July 3, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- The Armenian parliament has failed to pass a bill that would have placed severe restrictions on foreign broadcast media, particularly RFE/RL.

http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2007/7/BB6F8DCC-A266-43BA-86D9-4DB560DBBD0A.html

Lessons

Analysts say Kyrgyzstan has developed a "culture of demonstrations" that is making stability elusive.

This resonates with other lessons-learned which have been offered from various civic movements around the world- for example Kmara of Georgia. They warn that the biggest mistake was losing momentum after the change in power. The naivity of believeing that simply a change of guard would automatically translate into constructive changes and a properly functioning system.

It may sound hypocritical of me to say, but while rallies and public support are critical, without institutions or a system in place to address the aftermath, it can undermine the success of a democracy.

Thursday, April 12, 2007
Kyrgyzstan: When Is The Revolution Going To End?
By Bruce Pannier

(TASS) April 12, 2007 (RFE/RL) -- Whatever one chooses to call it, the "Tulip" or "People's" Revolution in Kyrgyzstan in March 2005 carried hope for many of a better era. But much of the past two years has been tumultuous, characterized by protests, quarrels within the government, and increasingly abusive language between government and opposition politicians.

The word "stability" arises in virtually any discussion of events in Kyrgyzstan, but it appears to be more elusive now than ever.

Opposition groups in Kyrgyzstan are currently holding a rally aimed at forcing President Kurmanbek Bakiev to make way for an early presidential election. The demonstrators are also demanding constitutional reforms.

An Era Of Demonstrations

There have been more demonstrations in Kyrgyzstan since independence in 1991 than in the other four Central Asian states combined. But since the revolution that ousted former President Askar Akaev two years ago, breaks between protests have been rare -- they seem to come one after another. The frequency of rallies in Kyrgyzstan has led some to comment that the country is in danger of becoming a failed state.

"Two years after March 2005, we have to say that many if not most of the slogans of the Tulip Revolution have not been realized," Edil Baisalov, the head of Kyrgyzstan's Coalition for Democracy and Civil Society, said of the near-constant protests in Kyrygzstan during a recent appearance at RFE/RL offices in Washington. "For many in Kyrgyzstan, it only turned into a change of a few nameplates on some of the highest floors [of the government building]. But everything else remained; and what we hoped for was to receive a moral revolution that would, first of all,
mean not only change of regime but change in the way the people and government communicate [and] that many of the formerly acceptable levels of corruption and arrogance -- these sort of things would go away. Not only have they not gone away, but many people will tell you that they have multiplied."
[...]

This article brings up another good point- one that a friend who is a part of Sksel a brought up to me in conversation a few weeks ago. Thoughts that I echo, and will summarize here.

It’s not a revolution its "evolution". What needs improvement in our country is first and foremost the citizenry. If the government were overthrown and a new one put in place- we’d still end up in the same place so long as society is the same. What we are aiming for is a social awakening. An engaged citizenry that is alert, engaged, proactive, inquisitive and responsible and feels a sense of ownership. We want to infuse and strengthen a value system. How are we doing this? Through leading by example. Our actions and protests began with 5 and 6 people. We are creating a small model of the type of society we’d like to see. Every subsequent event that gathers us more visibility, more friends, and more interested viewers and eventually more people who join us is a step towards expanding that model a little bit larger. And a little bit larger after that. And larger still. So when people ask us what we mean by “sksel a” it is this movement we mean.

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world”
-Mahatma Ghandi

"The revolution will not be televised...it will be You-Tubed"

It continues :)

I'll just copy and paste from Onnik's report from Transparency International's blog for now since he summed it up so extremely well. Barring any further internet and technical difficulties, my video footage from the event will be up soon...

It’s been included in the Oxford English Dictionary since 2004, but it’s unlikely that more than a handful of people in Armenia know what a flash mob is. It’s even less likely that anybody actually cares, but nonetheless, history was made in Yerevan today when Sksel a, an informal grouping of civil society activists working to activate youth in time for the May parliamentary election, organized Armenia’s first ever flash mob.

In modern usage, flash mob describes a group of people who assemble suddenly in a public place, do something unusual for a brief period of time, and then quickly disperse. They are usually organized with the help of the Internet or other communications networks.

The term has also been applied to distributed mobs, who use similar means to coordinate sudden large scale simultaneous actions in multiple locations. An example of such an action is the widespread use of mobile phones in the 2005 civil unrest in France to coordinate widespread social disruption.

Usually, the organizers of such events don’t tell participants what exactly will happen and why, and today’s event was no exception. Apart from a non-descriptive advert posted on various blogs such as this one, no other details were announced prior to the
event. Even so, after two previously successful events, enough interest was aroused to attract around 150-200 young Armenians to turn up at the park opposite Yerevan’s Conservatory.

