Tbilisi Pride Fest 2021
Photographs © Onnik James Krikorian 2021
LATEST BLOG POSTS
Alleged Coup Exacerbates Armenia’s Political Crisis
Less than a year before crucial parliamentary elections, political tensions in Armenia continue to rise (see EDM, May 21). For over a month, an acrimonious war of words has been waged online between Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the country’s spiritual leader, Catholicos Karekin II (also known as Ktrij Nersessyan) (see EDM, June 23). Pashinyan accuses Karekin II of interfering in the country’s politics and fathering at least one illegitimate child despite a sacred vow of celibacy. Such claims, including others of corruption and autocratic rule, predate Pashinyan’s premiership and have shadowed the spiritual leader since his inauguration as Catholicos in October 1999.
The Days of the OSCE Minsk Group Were Already Numbered
The demise of the OSCE Minsk Group, an internationally mandated effort to mediate between Armenia and Azerbaijan, ends an era that spanned almost three decades. Cochaired by France, Russia, and the United States, it failed to achieve its goal amid rivalry between the co-chair countries themselves and disagreement between the parties.
Escalating Rhetoric Threatens Armenia’s Faltering Democratic Path
After over a month of harsh and inflammatory rhetoric directed against the Armenian Apostolic Church, and especially its head, Catholicos Karekin II, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan late last month declared a ceasefire in the escalating war of words. The truce ostensibly took effect on at the very beginning of this month and will last until the end of the week when it will be assessed.