of Power in South Caucasus and the Probability for Resumption of War in Nagorno Karabakh BACKGROUND In the weeks that followed the failed Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations in Rambouillet, the Azerbaijani government spared no time or energy to carry out major war propaganda through every media outlet in Azerbaijan. The constant barrage of threats against the republics of Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh were rather unprecedented in their consistency and ferocity compared to similar remarks made by the Azerbaijani authorities for the last few years.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20060301.htmlWed, 01 Mar 2006 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20060301.htmlForeign Peacekeepers in Nagorno Karabakh: another source for stability or cause for concern? BACKGROUND As the negotiations for the resolution of the Armenian-Azeri conflict over Nagorno Karabakh continue, a series of public statements were recently made by the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Chairman of OSCE Minsk Group Karel De Gucht and Project Director of International Crisis Group Sabine Frezier[1] that indicated that the possibility of deploying foreign peace keepers in the conflict zone is currently being discussed.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20060131.htmlTue, 31 Jan 2006 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20060131.htmlSince 1994, shortly after its independence, Armenia signed tax treaties to avoid double taxation of income and profits with 27 countries. In many ways these efforts reflect the expansion in economic activity in Armenia, and the flow of foreign investments. Tax treaties deal with problems that arise when residents, individuals and business entities, of one nation earn income in another country. More specifically, these agreements set out a framework for the tax treatment of income and profits flowing between Armenia and treaty partner countries.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20060128.htmlSat, 28 Jan 2006 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20060128.htmlBackground With the coming of the New Year, Armenia came face to face with a problem that may undermine its national security as a viable and sovereign nation-state. The problem in question is the role played by major business monopolies in Armenia and their ability to undermine the positive performance of Armenia’s economy. Among many, the problem that is most acute is Armenia’s heavy reliance on Russian gas monopoly, Gazprom, for the deliveries of its natural gas to the country.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20051205.htmlMon, 05 Dec 2005 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20051205.htmlArmenia has a long and proud tradition of education and training in mathematics and the sciences, as well as in the arts and music. Given the very same historic legacy, however, Armenia began its independence in 1991 endowed with very few professionals trained in finance, management science, and economics. The absence of such professionals and training institutions has left its marks on the governance and management of the economy, with consequences so deleterious that they raise doubts on whether Armenia will become a fully functioning economy any time soon.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20050912.htmlMon, 12 Sep 2005 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20050912.htmlNEW FOREST CODE & RELATED LEGISLATION Armenia’s Endangered Forests This spring a series of discussions began in Yerevan and several regions (“marzes”) of Armenia focusing on the draft new forest code. These discussions, organized by Armenian Forests NGO with the support of an Open Society Institute public policy formation grant, have sought to engage key NGOs and others in the realization of this proposed Code and related implementation. These discussions were aimed to inform and prepare people for the introduction of the draft code in Parliament.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20050614.htmlTue, 14 Jun 2005 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20050614.htmlWe have been experiencing so-called democratic revolutions around the world today. These opposition movements from the Caucasus to Central Asia, from Iraq to Ukraine, are toppling the old regimes and their state structures. Inexperienced opposition movements and their leaders are taking over the state and have continued to control the entire society on behalf of democracy in the Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Iraq, Lebanon and many more countries both now, and more to come [1].https://ann.org/ro/ro-20050331.htmlThu, 31 Mar 2005 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20050331.htmlIn the upcoming days, the Armenian parliament will be discussing a bill that proposes to permanently lift the constitutional ban on dual citizenship in Armenia. This would seem like a perfectly logical thing to do in the Armenian context, something that would finally unite the divided nation in the wake of the 90th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. A noble thing to do, indeed, if only the bill were not doomed to fail in the parliamentary vote.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20041006.htmlWed, 06 Oct 2004 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20041006.htmlSUMMARY On September 18, 2004, former Defense Minister of Nagorno Karabakh Samvel Babayan was released from maximum-security prison in Shushi after being pardoned by the person whom he had been convicted of trying to assassinate in March 2000, Nagorno Karabakh President Arkady Ghukasyan. Samvel Babayan had spent a total of 55 months in detention, having been sentenced to 14 years during a trial in Stepanakert in February 2001. The release of the former military leader and acclaimed hero of the Artsakh war Samvel Babayan was not given an official explanation.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20040513.htmlThu, 13 May 2004 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20040513.htmlAfter weeks of promises to force President Robert Kocharian out of office, the opposition parties in Armenia started a series of protests and demonstration first in various cities of Armenia and then in the capital itself. Although the opposition parties managed to have a united stand, the protests have yet to achieve their goals. The ruling coalition, on the other hand, condemned the attempts of the opposition party to “destabilize” the country and supported the regime’s actions to disperse the protesters and bring the country back to order.