Of course, most of those attending were also present at Sksel a’s Barekendan and Կես կատակ կես լուրջ ցուՅցահանդես events, but for Armenia even this is impressive given the level of apathy and non-involvement in society. However, when interviewed by one journalist, a 15-year-old girl said she had attended all three events so far, but wasn’t too sure what this one was hoping to achieve. Still, perhaps that’s not too surprising.

Standing at the corner of each intersection leading into the roundabout opposite Yerevan’s Opera House, as well as circling the grassy area in its center, each participant stood with a newspaper reading separate articles of their choice out aloud. Also wearing hats made out of newspapers, the sight and sound of that alone was surreal and unexpected enough for Armenia even in this day and age.

As were leaflets handed out asking “are you satisfied with yourself, or with the person next to you?,” “are you guilty?,” and “are you afraid, or don’t you care?”

Tamar Palandjian, Youth Program Coordinator at the Civil Society Institute (CSI) says that the purpose of the event was straightforward enough. Under banners that asked “Shall We Read?” the event was aimed at encouraging the population to read newspapers. With all of the television stations under direct or indirect government
control, the only plurality of opinion and diversity of information can be found in the print media.

Even so, newspaper circulation remains low with actual readership even lower, and even the most popular of papers can publish only a few thousand copies each day. Nevertheless, if the purpose of the event was to get people to take interest in the press, then the flash mob achieved its goal. Cars and public transport passing by stopped to take copies of the newspapers participants were handing out until the police asked the organizers to stop in case traffic was disrupted.

Once again, there were even a few members of the Diaspora in attendance, including representatives of two significant organizations albeit there in a personal capacity, and most observers were overall impressed with the new approaches taken by Sksel a with regards to activating society, and in particular youth. However, many still remain unsure as to where Sksel a is heading, and whether it’s ultimate goal is clear enough.

One participant attending for the first time, for example, said that she wanted to be involved with something, but wasn’t entirely sure what. Still, such events might help direct young Armenians in that sense, and it was interesting to see that after the initial action itself, participants were encouraged to cut out those articles they found most interesting to paste to a large board erected in the park.

“They’re making their own newspaper,” remarked one young Armenian from the Diaspora. “I wonder what it says?”

More events are planned in the very near future.

Sksela...

On March 4th Sksela organized a "Half-silly/Half-serious" public exhibition.

The goal of this event was to transform the park surrounding Komitas’ statue near the Opera into an enclosed environment, which contained many opportunities to provoke thought. The circle was physically divided in to two sections: one half represented things satirical and comedic, while the other half presented facts about Armenia’s reality today.

For example, on the “serious” side an exhibition of photojournalistic photos of Armenia was set up, while on the “silly” side blank pages were put up with markers- allowing participants to write whatever they wanted. On the “serious” side an information booth was set up where publications and information packets from reputable NGOs and IOs were distributed, while on the “silly” side a storyteller read from a book of Armenian fairy tales. On the “serious” side a large exhibition of critical recent news articles was set up, while on the “silly” side satirical headlines were exhibited. On the “serious side” colored signs boldly declared positive civic values (“honesty” “integrity” “hard work” “education” “responsibility”) while the “silly” side hosted artificial values (“materialism”, “cheating”). All the while, alternative and progressive music with messages of action echoed through the entire area.

All in all, the elements inside the “Half-silly/Half-serious Exhibition” were intended to engage participants and raise questions about whether they are satisfied with the reality around them.

In the end however...perhaps this quote by Milan Kundera, one of my favorite writers, which Bella found, summarizes everything best:

"Circle dancing is magic. It speaks to us through the millennia from the depths of human memory.

Madame Raphael had cut the picture out of the magazine and would stare at it and dream. She too longed to dance in a ring. All her life she had looked for a group of people she could hold hands with and dance with in a ring.

First she looked for them in the Methodist Church (her father was a religious fanatic), then in the Communist Party, then among the Trotskyites, then in the anti-abortion movement (A child has a right to life!), then in the pro-abortion movement (A woman has a right to her body!); she looked for them among the Marxists, the psychoanalysts, and the structuralists; she looked for them in Lenin, Zen Buddhism, Mao Tse-tung, yogis, the nouveau roman, Brechtian theater, the theater of panic; and finally she hoped she could at least become one with her students, which meant she always forced them to think and say exactly what she thought and said, and together they formed a single body and a single soul, a single ring and a single dance".

- Milan Kundera, The Book of Laughter and Forgetting.

Watchdogs

Recently had an internal debate with myself about the role of media, of the effect that barrages of negative and apocolyptic news has on the psyche of a society (ie- the "culture of fear" firmly taking root in the US), about constantly drumming the beat of warning without offering constructive solutions... And then I read this article.

In the west, Politkovskaya's honesty brought her a measure of fame and a string of awards, bestowed at ceremonies in hotel ballrooms from New York to Stockholm. At home, she had none of that. Her excoriations of Russia's president, Vladimir Putin, ensured isolation, harassment, and, many predicted, death. 'I am a pariah,' she wrote in an essay last year. 'That is the result of my journalism through the years of the second Chechen war, and of publishing books abroad about life in Russia.'

