CONTEST: Radio and Video Reporting on Women’s Issues

The Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR) is launching a radio and video reporting contest for stories related to women's issues in Armenia.

The aim of the contest is to promote active media coverage of women's issues in Armenia, in order to encourage democratic accountability and sensitive and informed reporting on key concerns facing women.

Eligibility:

Radio, TV and online media journalists as well as freelance reporters are eligible to submit audio and video pieces for the contest.

The materials submitted must have been broadcast between January 1 and August 31, 2012, and cover issues relating to health, unemployment, education, engagement of women in governance, and other social and economic topics of concern to women living in remote areas of Armenia.

Radio and video pieces should be no more than four minutes in length.

Submissions will be judged according to the criteria below:

- Balance and fairness.

- Thoroughness of reporting: new information, factual detail, illustrative examples, diversity of sources.

- Reporting techniques: engaging the audience, emotional impact, structure, creativity and style.

The deadline for submission of materials is 5 pm on August 31, 2012.

The panel of judges will award certificates and cash prizes, as follows:

First prize (radio): 85,000 AMD

Second place (radio): 55,000 AMD

Third place (radio): 45,000 AMD

First prize (video): 85,000 AMD

Second place (video): 55,000 AMD

Third place (video): 45,000 AMD

IWPR Armenia’s partners will award additional prizes for the best radio/video reports covering specific thematic subjects:

www.womennet.am will award a special prize for the best radio or video report covering women’s engagement in politics.

The Women’s Resource Centre will award a special prize for the best radio/video report covering public involvement or civil initiatives by young women and girls in community action, education or other areas of civic activism.

UNFPA, United Nations Population Fund Armenia Country Office will award a special prize for the best report covering access of young women and adolescent girls to reproductive health services.

IWPR reserves the right to republish winners’ reports on www.iwpr.net and other resources. Republished materials may be edited to meet IWPR’s editorial standards.

ABOUT IWPR

IWPR strengthens local media at the frontlines of conflict and change, working in two dozen countries and territories around the world. This includes establishing independent local media; training local reporters, editors and producers; supporting extensive in-depth reporting on human rights, good governance and related issues; disseminating professional reporting in developing countries and internationally; and strengthening communications capacity of local human rights, international justice and women’s organisations.

In Armenia, IWPR raises public awareness and helps build significant dialogues by strengthening local media skills and capacities.

NEWS: RFE/RL Caucasus Report, November 18, 2010 - December 3, 2010 (rferl.org)

A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region. For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page .

Caspian Nations Avoid 'Definitions' Leaders of the five Caspian littoral states are holding a summit in Baku starting November 18. They haven’t agreed on much in the past, and now there really doesn’t seem to be much to talk about. More
Georgia Gears Up For Election Reform Talks Georgian opposition and the ruling party reached partial agreement last week on the format for long-anticipated talks on election reform. But President Mikheil Saakashvili has already vetoed one of the most important draft proposals the opposition unveiled last month as a basis for discussion. More
Controversial Daghestan Government Commission Holds First Session A Daghestan government commission intended to "help" Islamic insurgents who admit to the error of their ways and wish to return to a normal law-abiding way of life held its first session. But it remains unclear what legal guarantees, if any, it is empowered to offer. More
Armenian Army Scrambles To Tackle Abuse After Spate Of Deaths Armenian Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian this month faced the uneasy task of comforting parents whose sons were found dead after suffering vicious treatment in the army. More
Kazakhstan's Jihadists Solicit Assistance From Ingush Insurgency Website More