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20040405.htmlMon, 05 Apr 2004 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20040405.htmlOver the past several weeks the Armenian political landscape has been filled with calls for power change. These calls made by the opposition might not have been taken seriously by many political analysts however the way the government and the ruling coalition has been reacting to it tells a different story. The super-charged political atmosphere is also marred by incidents of beatings and arrests of not only opposition party members but also independent human rights activists - an event which might be an indicator of the governments’ nervousness and inability to deal with dissent.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20040317.htmlWed, 17 Mar 2004 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20040317.htmlThe brutal murder of the Armenian army Lieutenant Gurgen Margarian in Budapest in the hands of his Azerbaijani colleague Lieutenant Ramil Safarov on February 19, 2004 raised many questions and eyebrows. The nature and context of the killing itself were both horrendous and indicative of the continued hatred and mistrust between the two nations. The killing also occurred while the Armenian-Azerbaijani negotiations on Karabakh have been in stalemate and it symbolizes the difficult path that both countries face to reach a peaceful resolution of the conflict.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20040122.htmlThu, 22 Jan 2004 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20040122.htmlFor more than six months, the South Caucasus has been locked in a significant period of political transition. Each of the region’s three states, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia, has faced a daunting set of internal obstacles and challenges during this transitional period, compounded by a varying degree of incomplete or weakened statehood, systemic corruption and a pronounced trend of authoritarian rule. Each state also faces greater insecurity and vulnerability stemming from the dramatic shift in regional geopolitics in the wake of the new post-September 11 strategic landscape, and remains hostage to the course of the new U.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20031124.htmlMon, 24 Nov 2003 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20031124.htmlAfter elections concluded in Armenia and Azerbaijan, Georgia held its parliamentary elections on November 2. The three countries of the South Caucasus came under immense scrutiny by international observers for violating a set of rules and for holding unfair and fraudulent elections. It should be noted that in all three countries, the government and pro-government parties and presidents have witnessed an increase in activism by their respective oppositions. What varied in the three countries was the method by which the oppositions were handled.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030901.htmlMon, 01 Sep 2003 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030901.htmlIn Armenian reality the issue of integrating all aspects of life into a common and mainstream national rhetoric is an obsession. This is not surprising since like many small nations, which have faced mass extinction and managed to avoid it, national or nationalist rhetoric seems to provide some comfort and at the same time explain things in simple terms for mass consumption. The Western academia (mostly social sciences) is one of the main challengers of any conventional wisdom and national rhetoric.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030812.htmlTue, 12 Aug 2003 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030812.htmlThe definition of foreign policy is a very broad one. It may be implemented on groups, organizations (political or otherwise), nations, and in the most common and traditional sense, states. In our modern world, the need to conduct foreign policy has become one of the most pressing issues for any government. Foreign policy is the method the major venue through which countries engage in self-promotion, pursuing political, economic or other agendas.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030715.htmlTue, 15 Jul 2003 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030715.htmlDuring the past four decades, the study of small states within the US academia has seen some resurgence. Most of the studies however were form a security perspective (starting with Anette Baker Fox’s ‘The Power of Small States’) and disregarded a set of concerns that dealt with the domestic concerns of small powers. Later on there were attempts to ‘fix’ this problem by concentrating on the study of small states from domestic perspectives by studying the relations between size on the one hand and democracy (Robert Dahl and Edward Tufte, ‘Size and Democracy’), political and economic development on the other.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030707.htmlMon, 07 Jul 2003 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030707.htmlOn June 28, 2003 President Robert Kocharian of Armenia paid his first official state visit after his controversial re-election as president. During the visit Kocharian met with Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze as well as with the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Nino Burjanadze and discussed a host of issues relevant to the two countries. At the end of the two-day visit the two presidents signed a series of cooperation agreements mostly in the spheres of economy, education and culture.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030701.htmlTue, 01 Jul 2003 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030701.htmlSince the independence of Armenia, over twelve years ago, the Armenian Diaspora was mobilized in an unprecedented way in support of the new Republic. Although fragmented in their agendas, the various Armenian organizations in the Diaspora (both in the Western and Eastern hemispheres) realized that they are facing a challenge for which they should have been preparing for over the seventy years when they existed and operated as Diasporan organizations.