Chocolatier Nestle Upsets Azerbaijan

What can an international candy company possibly do to upset Azerbaijan? This one is sweet in more ways than one:

The CD-ROM [attached to a breakfast ceral as a gift] featured information about countries around the world but the data on Azerbaijan caused outrage there.

It said that Azerbaijan had started a war against neighbouring Armenia and that the hotly disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh belonged to Armenia.

Nestle has now issued a formal apology but some Azeris are still not happy. They accuse Nestle of playing Armenia's hand, and are demanding more than just an apology to chew on.

It looks like my choice of snack on those long days prank-calling the Azeri embassy is firmly and deliciously decided.

A free t-shirt to anyone who can produce an original CD from Azerbaijan for publication on TheArmeniaBlog.com and elsewhere!

Source: BBC News

Levon Ter Petrosyan - Dictator of the Month

It seems some four and a half years ago Levon Ter Petrosyan was chosen as the Dictator of the Month by a website called, wait for it, dictatorofthemonth.com. The website, which appears to be of German origin, brings to its audience, "the greatest and smallest dictators, autocrats and monarchs of the world since 1900!"

You may have noticed that I've kept from reporting on developments in the run up to the Armenian elections. Call me jaded, if you will, but reporting on one scum or another, essentially the same type of feces in different pots, won't change the outcome of the election. Knowing Armenia, even a direct vote will result in the same fate for the country.

That said, here are the charges against Levon:

His popularity waned during his rule as he sold Armenian electrical capacity to Georgia while limiting electricity's availability to Armenia to 4 hours per day in order to fund the war against Azerbaijan, a move regarded as necessary by the Armenian Army. He was also unpopular with many because he banned the nation's leading opposition party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF- Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiune), jailed its leadership, and shut down Yerkir, the country's largest daily newspaper.

He was forced to step down in February 1998 after advocating additional concessions to Azerbaijan in the resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Ter Petrosyan's key ministers, led by then-Prime Minister Kocharyan, refused to accept a peace plan on Karabakh put forward by international mediators in September 1997. The plan, accepted by Ter-Petrosyan and Azerbaijan, called for a "phased" settlement of the conflict which would postpone an agreement on Karabakh's status, the main stumbling block. That agreement was to accompany the return of most Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories around Karabakh and the lifting of the Azerbaijani and Turkish blockades of Armenia.

Hefty charges indeed. As someone who lived through the early 1990s in Armenia, anyone who considers voting for him because he is a voice of change, reason, or otherwise the lesser of two evils, is simply insane.

Video: Levon Ter Petrosyan Mocks Robert Kocharian

In this undated video, Levon Ter Petrosyan suggest that Robert Kocharyan is not Armenian, an obvious jab at Kocharyan's ancestry. Fast forward a few years and Kocharyan is the one in power while Ter Petrosyan is attempting to wrangle it away from him. That's politics for you!

Edit: I stand corrected. I did not read the Armenian caption and completely misconstrued the message. Thank you all for pointing it out!

Azerbaijan Boosts Military Budget...Again

Frankly, reporting on Aliyev's threats and his ever-skyrocketing defense budget is tiresome.

He [Aliyev] told a government meeting that the military budget will grow by $300 million to $1.3 billion in 2008.

"The insincere behaviour of Armenian occupation forces, dragging out the negotiation process, forces us to devote greater attention to military issues," Aliyev said. "Azerbaijan must be ready to liberate its lands by any means."

Good ol' Ali hasn't lost his sense of humor, even if he may have lost 20% of "his" country.

Source: Reuters

Armenia Home to 300,000 Refugees

Chance are you didn't know about this, because I surely did not:

...the number of refugees across the globe reached 10 million in 2006...and including more than 300,000 in Armenia. The Iraqi crisis is cited as the main reason for the increase.

About 400,000 people took refugee in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh because of the Karabakh conflict that broke out in 1988...some 360,000 came to Armenia from Azerbaijan, and the other 40,000 came from other republics of the former USSR...many of the refugees abandoned Armenia because of heavy social conditions.

Two important points to realize:

1) Armenia has a disproportionately large population of refugees, accounting for 3% of all the world's refugees in a country that comprises 0.05% of the world population.

2) Refugees found it difficult to remain in Armenia and eventually dispersed shortly after the Nagorno-Karabakh war ended.

I am shocked at both of these conclusions.

Source: Armenia Now

Azeris Attack Armenian, Nagorno Karabakh Flag

Yet another typical display of Azeri aggression & barbarity.

According to eyewitnesses, representatives of Azeri youth took aside a young Armenian who was holding the banner of Nagorno Karabakh. Azeris attacked the Armenian fellow, causing him physical injuries. They tried to take away the banner but couldn’t, after which Azeris tore it up.