Dozens Quit Armenian Party's Youth Wing Twenty-six members of the youth wing of one of Armenia's key opposition parties, including its leader, have resigned en masse. More
Armenian Oppositionist Freed A well-known Armenian opposition figure has been set free after spending more than 30 months in prison on controversial charges stemming from the 2008 postelection unrest. More
Interview: Georgia 'On Its Way' To NATO, EU, Top Official Says Georgia is pushing ahead with reforms aimed at joining the European Union and NATO -- and ready to talk to Russia. That's the message from Giorgi Baramidze, Georgia's deputy prime minister and state minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration. More
Minister's Son Brings Suit Over Shashlik The son of Azerbaijan's transportation minister is suing two opposition newspapers over allegations that he paid a restaurant $1.2 million to make him a Shish kebab from a bear on display at the eatery. More
Kremlin Replaces Kabardino-Balkaria Interior Minister Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has fired Kabardino-Balkaria Interior Minister Lieutenant General Yury Tomchak, replacing him with Sergei Vasilyev, a career Russian police officer from Kemerovo with no previous experience of the North Caucasus. More
What Happens In Lisbon Stays In Lisbon NATO delegates attending the alliance's annual summit last weekend in Lisbon have left a bit of a scandal in their wake. More
Saakashvili, At EU Parliament, Calls For Dialogue With Kremlin Seven years to the day after the Rose Revolution, the bloodless uprising which brought Mikheil Saakashvili to power in Georgia, the Georgian president delivered an impassioned speech in front of the European parliament in Strasbourg, in which he offered the Russian leadership a "deep and comprehensive dialogue." More
Georgia Names New Ambassador To U.S. Georgia has announced a high-profile personnel reshuffle that will impact crucial aspects of domestic and foreign policy, including relations with Washington and ongoing efforts to bring the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia back under the control of the central government. More
NATO Prepared For 'Global Threats and Challenges' Following the Lisbon summit, U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder spoke with RFE/RL about NATO's new mission statement and the beginning and meaning behind of its new relationship with Russia. More
Caspian Summit Fails To Clarify Status, Resource Issues Third attempt in eight years fails to advance vital questions as Caspian summit has ends in Baku apparently without major breakthroughs. More
Freed Azerbaijani Blogger Says Year Without Internet Was 'Torture' Azerbaijani opposition blogger Emin Milli has been released early from prison, one day after fellow blogger Adnan Hajizada walked free. The jailing of the two men, widely attributed to their video clip mocking the government, had drawn international condemnation as a gross violation of free speech. More
Georgia Walks A Line Between Washington And Tehran It's unlikely that the warming of Georgia's relations with Iran will lead to a cooling of relations with the United States or Europe. The real danger is that politicians who are already bothered by Georgia's policies and problems or who understand them poorly will be handed another bone to chew. More

Chechens Praise European Court Ruling A Chechen woman has welcomed a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that awarded her and more than two dozen others record compensation for a deadly Russian air raid on their village. More
Armenia Threatens To Recognize Karabakh Armenia has threatened to formally recognize the breakaway Azerbaijani region of Nagorno-Karabakh as an independent state if Baku tries to use force to win back the disputed enclave and other Armenian-controlled territories near it. More
'No Armenia Effect' On U.S. From Leaks U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Marie Yovanovitch says the publication of thousands of leaked U.S. diplomatic documents will not have a negative impact on Washington's "very close" relations with Yerevan. More
OSCE Summit Concludes Without Deal On Action Plan Delegates at the OSCE's two-day summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, had hoped for a breakthrough deal on a new OSCE action plan to strengthen the organization in the future. More
Armenian Official Denies 'Leak' A leading member of President Serzh Sarkisian's Republican Party (HHK) has denied recently disclosed U.S. claims that Armenia re-exported weapons to Iran. More
Insurgents In Daghestan Threaten Further Strikes On Russian Targets The man named three months ago as commander of the Daghestan sector of the North Caucasus insurgency has warned that his group will continue to "inflict horrors" on Russian territory -- an allusion to the suicide bombings in the Moscow subway in which 40 people were killed. More
Interview: UN's Ban Favors Expanded Security Council UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon says he is in favor of adding more members to the UN Security Council. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, Ban said it was the prevailing view among UN members that the current format of 15 council countries -- including five permanent veto-wielding members -- needs to be reformed. More
Abkhaz, South Ossetian Officials Dismiss Georgian President's Assurances Officials in the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia have reacted with skepticism to Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili's pledge not to resort to military force to bring those regions back under the control of the Georgian central government. More
Can Ukraine Follow Georgia's Lead In Reforms? When Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in 2003, Georgia was widely seen as one of the most corrupt countries in the former Soviet Union. Saakashvili battled corruption, streamlined bureaucracy, and pushed through successful economic reforms. What can other post-Soviet countries learn from Georgia? More