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030325.htmlTue, 25 Mar 2003 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030325.htmlANTELIAS, LEBANON The events of September 11th brought into question the conventional understanding of power. They demonstrated to the world that arrogance of power and vulnerability of power are intertwined. September 11th happened against the background of a world characterized by terrorism, religious extremism, ethnic conflict, neo-racism and neo-militarism, and it remains a tangible and painful reminder of a world that is in a state of disorientation, and disintegration. After September 11th the world changed.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030313.htmlThu, 13 Mar 2003 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030313.htmlAbstract The current post-Soviet bureaucracy in South Caucasian republics, and notably in ethnically diverse Azerbaijan and Georgia, has yet been unable to link ethnicity, territory, and political administration in the process of state-building and democratic development. Bureaucratic evolution from communism to liberalism has simply contributed to the establishment of a handy “electoral democracy” and lucrative economic liberalism for the elites. Since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, particularistic identities, reinforced differences, and fragmentation of societies have been the dominant characteristics of the South Caucasian republics of Armenia, Georgia, and Azerbaijan (or Trans-Caucasus).https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030217.htmlMon, 17 Feb 2003 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030217.htmlINITIAL OBSERVATIONS The electoral season in Armenia, unlike in the United States, does not kick off officially until a month prior to the elections. The candidates, naturally, begin campaigning ‘unofficially’ long before the permitted beginning date of the campaign, but just as in the prior Presidential elections, the campaigning season did not start in earnest until January 21. The campaigning has to cease at midnight on February 17, and the Armenian voters will take a day off before heading to the polls on February 19.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030107.htmlTue, 07 Jan 2003 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20030107.html“Law Concerning Lake Sevan” and “Overall and Annual Plans for Lake Sevan” Translated and Edited by Anne Shirinian-Orlando [Note: All data in this document is official government data obtained from various ministries. ] BRIEF HISTORY Lake Sevan, located in the Caucasus region and in the extreme northeast of the Armenian Plateau, is one of the largest high altitude freshwater lakes in the world. The lake is surrounded by high volcanic mountains, which rise to over 3,500 meters above sea level.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20021115.htmlFri, 15 Nov 2002 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20021115.htmlCLASH OF PRINCIPLES? AIM-ArmeniaWeek Conflict Highlights the Contentious Role and Ownership of Media in Armenia PART II: INTERVIEW WITH SALPI H. GHAZARIAN YEREVAN, ARMENIA For years the Armenian International Magazine (AIM), the Los Angeles-based monthly magazine, claimed to represent virtually the only Armenian “free thinking and free press” (AIM, October 2001, p. 10). It declared itself to be the champion of “an independent press vital to the development of a democratic society in Armenia and democratic institutions in the Diaspora” (ArmeniaWeek.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20021114.htmlThu, 14 Nov 2002 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20021114.htmlCLASH OF PRINCIPLES? AIM-ArmeniaWeek Conflict Highlights the Contentious Role and Ownership of Media in Armenia PART I: INTERVIEW WITH TONY HALPIN AND JOHN HUGHES By Groong Research & Analysis Group YEREVAN, ARMENIA For years the Armenian International Magazine (AIM), the Los Angeles-based monthly magazine, had claimed to represent virtually the only Armenian “free thinking and free press” (AIM, October 2001, p. 10). It claimed to be the champion of “an independent press vital to the development of a democratic society in Armenia and democratic institutions in the Diaspora” (ArmeniaWeek.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020911.htmlWed, 11 Sep 2002 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020911.htmlIn the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, leading analysts heralded the beginning of a new era in international relations. The post-Cold War ended ‘dramatically,’ wrote the Argentine expert in international politics, Juan Gabriel Tokatlian. British historian John Gray, went further to sustain that ’the era of globalization is over,’ and U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, even compared the forthcoming period to that of 1945-1947.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020724.htmlWed, 24 Jul 2002 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020724.htmlBaku appears to offer more substantial ideas to break the impasse in the Karabakh negotiations, but Yerevan needs to be cautious. Azerbaijan’s recent unofficial offers, discussed with a former top Armenian negotiator, indicate Baku’s retreat from previously stated policy of maintaining a full blockade of Armenia until a final settlement is achieved. Reportedly Baku is proposing normalization of trade relations with Armenia before a final solution is achieved. It appears that Baku is implicitly reconciling with the idea that Karabakh may become part of Armenia; and that not all territories under Armenian control will be returned.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020624.htmlMon, 24 Jun 2002 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020624.htmlYEREVAN, ARMENIA Is there oil and gas in Armenia? Yes, there is, as proven by oil recovered from the Shorakhpur-1P well east of Yerevan (the old Russian drilling rig can still be seen on the right hand side of the main road to Garni, close to Voghchaberd village), and the well south-west of Armavir (Oktemberyan-13E) which flowed gas for six months. These prove that the right conditions for oil and gas accumulations exist.