They must be bitter about something, but I can't imagine what!

On a serious note, all they are doing is showing the world the sorts of people they really are. Not only do they fill the world with their lies and systematic propaganda, they turn any attempt at peace and normality into one of chaos and hatred.

Source: PanArmenian

Azerbaijan Wants the 2016 Olympics!

Lots of fun stories are coming out of Azerbaijan lately. Armenia Blog brings you the latest!

Azerbaijan wants to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, President Ilham Aliev said Monday.

The nation receives revenue from abundant oil and gas resources from the Caspian Sea, but is locked in a dispute with neighboring Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous area controlled by Armenian forces since the end of a six-year war in 1994.

This is as likely to happen as the Gaza Games of 2012.

Source: Sporting News

Karabakh Film Screened in the Czech Republic

It sounds like it is similar in some ways to A Dark Forest in the Mountains.

A film titled "A Story of People in War and Peace" produced by Vardan Hovhannisian was screened at the festival of documentaries in Brno, Czech Republic. The film shot by an Armenian reporter tells about the fate of those who fought in the Karabakh war.

CT2 channel, Lidovskiye Noviny, Prague Post, Radio Cesko and other mass media cover the festival.

Armenian films need even more exposure! Too bad there isn't more information regarding a DVD release or even a theater premiere. Perhaps they should take lessons from the Priestess?

Source: PanArmenian

Review of "Dark Forest in the Mountains"

What is Dark Forest in the Mountains? It is the story of Nagorno-Karabakh: the struggle, the people, the costs, the realities of war. It takes you among the soldiers who braved everything to fight for our lands, among the villagers who lost families due to the war, and portrays the conflict as never before seen on film. I should say that the man who made the film is Roger Kupelian, but have you ever heard of him?

Roger is a visual effects artist who has worked on many of Hollywood's biggest films, including Lord of the Rings, Flags of Our Fathers, The Animatrix, The Truman Show, Batman & Robin, Jerry Maguire, and others. He traveled to the region in 1994 to document the war and spent the next six years putting it all together, with a welcome mix of actual footage and animations. The first version of the film was released in 2000, but the new Special Edition version has that and much more.

In addition to the main documentary, the Special Edition DVD includes the new "Hands and a Homeland," which is basically a mini-film ten years on. The people in the original film are interviewed again ten years later. It's interesting to see how their lives have changed, how their views have changed, and how so much has remained the same. Included in the new DVD is also a war journal and the personal photography of Roger Kupelian, which have not been seen until now.

However, my most favorite section of the DVD is the animated history of Armenia. If you've seen those slick Discovery Channel programs about World History and so on, that's how this is done, except as it pertains to Armenia. There are plenty of pictures, videos, animations, maps, you name it, all put together beautifully to illustrate our long history.

There isn't any other film like this one, and not only from the point of view of content, but the execution, as well. While there's plenty of footage from this terrible war, the glimpses into the lives of soldiers, families, doctors, and so on, is what sets this movie apart. You can't watch this film without at least a tear.

Don't take my word for it: the film won the AFFMA Jury Prize in 2002. You can find some pictures and ordering information from the link below.

Dark Forest in the Mountains

Tourists Flock to Nagorno-Karabakh

Did you think you'd see the day?

Over 5,000 foreign tourists from about 60 countries visited Nagorno-Karabakh in 2006. The majority, 1,120 people, were from the United States of America. They were followed by Russians ( 800), French (464), Canada (267), Iran (250), Germany (210).

Visitors were also from such states as Malta, Venezuela, Taiwan and other countries. Yuri Zakarian, head of consular division of the foreign ministry, said the number of foreign visitors last year grew 30 percent against the previous year of 2005.

Seeing how Yerevan is lacking some tourist resources, one has to wonder how much Karabakh has to yet to improve!

Source: ArmenPress

Azerbaijan Planning to Resettle Shahumyan

Bet you didn't see this one coming.

Balayan said he had obtained copies of an Azeri government decision and a decree signed by the government of this covert plan. The documents clearly delegate responsibilities to various Azeri ministries and government organizations to steer the plan.

The plan calls for resettling 30,000 to 35,000 Azeris in Shahumyan, which was once home to 21,000 Armenians who were either massacred or forcibly evacuated from the region during the Nagorno-Karabakh movement.

What's next?

Source: ArmenPress

Farming Mines in Armenia

In times of war, mines are placed to trap the enemy. But what happens in times of peace, when those mines remain?

