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LATEST BLOG POSTS
Burying the Red Apple
Armenia today celebrated International Women’s Day in pretty much the same way it always does. As a patriarchal society, women are expected to dress up and men present them with flowers. Forget talk about women’s rights and equality, although one small group of activists from Armenia and the Diaspora had other ideas. Instead of observing the day in the traditional way, they were going to hand out leaflets informing women of their rights in a country where domestic violence remains a problem and patriarchy is the norm. Afterwards, the group was going to bury the “red apple.”
1 March Anniversary Passes Without Incident
Despite some concern that yesterday’s first anniversary of the deadly post-election clashes between opposition supporters and security forces might end in trouble, the day passed peacefully. Although the event to mourn the deaths of 8 civilians and 2 policemen had not been authorized by the municipality, the authorities did not intervene to prevent the gathering.
Damning Human Rights Reports On Eve of 1 March Post-Election Clash Anniversary
Having narrowly escaped sanctions from the Council of Europe, and following controversy surrounding the trial of seven senior opposition figures arrested after last year’s post-election violence, come two damning reports on the human rights and political situation in Armenia. Just 4 days before the first anniversary of the 1 March 2008 clashes which left at least 10 dead, Human Rights Watch released its report on the handling of the post-election violence which blames the authorities and police for the excessive and disproportionate use of force.