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020607.htmlFri, 07 Jun 2002 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020607.html“Hayasdane polor hayeri hayrenike e” - Armenia is the fatherland of all Armenians. This was the motto of the second Armenia-Diaspora pan-national conference [khohrtazhoghov]. Organized by the Armenian Foreign Ministry, the goal of the conference was to link up diasporan Armenians with Armenia, with the explicit aim of generating investment and economic assistance. The message, “invest in Armenia,” or “assist Armenia” was the main point of the conference, and the “subtext” of all the events.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020128.htmlMon, 28 Jan 2002 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020128.htmlLev M. Freinkman The World Bank Paper presented at the 11th Annual meeting of the ASCE. Coral Gables, August 2-4, 2001. INTRODUCTION In the second half of the 20th century several world economies have benefited considerably by capitalizing on their links with national Diasporas. China and Israel seem to be the best-known examples of countries that received a major developmental push from their nationals located throughout the world. While in most countries the main Diaspora-related benefit for the domestic economy was and still is associated with private transfers (including remittances), sent by members of Diasporas to their relatives and friends at home, China and Israel managed to complement this traditional financial support by much more active involvement of the Diaspora in their economic development.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020116.htmlWed, 16 Jan 2002 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20020116.htmlIt is now clear that the “War On Terrorism” (WOT), declared after the September 11 terrorist attacks against the United States, will not end with the final defeat of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan nor with the dismantling of the Bin Laden-led “Al-Qaida” terrorist network, but will carry on to a next stage, still to be determined. For much of the developing world, the priority is to stake out a secure place within this new geopolitical matrix, a priority necessitated by the U.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20011201.htmlSat, 01 Dec 2001 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20011201.htmlIntroduction The war in Afghanistan and related events have put the flare-up of fighting in Georgia in early October very much at the “low priority” end of international concerns. Moreover, the Georgian President’s sacking of his government in early November, and the current strains within the political elite in the capital, have shifted the focus of many experts from the “on the ground” tensions in and around Abkhazia to power politics in Tbilisi.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20011008.htmlMon, 08 Oct 2001 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20011008.htmlCompleting a five-day visit to the United States, Georgian President Eduard Shevardnadze met with U.S. President George Bush and other senior Administration officials in the White House on Friday, October 5th. The Shevardnadze visit to Washington, although scheduled since late August, was an important opportunity for the Georgian president to attempt to determine his country’s position within the new realities of the post-September 11th U.S. policy in the region. In the meetings and speeches of his visit to the United States, President Shevardnadze was anxious to demonstrate his nation’s strategic value in the face of an evolving U.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010924.htmlMon, 24 Sep 2001 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010924.htmlThe aftermath of the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington on September 11, 2001, have left most Americans convinced that the country will no longer be the same. Such sentiment is also true for much of the world. Had these attacks occurred in any other country the impact would certainly not be as global. But by hitting the world’s only superpower at the very heart of its most important institutions, the attacks have rocked the very foundations of global stability.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010831.htmlFri, 31 Aug 2001 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010831.htmlMuch has been written in recent weeks concerning the Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission (hereafter, the TARC) and its rather sudden appearance as an influential actor in Armenian foreign policy, namely representatives. Although there has been a flurry of commentary and analyses regarding the TARC, - overwhelmingly critical, - there are several important points that recent debate has not adequately covered. It is our intention, therefore, to frame the issue within a broader context, with an intention to formulate a balanced analysis, remaining as objective as we can.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010804.htmlSat, 04 Aug 2001 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010804.htmlGROONG INTERVIEW WITH TURKISH-ARMENIAN RECONCILIATION COMMISSION (TARC) MEMBERS VAN Z. KRIKORIAN AND ANDRANIK MIGRANIAN GROONG: How were you approached to join the committee? Who approached you? What were the criteria for your selection? JOINT ANSWER: All four of the Armenian members of the Commission came together on this issue as a result of a number of conversations and knowledge of one another’s background and work over the years. The two of us have known each other since 1991 when Van went to Moscow as a member of the U.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010730.htmlMon, 30 Jul 2001 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010730.htmlWhen I attended former Turkish Ambassador Sukru Elekdag’s denialist talk at Columbia University this spring, I was struck by one of the comments by an audience member. Rather than engage Elekdag in a false debate, the gentleman reminded the audience that Poland is only just now undergoing a painful soul-searching about the roles played by ordinary Poles in the implementation of the Final Solution. He cited the controversy surrounding the publication of Jan T.