"I have a pear orchard of seven thousand square metres on the border," said local farmer Vachagan Simonian. "Every year this orchard could bring in a crop of around seven thousand tonnes and I could sell it for around two thousand dollars - but I can’t."

"People cannot till their land, they have no income, which is why they have to leave to work in Russia," said Aharon Asilbekian, deputy head of the village administration.

An estimated 69,000 residents in 60 villages in Armenia are afflicted by the problem.

Pretty tragic. If you remember, the issue was previously covered on Armenia Blog.

Source: IWPR

Russian-Armenian Businessmen Help Nagorno-Karabakh

An example that should be followed by others, I say!

Moscow-based businessmen of Armenian origin have pledged $15 million in assistance to Nagorno-Karabkh's government to help it implement a series of humanitarian programs and improve irrigation systems in a number of rural areas.

Frankly, there is a lot to be done there. I recently covered one such endeavor: mine clearing.

Source: ArmenPres

Armenia & Azerbaijan Close to Peace Deal

Call me a pessimist, but I don't believe that.

"They don’t agree 100 percent on the basic principles [of a peaceful settlement,] but they are close, very close," said Matthew Bryza, a deputy assistant secretary of state and the U.S. co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group. "They agree on the philosophy of the basic principles and most of the basic principles themselves."

Presidents Ilham Aliev and Robert Kocharian were already widely expected to reach a framework agreement on Karabakh early last year. But two rounds of face-to-face negotiations between them collapsed due to last-minute disagreements.

Words are words: I won't be convinced until there is a deal that makes sense. And for that, we may have to wait - possibly indefinitely.

By the way, is Kocharyan showing the middle finger to Aliyev behind his back? Look at the picture again.

Source: ArmeniaLiberty

Azeri Soldier Charged With Treason Upon Return

Here's the story, in case you missed it:

Prosecutors said soldier Vyusal Garajayev was captured on December 7 last year by ethnic Armenian separatists who, with Armenian support, control most of Nagorno-Karabakh. He was returned home on December 23 under the auspices of the Red Cross.

"(Vyusal) Garajayev, born in 1988, has been arrested. A criminal case has been opened against him on the basis of article 274 (treason)..."

Azerbaijan must be a lovely place to live. What's the punishment for treason there? In most places it's death.

Source: ArmeniaLiberty

Armenia & Azerbaijan Discuss Nagorno-Karabakh

It's about time that this issue be resolved, once and for all.

Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov will meet today with his Armenian counterpart, Vartan Oskanyan, in Moscow to discuss a settlement to the bitterly dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh, an Azeri territory occupied by Armenian troops...

The meeting will be a part of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, co-chaired by Russia, France and the United States, which has been attempting to broker a settlement to the dispute for more than a decade.

Let's hope some good comes from this meeting. War is not what we need.

Source: Turkish Daily News

Azerbaijan Claims Soldier Killed Near Karabakh

Apparently having forgotten about their breaches of ceasefire, they're on to something new:

Azerbaijan's Defense Ministry says Armenian forces shot dead an Azerbaijani soldier near the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region

Armenia's Defense Ministry denies the charge. The Armenian side said its soldiers were preserving the cease-fire agreement in the area. Azerbaijan does not recognize the independence of the predominantly ethnic-Armenian territory, which has been under dispute since a six-year conflict that ended with a 1994 cease-fire.

We'll see what becomes of this story.

Source: RFE/RL

Israel Has No Opinion on Karabakh

I hope this trend is only imagined, because it is a bit disturbing.

With the absence of Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel it’s incorrect to speak on delicate topics such as the Nagorno Karabakh conflict, Knesset member Josef Shagal said in Baku. In his words, Israel doesn’t have official stance on the conflict, as Azerbaijan did not express its position on the Palestine-Israel conflict and did not support the military operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Sadly, Kocharyan was not heard saying that it has no opinion on the murder of thousands of innocent people and the illegal occupation of foreign lands!

Source: PanArmenian

Contest: Monument for Shushi's Liberation

Here's one for all you art people:

The Yerevan city administration has announced an open contest for a monument model symbolizing the liberation of Shushi town (Karabakh) during the war with Azerbaijan...The memorial should symbolize the liberation struggle of the Armenian people in Artsakh. The stuff and height of the monument is up to the authors.

The monument will be inaugurated at the crossroad of Freedom Avenue and Babayan Street (not far from the city center). The winner of the contest will receive $1500. Those who take the second and the third places will receive $1000 and $300 respectively (in AMD equivalent). Architects, sculptors and artists are eligible for the contest. The appeals should be submitted to the department of architecture and town-building no later than February 15, 2007...

Grab a piece of clay and get cracking!

Source: Yerkir