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Karabakh Peace Deal in Sight
RFE/RL once again confirms that this time round, there really is the chance of a peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed mainly Armenian inhabited territory of Nagorno Karabakh.
A Pagan Vardavar in Garni
Today was Vardavar, perhaps the most loved of all Armenia’s festivals. For children, in particular, it’s the one day in the year when they can throw water over each other and drench strangers foolish enough to take to the streets. All without fear of discipline from their parents and today was no exception. It was therefore hardly surprising that fewer people dared to risk walking under balconies or anywhere near areas where groups of children congregated, plastic bottles and buckets full of water in hand.
An Arms Race in the South Caucasus?
Agence France Press (AFP) reports that the Azerbaijani military budget has increased by 70 per cent this year to $300 million, largely as a result of increased oil revenues. The largest of the three South Caucasus republics inauguarated a multi-billion oil pipeline from Baku to the Turkish port of Ceyhan last month. AFP says the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline will bring in as much as $160 billion into the impoverished country over the next 30 years.
South Caucasus Parliamentary Assembly
ArmenPress reports that Nino Burjanadze, Speaker of the Georgian parliament, Deputy Armenian National Assembly Speaker Tigran Torosian, and Siyavush Novruzov, a parliament member from Azerbaijan’s ruling Yeni Azerbaijan party, have signed a tripartite memorandum to establish a regional Parliamentary Assembly in the South Caucasus.
An Interview with Lise Grande
Lise Grande is the Residential Representative of the United Nations (UN) and Country Representative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Armenia. She was recruited as a political officer for the United Nations in 1994 and is due to complete her mission in Armenia at the end of May 2005.
The Night They Kicked The Rule Of Law To Death
When one of President Robert Kocharian’s bodyguards was arrested for killing a civilian, Armenians hoped justice would prevail. But the subsequent trial was so flawed that many Armenians now believe judicial independence is as dead as the victim of the incident.