Video: Police Forces Shooting at Protesters

I promise this will be the last of these videos.

Update: A lot of people are telling me that some of the bullets used in these videos are rubber, meaning they would hurt but not injure or kill the person. Whether or not that is the case clearly cannot be determined.

Video of Protests in Little Armenia

Here's a short clip of the march in Little Armenia earlier today, March 2, 2008. Some claim up to 50,000 people showed, but I find that hard to believe.

Oh, and it seems that most people were...older. Figures, because younger people have better things to do than waste their time with a pointless march.

Imagine being there and not being Armenian.

Video of Riots in Yerevan, Armenia

Shot on March 2, 2008, in Yerevan, Armenia, in the wake of clashes between police forces and opposition protesters.

Yerevan Becomes Hell: Fires, Deaths, Misery

Way to outdo yourselves, guys. It wasn't enough that you protested after a relatively fair election, and you continued still even after the police moved in to move you out. And now this:

A police spokesman said that eight people were killed and 33 police officers injured in the clashes. He said several officers had been injured by gunfire.

Demonstrators hurled stones and petrol bombs, setting vehicles on fire, and police and troops responded with truncheons, tear gas and by firing bullets in the air.

TV pictures showed burnt-out cars and smashed shop windows in the city.

This is why foreigners are afraid of Armenia, whether visiting or investing. We mock some of the destabilized countries in Africa and Latin America, but what do we do when it happens on our own turf by our own people? Do we point fingers and blame the other guy? Do we kill people and destroy property to show dissatisfaction?

Source: BBC News

Armenian Police Clear Protesters

The dream is over, but not like the girls in the picture care. They're out protesting because their friends are there, happy with any outcome.

Scuffles broke out as police began forcing the demonstrators on to buses after 10 days of protests against the alleged rigging of the election.

Hundreds of police moved against the opposition camp on Freedom Square early on Saturday, dispersing the few hundred protesters still there. Media were kept away from the square as army lorries took away the protesters' tents.

But I thought Armenia was a democracy! That protesting would have an effect! That kindess would win over evil! What happened??

Reality happened.

Source: BBC News

The Path to Democracy: Dragunov Sniper Rifle

First let's identify the photo: it shows an Armenian Special Forces soldier with a Russian-designed Dragunov sniper rifle, a fearsome semi-automatic weapon that is effective to a range of one kilometers. Think about that for a second, which coincidentally is also the length of time it will take the bullet to get to its farthest target.

What does this have anything to do with Armenia? Besides a glimpse into one of the weapons used by our countrymen, quite a bit. You see, when a given government grows too powerful and too corrupt, it begins to act in a way which is not in harmony with the will of the people and it can get away with that because of its power and the fear that it inspires in people. But what if the government was to be held accountable for its actions, afraid of the very people who created it and who continue to support it, at least for as long as they choose? What if everyone had a Dragunov sniper rifle and the knowledge that anyone in power caught abusing it would be destroyed without questions asked?

Of course, this is all metaphor. Until such power is exercised by the people Armenian, we will continue to see a government acting in its own interest only.

Then again, maybe it's not a metaphor at all; after all, revolutionaries need to be well armed!

Source: mil.am

Ballot Stuffing Caught on Camera

This video has been making its way across the internet for the past couple of days. Watch it carefully.

Thousands Protest Election Results

It seems tens of thousands of people unhappy with the results of the election have decided to take to the streets in protest. It appears that this minority isn't happy with the fact that Serge Sarkisian received the majority of the votes in a landslide election or that Russia and the OSCE have approved of the election and its results. Nope, they demand new elections!

Election officials said a final count showed Prime Minister Serge Sarkisian with nearly 53 percent of the vote — enough to win outright and avoid a runoff. His main opponent, Levon Ter-Petrosian, had 21.5 percent.

Monitors for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said there were concerns about the vote count, but issued a generally positive assessment of the election. And Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country enjoys close ties with Armenia, congratulated Sarkisian on his victory.

"I would like to assure you that no one will be able to stop us from making sure that the rule of law is observed," Ter-Petrosian told cheering supporters.

Enough. Stop wasting your time. Serge had definite advantages going in, the election was relatively fair, and Levon lost. Advice to future candidates: don't make a surprise entry and expect the vast majority to take your side instantly.

You can almost hear the kid in the picture saying, "Mom, why are we out here wasting our time in the cold? I thought Mr. Sarkisian had won?"

Photo by Arthur Papyan

Serge Sarkisian is the President of Armenia!