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010601.htmlFri, 01 Jun 2001 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010601.htmlThe recent announcement by the officials mediating the Nagorno Karabagh conflict, - that their planned summit meeting originally announced for Geneva is now postponed, - affirms recent reports that domestic opposition to the mediation initiative remains firmly entrenched in both Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the international security body mediating the Nagorno Karabagh conflict, explained that after a regional tour earlier in May they found that ’the people of Armenia and Azerbaijan are not yet prepared to accept the proposed solutions to the problem.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010515.htmlTue, 15 May 2001 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010515.htmlOn the eve of the Karabakh Talks in Geneva: What does Armenia gain or lose from a peace agreement? The long and torturous road towards the resolution of the Karabakh conflict will reach Geneva next month. The meeting is a follow up to what has been described as “momentous” talks between the Presidents of Armenian and Azerbaijan, first in Paris in March, then in Key West in April. According to Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian, the parties came “closer than ever to a solution.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010430.htmlMon, 30 Apr 2001 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010430.htmlAn important, yet subtle development in U.S. foreign policy in the Caucasus was virtually obscured by the flurry of announcements and press briefings of April’s Key West mediation effort attempting to secure a negotiated resolution to the Nagorno Karabagh conflict. The Key West meetings between the Armenian and Azerbaijani delegations represents the first real effort at U.S. Transcaucasus summitry in the post-Clinton period of foreign relations. Demonstrating the maxim of the random nature of foreign policy challenges, the Key West talks were overshadowed by the confrontation between the U.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010415.htmlSun, 15 Apr 2001 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010415.htmlTen years after the end of the Cold War, the international political atmosphere has evidently become more conducive for the official recognition by Western governments and international organizations of the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Even former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger finds the Turkish denial unexplainable and thinks ‘activist Armenians will help get’ eventual recognition from the US government (1). The reference attributed to Hitler, “who remembers the Armenians?” has been one of the most quoted sentences in media articles calling for recognition.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010326.htmlMon, 26 Mar 2001 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20010326.htmlOverview The recent announcement by the Georgian government to establish a development plan for Javakhk, if seriously and sincerely implemented, may be an important first step to prevent regional destabilization. Nevertheless, the risks of a conflict resulting both from internal oppression and external instigation would be minimized and in fact contained only if Javakhk is granted autonomy based on the right of self-determination of its local population. By looking at the precedent of Ajaria, the argument that Javakhk’s autonomy would threaten Georgia’s sovereignty is found to be weak.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20001110.htmlFri, 10 Nov 2000 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20001110.htmlWith the French Senate’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide and the heated debates in the US House of Representatives in September, Turkey is under international pressure on the question of the Genocide. Meanwhile, Yerevan and Armenian communities around the world have stepped up their efforts for the recognition of the “crime against humanity”. The French Senate passed a bill on November 8, submitted by five parties, which simply stated: “France publicly recognizes the Armenian genocide in 1915.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20000919.htmlTue, 19 Sep 2000 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20000919.htmlArmenia has had very low inflation (decreasing year after year) for almost 4 years, stable domestic currency, average level of budget deficit and GDP growth. This is considered proof that reforms are going in the right direction and financial stability has been achieved, an efficient market economy has been created and all preconditions for strong economic growth and investment flow to Armenia have been established. But what we see now in reality is strong economic stagnation, very low levels of investment activity, acute social problems and problems of poverty, which go contrary to what one of the major official macroeconomic indicators show - permanent GDP growth from year to year.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20000907.htmlThu, 07 Sep 2000 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20000907.htmlA few months ago, Ara Krikorian, an Armenian activist campaigning for the recognition of the Armenian Genocide by the French Senate was invited to speak at the hall of the Catholicosate of the Great House of Cilicia in Antelias. When he stated that he expected some progress in the following few months, for French politicians usually take positions favorable to the Armenian voters when the election-day approaches, the largely Armenian audience greeted this remark with a loud laughter of approval.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20000705.htmlWed, 05 Jul 2000 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20000705.htmlARMENIAN STATE TELEVISION GIVES UNPRECEDENTED COVERAGE TO THE PARIS MEETING OF ARMENIAN AND TURKISH INTELLECTUALS; USES OPPORTUNITY TO ATTACK GERARD J. LIBARIDIAN; ON THE PURSUIT FOR GENOCIDE RECOGNITION AND DIALOGUE REGARDING IT. BEIRUT, LEBANON The First Channel of Armenian State Television, which also broadcasts via satellite to Europe and the Middle East, offered unprecedented and extensive coverage to the June 17, 2000 meeting between a selected number of Armenian and Turkish intellectuals.https://ann.org/ro/ro-lzourabian-20000429.htmlSat, 29 Apr 2000 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-lzourabian-20000429.htmlYerevan, Armenia On October 27th, 1999 five gunmen broke into the chamber of the National Assembly of Armenia during the weekly session of parliamentary inquiries addressed to the Government and opened fire. Within seconds they had killed the Prime Minister of Armenia as well as the Chairman of the Parliament, his two deputies and 4 other members of the Parliament and the Government, whose nearly total membership was present at the session.