Latest posts by Onnik Krikorian from August, 2010
Armenia-Azerbaijan: More dialogue through film
With national television in Armenia and Azerbaijan controlled by the authorities or government-linked individuals, there is little opportunity for independent reporting. Now more objective and human interest stories can be found on the Internet.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Unbiased e-media coverage call for projects
There are just three days left until the deadline passes for the Eurasia Partnership Foundation's unbiased e-media coverage project for Armenian and Azerbaijani journalists and bloggers. Global Voices Online will be presenting its experience to date in this area at workshops held as part of the initiative.
Azerbaijan: Lilit
Gulara Azimzadeh's blog [AZ/EN/RU] reflects on a meeting between Armenia and Azerbaijani youth at an event in Georgia. In particular, she writes, although nationalists and a rhetoric of hatred exists on both sides, there are so many similarities between the two nations still locked in bitter conflict over the disputed...
Azerbaijan: Bloqosfer 2010
A site for Bloqosfer 2010 [AZ] to be held in Nabron, Azerbaijan, on 10-12 September has been launched at http://www.bloqosfer.com/2010. The hashtag #bloqosfer10 is used on Twitter.
Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan risky countries to surf the Net
Writing on the AVG blog, the anti-virus company's chief research officer says that Armenia and Azerbaijan are the third and fourth most risky places to surf the web. Although the full list of 144 countries hasn't been released, The two most risky, Turkey and Russia, also border the Caucasus region...
Armenia: LGBT blogger responds to radio station
Unzipped: Gay Armenia responds to an open letter published by a local radio station considered by many to be guilty of homophobia despite funding from international donors to spread European values in the country.
Armenia: Suicide soldier
Following the recent suicide of an officer in the Armenian army who is believed to have suffered from victimization and intimidation from fellow soldiers, Unzipped posts a photograph of graffiti that has since appeared in Yerevan, the Armenian capital.
Azerbaijan: An impossible dream?
The Önər Blog [AZ] ponders the state of the economy and society in oil-rich Azerbaijan, considering that the government doesn't offer any real hope for the future. While many are quick to advise others, and often criticize the opposition without offering any alternatives, it says, nothing is actually done to...
Azerbaijan: Reflections on Ramadan
Aaron in Azerbaijan, a U.S. Peace Corps Volunteer (PCV) blog, reflects on how Ramadan is observed in Azerbaijan. Although a secular republic, with many people not observing fasting, the blog says it is nonetheless impressed by the dedication of those that do. Meanwhile, another PCV blog, From the Land of...
Armenia: Homophobic radio station rewarded?
Having already warned against increasing levels of homophobia in society, including that recently shown by a local radio station in a project ostensibly meant to promote European integration and values, Unzipped: Gay Armenia is shocked to discover that international bodies continue to work with those it feels should be blacklisted...
Caucasus: Observations on Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia
Fearcuairt contrasts the three South Caucasus countries and says that Georgians consider themselves part of Europe, Azerbaijanis feel part of Asia, and Armenians view themselves as a mixture of both. Moreover, the blog notes, the rivalries between both Armenia and Georgia despite a shared religion is unfortunate given that both...
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Dialogue through film
The free flow of information between Armenia and Azerbaijan since independence is obviously problematic given the still unresolved conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, but can new media move in to fill the gap?
Azerbaijan: Ramadan
From the Land of Fire, a blog by a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer working in Azerbaijan, details Ramadan in the form of a daily diary. In the first post, the blogger says that although she is not Moslem, she wanted to attempt to fast and also hope other PCVs will...
Azerbaijan: Reputation
Scary Azeri recounts some personal stories of how people in Azerbaijan love to spread gossip. Also true for the other two countries making up the region, and especially Armenia, such an intrusion into the private lives of others is particularly relished when it comes to presumed relationships between men and...
Nagorno Karabakh: Barcamp
517 Design [RU] posts photographs of the journey from Armenia to the breakaway territory of Nagorno Karabakh as well as from its first-ever BarCamp. Situated inside Azerbaijan, but mainly inhabited by ethnic Armenians with no natural resources to speak of, the self-declared republic hopes to attract interest and investment in...
Georgia: Second anniversary of South Ossetia war
As Georgia marked the second anniversary of its August 2008 war with Russia over the breakaway territory of South Ossetia, online reaction has been mixed and largely polarized on geopolitical grounds.
Armenia: Being Queer in Yerevan
Bekhsoos, a queer Arab magazine, features a guest post by Canadian-Armenian Adrineh Macaan on life as a lesbian in Yerevan, the Armenian capital.
Georgia: United Nations protest
To mark the second anniversary of the August 2008 war between Russia and Georgia over the breakaway territory of South Ossetia, The Young Georgians posts photographs of a demonstration held by a few dozen Georgians outside the United Nations in New York.
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Overcoming negative stereotypes in the South Caucasus
This guest post for the World Bank's World Development Report 2011 is the first in a series on "New Media and Conflict" which explores the affect of new communication technologies on issues of conflict and development.
Armenia: Rock association or control?
Unzipped comments on a new “Rock Association” established by Armenia's blogging prime minister, Tigran Sargsyan. Although not doubting the genuine intentions of the senior official known for his love of the musical genre, the blog still concludes that the less than casual meeting didn't fit in with the spirit it...
Armenia-Azerbaijan: Peace on Facebook
Global Voices co-founder Ethan Zuckerman comments on the potential for social networking site Facebook to serve as a tool for cross-border communication, especially in the area of international conflict. Although skeptical in general, Zuckerman says that it might be showing some albeit limited potential in the area of Armenia-Azerbaijan relations.
