As tensions escalate on the Line of Contact (LoC) separating Armenian and Azerbaijani forces still locked in deadlock over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh, the BBC’s Azerbaijan Service last month published my interview with the U.S. Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Ambassador James B. Warlick.
Cross-border projects in a conflict-riven region come in many forms, but perhaps the most overlooked has arguably been those in the area of culture. There have been some notable exceptions such as the CIS Youth Symphony Orchestra that performed in Yerevan and Baku as well as elsewhere, but otherwise most cultural events featuring both Armenian and Azerbaijani musicians perform in neighbouring Georgia.
Two weeks ago saw Tbilisi Jam! Fest 2015 held close to Lisi Lake. Featuring metal bands from the U.S., Europe, and Israel, the event also saw another instalment of the Wacken Open Air (W.O.A) Metal Battle Caucasus in which groups from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia competed to represent the region in the German music festival.
The BBC’s Azerbaijan Service has just published my video report on the Free Thought Tea House in Tbilisi, Georgia. The piece is in Azerbaijani, but below is a brief description in English. I’ve covered Tbilisi’s tea houses serving as a meeting space for the whole region, before but this new venture takes things to whole other level.
Today marks the 20th Anniversary of the May 1994 Ceasefire Agreement that put the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed territory of Nagorno Karabakh on hold. Unfortunately, this is not a date to celebrate. Thousands have died since the armistice was signed, and two decades later, the sides are nowhere closer to peace than they were back then.
Last week saw bands from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia compete in the semi-finals of a Metal Battle Caucasus to determine which three bands would perform at the final next month. The winner will get to perform at the Wacken Open Air Festival to be held later this year in Germany.
My first presentation of 2014 and as with the year just gone it was to be for an audience as unexpected as my first presentation then. In February 2013 it was to be at an intergovernmental seminar for the U.S. Government’s Center for Strategic Counterterrorism Communications (CSCC) and Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF). This year it was to be for 50 students from the U.K. military’s tri-service Advanced Command and Staff Course.
Last week, the 4M Journalism and Social Media Forum came to the South Caucasus. Organised by Canal France International (CFI), previous 4M’s have been held in Nairobi, Cairo, Abidjan, Belgrade, and Tunis. Earlier this year, I had also been invited to speak at their 3rd annual meeting in Montpellier, France, although an air traffic controller strike meant I arrived a day late and couldn’t.
It’s one of my favorite places in Yerevan. It’s also one of the poorest. For both reasons, walking through Kond is like stepping back in time. Located in the very heart of the capital it’s also as if you’ve left Yerevan entirely. Indeed, when a National Geographical film crew filming a documentary on Christianity in Armenia said they wanted something ‘biblical,’ I could only take them to Kond.