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20000421.htmlFri, 21 Apr 2000 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20000421.htmlPresident Kocharian dismisses senior ambassador in continuing power consolidation. On Wednesday, April 20, 2000, President Robert Kocharian dismissed Armen Sarkissian, Armenia’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom and the country’s most senior diplomat in Europe. President Kocharian did not provide any explanation for Ambassador Sarkissian’s dismissal. Foreign Ministry sources only said that his sacking was in line with recent efforts to reduce ambassadorial tenures to a “maximum of four years”, but Sarkissian’s sacking reveals a deeper political malaise in Armenia.https://ann.org/ro/ro-20000124.htmlMon, 24 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-20000124.htmlIn an article published in the “Moscow Obshchaya Gazeta” last week, Yerevan sociologist Ludmilla Arutunyan expressed her concerns that the ‘social underpinnings’ behind the assassination of Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisyan and several others in the Armenian National Assembly on 27 October 1999 have been disregarded. According to the article, some are already asking - and most notably, among the general population rather than in the political circles of Yerevan, - why Nairi Hunanyan could not have acted alone.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19991218.htmlSat, 18 Dec 1999 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19991218.htmlRepresentatives from the OSCE met with the Foreign Minister and President of Armenia last Saturday to discuss the future of Nagorno Karabagh. The delegation also visited the enclave and are said to be optimistic after their meetings with the Karabagh leadership. The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Vardan Oskanian however, is reported to be concerned that tensions between the United States and Russia over Chechnya may adversely affect their cooperation as members of the Minsk Group, and all sides are aware that the discussions are just that - ‘discussions’ - and not concrete steps towards a final peace settlement.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19991101.htmlMon, 01 Nov 1999 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19991101.htmlArmenia is not a stranger to various kinds of political crises and even political assassinations since she regained her independence over eight years ago. By all standards, however, what happened in the Armenian Parliament building last Wednesday afternoon was undoubtedly both extraordinary and shocking. Eight politicians lost their lives during the terrorist attack, including two of the country’s most famous and most powerful. Others are still in hospital in serious condition.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19991027.htmlWed, 27 Oct 1999 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19991027.htmlElection of Catholicos Armenia 1999 - Between the First and the Second Day Yerevan Yerevan 27. October 1999 19.00 (+0500 Armenian Daylight Time) Right about now, the National Ecclesiastical Council consisting of the 49 bishops, archbishops and patriarchs along with 400 priests and lay delegates appointed in the patriarchies and dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church worldwide elects the new catholicos. Yesterday it became clear that this election is between archbishop Karekin Nersessian, for many years bishop in the Ararat Diocese, the largest Armenian diocese with almost 1 mil.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19991025.htmlMon, 25 Oct 1999 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19991025.htmlYerevan 25. October 1999 20.30 (+0500 Armenian Daylight Time) Soon it will be decided who is to be elected the absolute head of the Armenian Apostolic Church. Two questions have been important in the previous debate, be it in the media or be it among ordinary people and believers, namely the claimed intervention of the government in the election process and the claimed lack of unity among the clerics in the top leadership of the Church.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19990617.htmlThu, 17 Jun 1999 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19990617.htmlArmine is twenty-two years old, and – speaking Armenian, Russian and French – a recent University graduate. She has long black hair, expressive eyes, and a warm smile, and is very attractive. Like other girls her age and from her background she dresses stylishly, and with taste. She shows me photographs of her friends from recent years, and talks of her life. Her mother is critically ill and requires medical treatment.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19990226.htmlFri, 26 Feb 1999 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19990226.htmlOn 21 March the Kurds will celebrate Newroz - the Kurdish New Year - and perhaps the most important date in the Kurdish calendar. As in past years, the fire of Newroz will burn not only in the Kurdish regions of southeast Turkey, but also in every city from London to Yerevan. Symbolising revolution, there will of course be one dramatic difference in the Newroz festivities this year. Abdullah Ocalan, President of the Kurdistan Workers Party languishes - and is undoubtedly being tortured - in a Turkish jail.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19981201.htmlTue, 01 Dec 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19981201.htmlAfter being pursued from Syria to Moscow, Abdullah Ocalan-leader of the PKK, the separatist guerrilla insurgency which seeks autonomy for Turkey’s large Kurdish minority-has fled to Italy. An Italian court has ruled that its country’s constitution prohibits Ocalan from being extradited to Turkey because he would most likely be executed. The State Department and much of the American media have criticized Italy for upholding its constitution while overlooking a far more important consideration: that Turkey has reacted more like a militant Mideast backwater than a NATO ally.