Yes, my fellow Armenians, these results are not final, but you'd have to be insane to think that the final results would be significantly different so as to throw off the race. You'd also have to be instane to think that Levon wasn't drawing up the plans for a rally even before a single vote had been cast. The BBC had this to say:

Mr Sarkisian had gained 52.7% of the vote, with his nearest rival Levon Ter-Petrosian lagging on 21.5%. By early Wednesday, 97.5% of votes had been counted, according to official results given on Armenian public TV. Turnout was estimated at nearly 70% of 2.3m eligible voters.

But Mr Ter-Petrosian alleges widespread vote-rigging, and has called a rally in the capital, Yerevan. But Mr Ter-Petrosian - a former president - surprised onlookers with a lively and outspoken campaign, and now insists he is the real winner.

How do you say "bullshit" in Armenian?

As I said previously, there wouldn't be a drastic difference for the people of Armenia one way or the other. On the plus side, though, Armenia will not compromise on Karabakh and on the Genocide issue with Turkey. Oh, and a certain other person will not be returning.

Edit: It seems a few of you who are either still shook up or otherwise incapable of comprehending sarcasm believe that I support Sarkisian. That's simply not true: I only wanted Levon to lose. It seems the Armenian people wanted the very same thing.

Armenia "Votes" Today

Ah yes, today is the day where corruption, blind nationalism, and fraud all come together in the form of Armenia's Presidential Election! Who will win? Who will lose? One thing's for certain, this is not going to be a demonstration of democracy and whoever is elected will first and foremost get himself rich, then those near him, and whatever is left will be spread among the lower individuals in power.

Edit: It seems that BBC News went around and asked a dozen Armenians the things that they want with the new president. Recurring themes? Job creation and end to corruption.

Levon Ter Petrosyan - Dictator of the Month

It seems some four and a half years ago Levon Ter Petrosyan was chosen as the Dictator of the Month by a website called, wait for it, dictatorofthemonth.com. The website, which appears to be of German origin, brings to its audience, "the greatest and smallest dictators, autocrats and monarchs of the world since 1900!"

You may have noticed that I've kept from reporting on developments in the run up to the Armenian elections. Call me jaded, if you will, but reporting on one scum or another, essentially the same type of feces in different pots, won't change the outcome of the election. Knowing Armenia, even a direct vote will result in the same fate for the country.

That said, here are the charges against Levon:

His popularity waned during his rule as he sold Armenian electrical capacity to Georgia while limiting electricity's availability to Armenia to 4 hours per day in order to fund the war against Azerbaijan, a move regarded as necessary by the Armenian Army. He was also unpopular with many because he banned the nation's leading opposition party, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF- Revolutionary Federation-Dashnaktsutiune), jailed its leadership, and shut down Yerkir, the country's largest daily newspaper.

He was forced to step down in February 1998 after advocating additional concessions to Azerbaijan in the resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. Ter Petrosyan's key ministers, led by then-Prime Minister Kocharyan, refused to accept a peace plan on Karabakh put forward by international mediators in September 1997. The plan, accepted by Ter-Petrosyan and Azerbaijan, called for a "phased" settlement of the conflict which would postpone an agreement on Karabakh's status, the main stumbling block. That agreement was to accompany the return of most Armenian-occupied Azerbaijani territories around Karabakh and the lifting of the Azerbaijani and Turkish blockades of Armenia.

Hefty charges indeed. As someone who lived through the early 1990s in Armenia, anyone who considers voting for him because he is a voice of change, reason, or otherwise the lesser of two evils, is simply insane.

Video: Levon Ter Petrosyan Mocks Robert Kocharian

In this undated video, Levon Ter Petrosyan suggest that Robert Kocharyan is not Armenian, an obvious jab at Kocharyan's ancestry. Fast forward a few years and Kocharyan is the one in power while Ter Petrosyan is attempting to wrangle it away from him. That's politics for you!

Edit: I stand corrected. I did not read the Armenian caption and completely misconstrued the message. Thank you all for pointing it out!

Levon Ter Petrosyan to Run for President

This is for the 12 people amongst you who haven't yet heard this bit of rather interesting news.

Levon Ter Petrosyan, the former and first president of the Republic of Armenia announced his candidacy to run for becoming the 3rd president of the Republic of Armenia.

This announcement was highly anticipated, but experts doubted that Ter Petrosyan will not run for presidency unless he knows that he can win.

However, his support in Armenia is not widespread because people blame Ter Petrosyan for weak management of the government, the start of wide-spread corruption and for all the misdeeds of today's social life.

I'm one of those people. Down with Petrosyan!

Source: Huliq