“But I was somewhat disappointed by their choice of mayoral candidate – this should be a revolution of ideas, not of personalities.”. Literally a week after the revolution, I got a call for a $10 million project from a diaspora Armenian. Since then, the country continues to face challenges to consolidate its still fragile democracy. A televised raid on the home of a Republican member of parliament, showing his pet tiger and preserved food that schoolchildren had sent to soldiers on the front lines, shocked the nation. Some of Pashinyan’s core, socially liberal supporters are unsure about the new government's commitment to their causes. Among those with strong security and economic ties to Russia, Belarus is only the second state, after Armenia, where people have risen against their Kremlin-backed rulers. Dr. Gevorg Avetikyan, Dean of International Programs at the European University at Saint Petersburg, presents a talk on the impact of Armenia’s “velvet revolution” on Russia and the Caucasus. For these reasons, the press in Armenia adopted a “wait and see” approach in late 2018 and early 2019. Mr Pashinyan uses regular Facebook live broadcasts to come across as an accessible politician. As it now stands, there is no law requiring media outlets to reveal data about their real owners or to publish financial reports about their funding sources. Belarus is only the second state, after Armenia. He is still very popular and few doubt that his My Step Alliance will come top among the 11 parties and political blocs in the vote. First, the protesters in Armenia worked hard to keep the protests strictly local. To Register for the Zoom Panel please visit: https://bit.ly/armeniantremors. Despite this, relations between the media and the government are far from ideal in the new Armenia. The My Step Alliance’s current supermajority is also seen as a problem by some analysts. In other words, without that and other fundamental reforms, journalists will continue to face severe challenge in terms of their editorial independence and the transparency of media ownership. But a“Velvet Revolution” quietly swept through Armenia in April 2018 and gave hope that the situation would change.
And unlike in Armenia, Putin's past attempt to formally unite Belarus with Russia created a backlash among the populace in Belarus, exposing the disingenuous nature of Putin's claims of "protecting" Belarus's security and independence. Video, Robots in a flat - tech tested for assisted living, Courtroom escape sends police officer flying. This is a judgement-free, forward-looking generation now taking charge. Armenia One Year After Revolution In their own words, eight working Armenians open up about how their country's 2018 "velvet revolution" has affected their lives. Young people and particularly young women are not part of the corrupt system that’s been in place for decades – they have no institutional memory of the kleptocracy that was in place. The Media in Armenia One Year After the “Velvet Revolution”, Liana Sayadyan, AEJ Armenian Section and deputy editor of the leading news outlet Hetq online. A police crackdown on peaceful protesters in the days after the vote saw nearly 7,000 demonstrators arrested, and sparked allegations of abuse and torture at the hands of security services. Nearly a third of Armenia's 3m people are officially classed as poor. Mr Pashinyan announced last month that a sum of more than $20m that had been misappropriated since May was being returned to the state budget.
Bradley Jardine is a freelance journalist who covers the Caucasus. STEPANAKERT — Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) Foreign Ministry has issued a statement denying…, GLENDALE — An Informative presentation of the AGBU Nubar Library by its…, YEREVAN — The Committee on Social Affairs of the Parliamentary Assembly of…, Though fighting ceased 19 years ago, the people of Nagorno Karabakh continue…, BY JIRAIR TUTUNJIAN News from three states—Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Russia—is a…, BY CHRISTOPHER ATAMIAN Tavush is not in Artsakh!