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19981130.htmlMon, 30 Nov 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19981130.htmlA Geopolitical shift The Kurdish National Liberation Movement Onnik Krikorian The expulsion from Damascus of Abdullah Ocalan - President of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) - and the ensuing migration of Kurdish guerillas based on Syrian soil has changed little in the conflict between the Turkish Republic and its [significant] Kurdish minority. There has long been an understanding in Kurdish circles - particularly in Europe - that confrontation with the Turkish military was becoming far too unrealistic a situation to continue.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19981123.htmlMon, 23 Nov 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19981123.htmlThe arrival of Abdullah Ocalan in Rome has put the Kurdish struggle for autonomy in southeast Turkey firmly on the geopolitical map. Whether you sympathise with the situation of the Kurds or not - or are even indifferent - there is now no avoiding the importance of the need for political debate and discussion. It is, of course, important to distinguish between the Kurds as an ethnic identity living across the many countries of the near and Middle East, and the Kurds living within the borders of the Turkish Republic.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19981116.htmlMon, 16 Nov 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19981116.html“Hundreds of comrades who waged heroic resistance have become martyrs in the struggle for the establishment of the state of Kurdistan. They are markers on the path to victory, symbols of the revolutionary leadership of our party.” Abdullah Ocalan President, Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) Analysis: A Calculated Risk? Onnik Krikorian OCALAN - NOW MORE THAN EVER - HAS BECOME WITHOUT QUESTION THE EMBODIMENT AND PERSONIFICATION OF THE KURDISH STRUGGLE.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980921.htmlMon, 21 Sep 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980921.htmlThe responses which this straightforward query has elicited recently have often been confused and sometimes oddly heated. I’m prompted to comment on this and related questions by the nature of the debate and will touch. “Haigagan Hartz” is not so much an Armenian coinage as it is a translation of a western diplomatic term, “The Armenian Question” or, since French used to be the diplomatic lingua franca of the European powers, La Question Armenienne.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980814.htmlFri, 14 Aug 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980814.htmlALIYEV INVITES KOCHARIAN Global Strategies Shape Regional Developments When recently Azerbaijani President Heydar Aliyev invited Armenian President Robert Kocharian to attend an EU-sponsored international conference in Baku, to discuss prospects for the successful implementation of the TRACECA (Transport Corridor Europe Caucasus Asia) program, many observers and analysts were caught off guard. In Armenia, the “surprise” invitation caused speculation on the real political motives of Azerbaijan. Some think the invitation is a diplomatic trap for Armenia, intended to embarrass the Kocharian administration and score political points for Aliyev.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980514.htmlThu, 14 May 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980514.htmlThe War Against Democracy The Turkish state has been fighting the guerrillas of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) since 1984. The protracted violence has turned into endless full-scale warfare that holds the whole of society in its grip. It now defines, conditions and shapes the entire Turkish polity. This is not the first time the Turkish state has fought the Kurds. According to former Turkish President Suleyman Demirel, the Kurds have risen up against the Turkish state 28 times, only to be ruthlessly overwhelmed by the Turkish Army.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980417.htmlFri, 17 Apr 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980417.htmlWhile the presidential elections in Azerbaijan expected this autumn are not likely to bring any surprises, and the current president, as long as he is alive and well and continues in office, the Azerbaijani political scene can not be considered entirely stable and predictable. The main source of tension and potential future volatility is the uncertainty surrounding the issue of succession to Heydar Aliyev. As different political groups and personalities begin to position themselves for the coming struggle, the presidential campaign may become a proving ground of sorts for forces both outside and within the ruling elite who are looking beyond October 1998.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980402.htmlThu, 02 Apr 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980402.htmlAn Analysis of 18 reports by Lawrence Sheets from Yerevan Reuters’ journalistic objectivity and reputation have become questionable in the wake of its deeply biased coverage of the recent presidential elections in Armenia. Content analysis of reports filed by its reporter, Lawrence Sheets, reveals a pattern of systematic bias and excessive subjectivity. Mr. Sheets’s 18 reports from Yerevan, between March 12 and March 31, clearly indicate a consistent pattern of bias and suspicious personal agenda in four areas: 1) unequal description of the two front-runners; 2) exclusion of non-OSCE observer statements and evaluations; 3) patronizing attitude toward Armenia; 4) excessive use of unnamed sources.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980313.htmlFri, 13 Mar 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980313.htmlThe presidential election on March 16 will bring to power Armenia’s second leader since independence. Prospects for democracy, political stability and international credibility depend on the holding of a free, fair and non- violent poll. After flawed parliamentary elections in 1995 and Ter-Petrosian’s disputed victory in the 1996 presidential contest, the conduct of the current poll will shape domestic prospects for democratic politics and international confidence in Armenia’s stable democratic development.