BLOG: Der Südkaukasusus bei WELTREPORTER.NET

Schon seit einiger Zeit besuche ich immer wieder diese interessante Seite: www.weltreporter.net. Auch zu der Region im Süüdkaukasus findet man interesante Artikel in diesem proffesionellen Netzwerk.

REPORTERWELT... ist das Blog des Korrespondentennetzes WELTREPORTER.NET. Gemeinsam arbeiten wir an der Verkleinerung der Welt [mehr].


Dienstag, 03. November 2009 - 15:41 Uhr
Georgisch. Schrecklich. Schön. von Stefan Scholl [E-Mail]


Sonntag, 11. Oktober 2009 - 17:05 Uhr
Produktionsprozess Abgelegt unter: Reporteralltag, Türkei von Susanne Güsten [E-Mail]


Samstag, 16. August 2008 - 12:53 Uhr
Das viel kleinere Übel. Russland interveniert in Georgien Abgelegt unter: Russland von Stefan Scholl [E-Mail]

Hier ist der Blog: www.weltreporter.net/blog/

NEWS: RFE/RL Caucasus Report 2/2/2010 (rferl.org)

2/2/2010 4:57:01 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region. For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page .

Armenia Police Drop Charges On Activists Armenian police have dropped the cases against three opposition activists due to a lack of evidence, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More
'He Asked For A Blessing From His Family Members' Two Azerbaijani soldiers last week shot and killed four officers on their base before allegedly turning their guns on themselves. The incident was the latest troubling reminder of the state of the Azerbaijani Army, which observers say is rife with corruption, hazing, and abuse. More
Azeri President's Brother Sues Journalists The brother of President Ilham Aliyev has filed a lawsuit against two journalists at the opposition newspaper "Yeni Musavat," RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports. More
Georgia Satellite Channel Claims Kremlin Pressure Took It Off The Air Georgia's Russian-language television channel, First Caucasian, says it is being taken off the air by its France-based satellite provider due to pressure from the Kremlin. More
Is Ramzan Kadyrov's Star On The Wane? Just a few months ago, Ramzan Kadyrov's position as Chechen Republic head appeared unassailable. He was even named in December as a possible candidate for the post of federal official responsible for the entire North Caucasus. But since the start of the year, he has incurred veiled criticism from both Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. In addition, he has been the subject of damaging allegations from media outlets both in Russia and abroad. More
Georgian Offer Of Afghan Transit Unlikely To Tempt NATO Georgia this week revived the idea that it could become a bridgehead for a NATO transit corridor through Central Asia to Afghanistan. The idea was first floated a year ago, but has been ignored by the United States and NATO, which currently supply their forces in Afghanistan via routes crossing Pakistan and Russia. More
U.S. Envoy For Eurasian Energy Explains Goals, Strategy For Region The White House's Special Envoy for Eurasian energy has laid out the U.S. government's policy strategy for the region, and says the key to its success will be engagement. More
Six Dead In Shooting At Azeri Military Base Six servicemen are dead and two more wounded after two soldiers went on a shooting rampage on an Azerbaijani military base near the border with Armenia. More
Georgia Unveils 'Strategy On Occupied Territories' The Georgian government has made public its strategy with regard to regaining control over the breakaway republics of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Like successive draft peace proposals that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili presented since his election in 2004, it is phrased in such a way as to impress the international community, rather than to address the existential fears, and win the trust of, the population of the regions in question. More
MEP Sees Stronger EU Role In Caucasus Should the European Union take a more active role in the South Caucasus? Evgeni Kirilov, a Bulgarian member of the European Parliament and member of the parliament's delegation dealing with Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, thinks it should. More
