Straight to the village. Today to Nerkin Karmir Aghbiur. Tim visits Nerkin Karmir Aghbiur, a village in the Tavoush region near the Azerbaijan border. This village is unique, because it was the single most damaged Armenian village during the conflict with Azerbaijan. In fact, nearly 400 homes were either partially or entirely destroyed. To this day, many still live in shipping containers. Tim talks to a young resident who explains that outside donations have helped rebuild parts of the village. Specifically, there is a bakery and a shop where some people can work, and many former soldiers now work for the police department. Nevertheless, unemployment and migration remain a huge problem.
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Armenia watches as protests against ‘foreign agent’ bill rock Georgia
Tens of thousands of people have been taking to the streets in cities across Georgia for over a month now to protest the ruling Georgian Dream party’s renewed plans to require groups that receive funding from abroad to register as “foreign agents.”The country’s law enforcement has been cracking down on the demonstrations, detaining and injuring dozens, including Ana Tsitlidze, a member of parliament from the United National Movement, Georgia’s main opposition party. Ana Tsitlidze joins CivilNet’s Mark Dovic to discuss the latest developments in Georgia and what they may mean for the region as a whole.
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U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Pays First Visit to Shushi Under
By Paul Vartan Sookiasian The U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Mark Libby made a visit to the occupied town of Shushi in Nagorno-Karabakh today following public pressure from Azerbaijani officials. In an interview published Friday with Radio Azadliq, Radio Liberty’s Azerbaijani service, Libby was asked why he has yet to make a visit to Shushi, a historic town in Karabakh that is part of the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region. Libby replied that while he has visited many parts of Azerbaijan, “It is clear that the returned territories are slightly different. Even more coordination is required. However, I don’t want to be a […]
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Tavush residents march to Yerevan as opposition to border delimitation
By Mark Dovich Hundreds of residents from the border village of Kirants in Armenia’s northeastern Tavush region and supporters are marching to Yerevan, as opposition to a border delimitation agreement reached with Azerbaijan last month continues to grow. That first-of-its-kind deal to delimit, or legally define, a section of the border between Tavush and Azerbaijan’s northwestern Gazakh district is expected to involve Yerevan handing over to Baku four abandoned villages along the border. That prospect has prompted concern in Kirants and other nearby communities that people may be forced from their homes if Azerbaijan takes control of pieces of land […]
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Democracy Watch: Violent dispersion of protesters and media polarization
By Tigran Grigoryan and Karena Avedissian Violent Dispersion of Protesters in Kirants Police have violently dispersed demonstrators protesting the handover of four villages to Azerbaijan. The detainment of three dozen protesters who were blocking the road in Kirants, Tavush region violates Armenian citizens’ right to peaceful assembly. Armenian human rights defender Artur Sakunts notes that “when peaceful demonstrators are detained, law enforcement must provide valid justification for their actions,” and continues highlighting that in this case, the police’s actions contravene both local laws and the European Convention on Human Rights. Furthermore, the response by law enforcement appears disproportionate to the […]
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Armenia remains freest country in region for media
By Paul Vartan Sookiasian Armenia remains the freest country for the press in the South Caucasus and one of the best in the entire former Soviet Union, the Paris-based non-profit Reporters Without Borders, or RSF, has determined. In the latest edition of its yearly World Press Freedom Index, published Friday, Armenia ranks 43rd out of 180 countries surveyed, with a score of 71.6 out of 100. That puts Armenia in what RSF calls as a “satisfactory situation” with regard to media freedom. Armenia’s position has steadily risen over the past few years, though it remained relatively stable this year, with […]
