Last week there were speculations about whether the new prime minister of Armenia Karen Karapetyan and two of his cabinet members that are not members of the governing Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), will join the Party. The Prime minister and another cabinet minister said they have not made their decisions as yet. The Minister… Continue reading Party hegemony? Կուսակցատիրութիւն?

Eduard Sharmazanov, the young and assertive spokesperson of the Republican Party of Armenia (RPA), (who is also the vice president of the Armenian Parliament), at a press conference immediately after the meeting of the RPA Executive Committee, said the following. “The Republican Party is conservative, if you expect it to become Liberal or Social Democrat… Continue reading “Not Liberal, or Social Democrat”.

For the past few years, I am pleasantly and gratefully  “addicted” to kiva.org. A unique online small loan program to reduce poverty worldwide, including in Armenia. It enables you to directly loan money to the individuals of your choosing, and in the country of your choosing. It is a safe reliable and transparent program. (The… Continue reading Solar Energy in Armenia

This week I was called to a focus group meeting at the Armenian Community Center in Toronto, for the improvement of the Armenian Language curriculum at the ARS School. It was a follow-up to the general meeting we had on March 5. (For that first seminar see my monologue dated March 10 and titled “A… Continue reading Preserving the Armrnian Identity in Diaspora(s)

On October the second, there were widespread local elections in 377 communities in various parts of Armenia, but not much was reported about this election in the diaspora Armenian news outlets, either in print or online. A quick google search surprised me with the good news about a better electoral process without any major falsifications,… Continue reading Local elections in Armenia.

A friend of mine sent me an email that was a documentary about the migration of Armenians from the diaspora to Soviet Armenia in the late nineteen forties. The migration is known as Ներգաղթ. “Nairqaght” (The immigration). For my birthplace, Kessab, a village in Syria, the Nairqaght was like a large-scale out-migration that I witnessed… Continue reading Յուշագրութիւն (Memoir)”Ներգաղթը”. “The immigration”

In 1991 I paid a visit to the touristic town of Jermug about two hours drive south of Yerevan. The purpose of the visit was to inspect a hotel offered to  Armentrade of Toronto as a Joint Venture. It was a viable project but unfortunately, it did not materialize mainly due to the multiple claims… Continue reading Սելիմի Լեռնանցքը. The Selim Pass.

I just watched a documentary about Hovanes Toumanian,  the well known Armenian poet, and intellectual, on Nor Horizon TV program in Toronto. It seemed to be the last part of a longer documentary that I have missed watching. The documentary reminded me of my visit to Toumanian’ small museum in his birth place, the village of… Continue reading Դսեղի “Ծովափը”. The “Beach” at Dsegh.

As Volodia had explained to Vazken, there were hardly any Armenian traces left in Erzurum (Garin). The site of the famous Sanasarian college had hardly any traces of his past fame. The most distinctive characteristic of the city seems to be winter skiing. Signs of winter skiing were everywhere. The two most popular tourist attractions… Continue reading Trip to Western Armenia (Part 6)

That morning the other minivan arrived at the hotel and we visited St Garabed Monastery. The road was not any better than the one to Varaqa Sourp Khach in Van, that I wrote about in part 3.  But the monastery was in worst condition than Varaqa Sourp Khach. Again, the village children led us to… Continue reading Trip to Western Armenia (Part 5)