The Real Tragedy is What Hasn’t Happened After the Earthquake

 Ara Khatchatourian

Once again we are commemorating the anniversary of the tragic earthquake that hit Armenia on December 7, 1988. As we honor the victims of that tragedy, we must tell ourselves that we, as a nation, have failed to rebuild the earthquake zone, which almost 30 years later is still labeled the “disaster zone.”

Some 550 families are still homeless victims of the earthquake, living in makeshift metal containers scattered around Gyumri, Spitak, Akhourian and other rural areas that were devastated by the earthquake. Yet some 47 miles from Spitak, the epicenter of the earthquake, cranes dot the skyline of Yerevan, with new residential and commercial building mushrooming in a city that has become a virtual construction zone.

Politics of Development within the Country

Razmig Shirinian

 

In a recent summit of Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian advised the member countries not to politicize the organization by discussing the Karabagh war as leverage in economic relations. In the midst of poverty, two sons of Armenia’s Finance Minister bought an $11 million mansion in Westwood, CA. (*) These and similar diplomatic and economic incidents would provide an opportunity to reflect on the current Armenian political predicament.

The Gradual Demise of Our Collective Memory

Garo Armenian

Translated by Rupen Janbazian

 

While the capital city shuts off the lights and prepares for sleep in its endless bliss of naive trust, an invisible monster lurks the city streets. It travels from avenue to avenue and from city square to city square targeting all that still stands witness to our collective memory.

And so, you wake up one morning to the sudden realization that your fate has already been sealed. You wake up and discover that you no longer have history. Someone has hijacked the soul of your city. Someone has stolen a piece of your collective identity.

Self-determined citizens? A new wave of civic activism in Armenia

Armine Ishkanian

 

Since 2010, protests sparked by civic initiatives have become very common in Armenia’s capital Yerevan and, to a lesser extent, in the smaller cities of Gyumri and Vanadzor. Civic initiatives in Armenia address a range of issues including the environment, cultural preservation, consumer rights, labour and employment issues, as well as human rights. However, they are distinct from formal, professionalized NGOs in a number of key aspects, which include the issues they address, their organizational structures, their repertories of action, and their lack of engagement with foreign donors.

Similar to the movements discussed by Kerstin Jacobsen, Ionel Sava and others recently in openMovements, civic initiatives in Armenia represent a new wave of civic activism in the post-Soviet period. 

The Cup Runneth Over: A New Era of Oligarchic Competition

Serouj Aprahamian

 

Civic activist Artak Khachatryan was kidnapped by three masked men in front of a shopping center in Yerevan, on Sat., Feb. 7. Hours later, he was found unconscious on the side of a street near his home.

Khachatryan has played a leading role in protests against the government’s controversial Turnover Tax Law affecting small- and medium-sized businesses. He is also a prominent member of the Prosperous Armenia Party (PAP), the second largest political party in Armenia’s parliament, headed by well-known oligarch Gagik Tsarukyan.

Is This How Our Free and Independent Armenia Should Be?

Michael Mensoian

 

Let’s begin by saying that we are proud to have a free and independent Armenia. That our country has been able to survive a brutal baptism, overcoming the devastating Spitak earthquake in 1988 during the waning days of the Soviet Union and the catastrophic collapse of its economy when the Bolshevik’s socioeconomic experiment in state building self-destructed. It was an experiment that ignored accepted economic principles and the inextinguishable desire and determination of captive ethnic people to maintain their unique cultures. In addition to these significant obstacles, from its very inception Armenia was caught between its dependence on Moscow and its interest in strengthening its relationship with the West.

Letter to the Armenian Nation

Anina Hovhannisian
Translated by Vartan Matiossian

Today we are walking towards destruction, something that even the school student may feel. Dozens of people leave our republic every day, and they do not just leave, but flee Armenia, while trying to annihilate everything that is left behind and may force them to return to their homeland. On the background, we see many luxurious cars, newly-built mansions, deluxe stores, and other phenomena that symbolize wealth, which may leave an impression of bounty and well-being to the foreigner. But when we study our economy, it becomes clear that most companies active in Armenia are centralized in the hands of a few people and it is irrelevant that their owners may be people with different names, who just play the role of figureheads.