Despite the fact that Politkovskaya was articulate, attractive and accomplished, she was barred from appearing on television, which is the only way the vast majority of Russians get news. To the degree that a living woman could be airbrushed out of post-Soviet history, she had been. 'People call the newspaper,' she wrote, 'and send letters with one and the same question: "Why are you writing about this? Why are you scaring us? Why do we need to know this?"' She provided an answer as much for herself as for any reader: 'I'm sure this has to be done, for one simple reason: as contemporaries of this war, we will be held responsible for it. The classic Soviet excuse of not being there and not taking part in anything personally won't work. So I want you to know the truth. Then you'll be free of cynicism.'

So, thanks to the Guardian for publishing this very intriguing in depth two-part article (really worth the read) and confirming what I deeply always believed. In countries like these- where information is not clear and poorly disseminated, media outlets are controlled, facts are dubious, and unfounded conspiracy theories are rampant- it is all the MORE important for journalists, and researchers and organizations like Transparency to report the facts and the results of their research- even if it is disconcerting and frightening.

BAREKENDAN!

The date is set; and so it begins

As if it hasn't already been said enough times, this election season is extremely critical: it needs to come off clean and fair, most notably so that people have a semblance of restored faith in the system to give them a reason to vote in the VERY crucial presidential elections next year in '08.

Most observers say that if this country has one, maximum two, more fraudulent elections then that's it. It will be nearly impossible to alter the course Armenia is on (a corrupt system of feudalism, servitude to Russia, and no freedom or defense of citizens' rights) after that.

This article presents just some of the story. But there's so much more...


Decision 2007 Comes May 12: Will it be fair?
ArmeniaNow
By Gayane Abrahamyan

A decree signed this week by President Robert Kocharyan places the Parliamentary elections on May 12.

Now that the date has been settled, the over-riding question remains whether these elections – unlike any in independent Armenia – can be fairly executed.

Garegin Azaryan, chairman of the Central Electoral Commission believes the new electoral code gives an opportunity to hold free, fair and transparent elections.

[...]

Last week the representatives of the oppositional forces met the US Deputy Vice State Secretary, American co-chairman of the OSCE Minsk group Matthew Bryza and shared their opinions on the upcoming election in Armenia.

“Bryza said the adoption of the new code seems to be a step forward; I disagree with the assessment. Elections are falsified independent of the code,” says Manukyan.

Artak Zeynalyan of the Political Council of Hanrapetutyun (Republic) Party has also shared his party’s concerns about the falsifications with Bryza.

“We brought proper arguments supporting the idea that the changes in the electoral code will just facilitate the frauds in the coming election and will make them less discernible,” says Zeynalyan.

[...]
Politicians and ordinary citizens lack hopes for having free elections alike.

The recent survey held jointly by the Armenian Sociological Association and the Gallup Institute among 1,200 residents of Armenia has shown 69 percent of the respondents are confident the elections will be neither free nor fair, while 61 percents believe the authorities in Armenia undertake no sufficient measures to prevent the falsifications in elections.

2006 Corruption Perceptions Survey

Last Wednesday I attended a presentation, held by Transparency International and UNDP, of the highly anticipated results of TI's Corruption Peceptions Survey (the last survey was taken in 2002).


Side-note: check out the majority of women heading up international organizations in my photo.

From left to right: Director of Transparency International, Head of UNDP in Armenia, Secretary General of Counsel of Europe in Armenia, Head of OSCE, and Head of International Organizations and Human Rights divison of the Foreign Ministry of Armenia.
Welcome to the feminist theory of International Relations...


The survey revealed some concerning statistics, particularly alarming and revealing to me as we approach parliamentary elections- approximately 90 days away.

Consider the following two statements from the Executive Summary:

"Most of the 2006 respondents were alarmed by a negative impact of corruption on the legitimacy of the Armenian authorities and the moral of the society, which did not come across in 2002..."

"While prioritizing the solutions to improve the current situation, most respondents pointed to a necessity of ensuring free and fair elections"

SO, if everyone realizes that the existing corrupt system is bad, and that free and fair elections is a way to improve the situation, then why does it seem like such an uphill battle to convince people to get out and vote this Spring. To sign up to become election observers. To protest when their rights to dissent are put into jeopardy. RIGHT NOW is the perfect opportunity for citizens of Armenia to do something.

However.
Disconcerting is the following:

"In 2006, the majority of interviewees still believe that the President of the country could play a determining role in reducing corruption in Armenia, whereas more than half of them [58.8%] assume that people themselves cannot do anything...The public opinion regarding the possibility to fight corruption in Armenia has not changed since 2002. Nearly a third of respondents said again that corruption cannot be eliminated."

And perhaps finally, we should reflect on the fact tht 96% of the public says they get their information from television.

And 0% of TV in Armenia is independent since A1+ was shut down by the government five years ago this April.

The up-hill battle continues.