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980312.htmlThu, 12 Mar 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980312.htmlWith just a few days left before the presidential elections, the former Soviet Armenian boss of 14 years is reported to be in the lead. What do we have? Polls conducted by an organization ostensibly allied with the caretaker president Robert Kocharian, give Karen Demirchian some 40% of the vote. Kocharian himself is said to come second with 30% and the leader of the National-Democratic Union and first post-Soviet Armenian Prime-Minister Vazgen Manukian third with 15%.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980309.htmlMon, 09 Mar 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980309.htmlThe elections forthcoming this month provide Armenia with a remarkable opportunity to renew the economic transition that began six years ago. In some ways Armenia has proved itself resilient: its decline in living standards was one of the sharpest in transition (from 1990 levels output fell by almost two-thirds by 1994) and the depreciation of the savings of its citizens one of the largest. While it has displayed high growth rates since then, these come from a very low base.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980207.htmlSat, 07 Feb 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980207.htmlThe President of Armenia Levon Ter-Petrossian (LTP) resigned after his power ministers expressed their disagreement with his policies, several of his supporters quit, and the ruling coalition in the parliament collapsed. The apparent point of disagreement was the fate of Nagorno Karabakh, but there are several other causes which reinforced the main rift among the power elites and made the populace tacitly or overtly supportive of the ‘soft’ coup: rampant poverty, corruption and fixed parliamentary (1995) and presidential (1996) elections.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980206.htmlFri, 06 Feb 1998 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19980206.htmlPOLITICAL CRISIS IN ARMENIA Armenia faces its first major post-Soviet leadership change Weeks of political crisis in Armenia took a sharp turn when President Levon Ter-Petrosian announced his resignation on February 3. Forces opposed to Ter- Petrosian’s compromise stance on Nagorno-Karabakh appear set for ascendancy in Armenia for some time. The roots of the dispute which led to Levon Ter-Petrosian’s resignation as president lie in his decision last autumn to back the proposals of the OSCE Minsk Group for a resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19971223.htmlTue, 23 Dec 1997 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19971223.htmlIn late December, the OSCE Ministerial Council in Copenhagen marked the end of Armenia’s yearlong efforts of political recovery subsequent to the Lisbon Summit in December 1996. Contrary to expectations and due to Armenia’s diplomatic efforts, the Ministerial Council did not make any substantive declarations concerning Nagorno Karabakh. Armenia characterized the outcome in Copenhagen as “positive,” since it did not create “additional obstacles” for the peace process in general. The resolution of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict will continue to dominate Armenia’s political and foreign relations agenda in 1998.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19971117.htmlMon, 17 Nov 1997 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19971117.html“If Turkey’s Warlords asassinate the hope for the peaceful solution that we legislator’s represent, the road is open for Kurds to switch massively to the camp of violence and Islamic fundamentalism. And if the Kurds, next door to Iran’s Islamic revolutionaries, switch, then all Turkey will follow suit. And woe on us all.” Leyla Zana, Imprisoned Kurdish MP and Sakharov Peace Prize Winner Turkey easily lives up to its own promotion of being enviably unique in its meeting of east and west, but it is also a country that is deeply schizophrenic and confused.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19971022.htmlWed, 22 Oct 1997 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19971022.htmlKing Banaian Less than a year ago, Armenia’s stabilization was being lauded from all sides as a great triumph. GDP expanded for two years straight; inflation fell to a western standard of 5.7% in 1996, and real incomes were beginning to grow again. Its growth rate was faster than any other CIS country, and that inflation figure for 1996 beat even the well-cheered performance of the Baltic states. The international arbiters of macroeconomic excellence, the International Monetary Fund, however, sounded a worried note while releasing the second tranche of Armenia’s $47 million-a-year ESAF loan:https://ann.org/ro/ro-19971006.htmlMon, 06 Oct 1997 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19971006.htmlEVENT: Senior presidential adviser Jirair (Gerard) Libaridian resigned. SIGNIFICANCE: Libaridian’s departure comes at a time when Armenia has been mounting a relatively successful effort to build its international ties. ANALYSIS: On September 15, Jirair Libaridian announced that President Levon Ter-Petrosian had accepted his resignation as a senior foreign policy advisor, on purely personal grounds. Libaridian has been a key architect of Armenian foreign policy since independence, playing a central role in negotiations over Nagorno Karabakh and in warming relations with Turkey.https://ann.org/ro/ro-19970917.htmlWed, 17 Sep 1997 00:00:00 +0000https://ann.org/ro/ro-19970917.htmlAlmost every day now media outlets report on the continuous multinational effort to forge out a final peace settlement in the nine year-old conflict between the government of Azerbaijan and the people of the de- facto independent Nagorno Karabakh Republic-Artsakh. Their reports generally contain a brief on a recent round of talks, where parties would once again reiterate their incompatible positions, with mediators privately promising a diplomatic breakthrough soon. Over the years such reports have become enveloped in the usual repetition of grim statistics: tallies numbering the dead and refugees, and areas occupied.