Stories about Central Asia & Caucasus from May, 2012
Armenia: State Sponsored Fascism
Following support from government officials and representatives of the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation-Dashanktsutyun (ARF-D) for two Neo-Nazis accused of firebombing a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan, Unzipped: Gay Armenia asks if the country is moving towards a form of state sponsored fascism that threatens the rights and well-being of its own...
Armenia: Blogger Calls for Resignation of Homophobic Dashnak MP
Unzipped: Gay Armenia comments on the continuing controversy surrounding Artsvik Minasyan, an MP from the nationalist Armenian Revolutionary Federation–Dashnaktsutyun (ARF-D). The blog says that in addition to bailing out a Neo-Nazi arsonist in police custody, Minasyan continues to make homophobic statements in the media following the 8 May firebombing of...
Armenia: Homophobic Firebombing Controversy Continues as Officials, MPs Promote Hate Crime
Controversy continues to surround the firebombing of a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, as officials and politicians praise the arsonists. Online, however, many are instead speaking out against those nationalists doing so.
Georgia: No Sex and the City
No Sex and the City — Georgian Liberal (an oxymoron) blog comments on the physical confrontation between priests accompanying religious parents and LGBT activists marching in Tbilisi, Georgia. The blog details events as they happened, including the alleged inaction of the Georgian police when they were asked to intervene to...
Georgia: LGBT Activists Attacked by Orthodox Religious Group
Marching to mark the 17 May International Day Against Homophobia, LGBT activists were blocked and assaulted by a group of Orthodox Christians in Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. Mirian Jugheli reports.
Armenia: Fears After Nationalist Firebombers Released on Bail
Following the firebombing of of an 'alternative' and gay-friendly bar in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, LGBT and other civil society activists are concerned by the rise of nationalism and hate-speech in the country.
Kyrgyzstan: Can a Blogger be the Fourth Branch of Government?
Ilya Karimdjanov is a pest. Armed with a camera, a question and the most popular blog on Kyrgyzstan's most popular blogging platform, Kloop.kg, he is a one-man citizen media machine, the nemesis of rule-breaking cops, corrupt university teachers and the Kyrgyz monetary system. Well, someone has to keep them all...
Nagorno Karabakh: Cultural Destruction and Preservation in the Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict
During the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, hundreds of thousands of ethnic Azeris and Armenians were displaced. With hundreds of settlements also razed, and thousands of monuments destroyed, Conflict Voices looks at the issue of cemeteries, some of which were destroyed, but also...
Armenia: LGBT Community Fears After Yerevan Bar Firebombed
Le Retour in 3 Parts comments on last week's firebombing of D.I.Y., a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan, the Armenian capital. Believed to be the work of Neo-Nazis, the blog says fears are running high in the LGBT community that hate crime is on the increase.
Georgia: Five Dead in Flash Flood
The Young Georgians posts video of this weekend's flash flood in Tbilisi, Georgia. Five people, including two children, are reported dead.
Armenia: NGOs Condemn Arson Attack on Gay-Friendly Bar
Unzipped: Gay Armenia posts the text of a statement by a group of NGOs including the Helsinki Citizens Assembly in Vanadzor, Women's Resource Center, and Pink Armenia, among others, condemning the 8 May arson attack on D.I.Y., a gay-friendly bar in Yerevan. The blog also reports that two members of...
Afghanistan: How to Use an Afghan Box Camera
The Presurfer shares a small video documentary of one of the only two remaining Afghan box photographers left in Kabul, and how he takes pictures and processes them inside a small black box.
Armenia: Campaign in Support of Bar Targeted by Nationalists
Following an arson attack on D.I.Y., a bar frequented by activists, progressive youth, and alternative writers, musicians and artists, as well as members of Armenia's LGBT community, Unzipped: Gay Armenia reports that a campaign to raise funds to pay for the damage inflicted by local nationalists has now been launched.
Georgia: Lazika, Facebook, and the Constitution
Despite growing concerns about plans to build a new city on swamp land, Democracy and Freedom Watch says that Lazika will be included in the country's Constitution. With no transparency in the decision-making process, the blog sarcastically notes that for now the city exists only in the form of a...
Armenia: Bar Targeted By Suspected Nationalists In Arson Attack
At around 5.30am on 8 May, a bar in Yerevan found itself the target of an arson attack. Popular among alternative types and widely known for its gay-friendly policy, it is believed that nationalists were responsible for the attack on D.I.Y.
Armenia: The Bambir in Ireland
CHEWYOUROWNFAT reviews Beezzy, a new song by one of Armenia's most well known rock bands, The Bambir. The independent music blog says that the group, now relocated to Ireland, defines original and is definitely an act to catch live.
Armenia: Chaos as Balloons Explode at Election Campaign Rally
Disaster struck a parliamentary election campaign rally in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, on Friday 4 May, when a cigarette apparently caused gas-filled balloons to ignite. Reports indicate that over 140 people were injured in the blast.
Georgia: World Press Freedom Day Protest Demonstration
The Young Georgians posts photos and video of a protest demonstration held by journalists, bloggers and activists to mark World Press Freedom Day in Tbilisi, Georgia.
Georgia: Face Control
Evolutsia comments on a new policy of face control for entry into many of the Georgian capital's clubs. The analytical site also ponders how such a policy might affect the revenue of those Tbilisi establishments that have introduced it.
Armenia: Backhanded Victory for Environmental Activists
Just days before Armenia's crucial parliamentary elections, environmental activists have scored yet another victory in their campaign to save one of the last remaining green spaces in the country's capital, Yerevan.
Georgia: Beyond Tbilisi
Beyond Tbilisi says that local authorities plan to clean up a river full of garbage in June. The blog run by Transparency International Georgia hopes to report on issues outside of the capital and is available in Georgian and English.
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