What Georgia Can Learn From The Melian Dialogue Georgians must not just continue to look to distant powers to solve their problems with Russia. They must address them themselves. That requires understanding of what both Georgians and Russians want, and seeking ways of building confidence and cooperation. More
Smear And Loathing In Tbilisi: Mudslinging Targets Rising Georgian Political Star Georgian media with ties to President Mikheil Saakashvili have launched a mudslinging campaign against opposition figure Irakli Alasania. The apparent reason: Alasania promises to be a strong candidate in Tbilisi’s mayoral elections this May, and is expected to use that post as a staging pad for a presidential bid. More
UN’s Role In Georgia Has ‘Fundamentally Changed’ Johan Verbeke is the former head of the now-defunct UN observer mission in Georgia and was the UN’s special representative at the Geneva talks initiated after the August 2008 Russia-Georgia war. Verbeke has since been named Belgium’s ambassador to the U.K. On the eve of a fresh round of talks in Geneva on January 28, Verbeke spoke to RFE/RL correspondent Olesya Vartanyan about the possibility of restoring observer missions in Georgia and the continued challenges regarding Russia, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia. More
Springing To Hitler's Defense In July 2008, just a couple of weeks before the Russia-Georgia war, Sakartvelo TV, affiliated with the Georgian Defense Ministry, quoted Adolf Hitler. More
Armenian, Azerbaijani Presidents Agree On Preamble To 'Madrid Principles' Meeting in Sochi with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, Serzh Sarkisian and Ilham Aliyev, reached verbal agreement on the wording of the preamble of the most recent revised version of the "Madrid Principles" that constitute the outline of a more comprehensive Karabakh peace agreement. More
Confusion Surrounds Former Armenian President's Visit To Iran Former Armenian President Robert Kocharian travelled to Iran last week for a two-day visit that has been variously described as "private" and "unofficial," or, alternatively, undertaken as the result of a "state invitation" extended by the Iranian leadership. More
North Ossetian Prison Imam Accused Of Links With Insurgency Djimmi Tanduyev, whom Muslim inmates of a North Ossetian jail selected a year ago as their imam, has been placed in solitary confinement for three months after being found in possession of materials urging Muslims to join the jihad and pictures of Chechen resistance commanders Shamil Basayev and Doku Umarov. More
Can New Medvedev Vision Bring Stability To North Caucasus? Russia observers have spent a great deal of time trying to explain the rationale behind President Medvedev's appointment of Aleksandr Khloponin to oversee the new North Caucasus Federal District. But questions still remain. More
Did Georgian Leadership Try To Influence Ukraine Election? Several prominent Georgian oppositionists have expressed concern at the political implications of two telephone conversations posted online which could be construed as evidence that the Georgian leadership sought to influence the January 17 Ukrainian presidential election to secure a victory for Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko. More
Medvedev Creates New North Caucasus Federal District Russian President Dmitri Medvedev yesterday divided the Southern Federal District to create a new North Caucasus Federal District comprising six of the seven North Caucasus republics, plus Stavropol Krai. More
Azerbaijan Remembers 'Black January' Twenty years ago today, on January 20, 1990, Soviet troops stormed Baku by order of the Kremlin in an ultimately failed attempt to save Communist rule and put down Azerbaijan's independence movement. More
Armenia-Turkey: Who Will Blink First? Over three months have now elapsed since the signing in Geneva on October 10 of two protocols on establishing and developing "good neighborly" diplomatic relations between Armenia and Turkey. But the prospects that either parliament will ratify those protocols in the near future remain slim. More
Saakashvili Announces Yet Another Volte Face In Georgia's Defense Policy After years of progressive increases in military spending and raising the maximum number of armed forces personnel, the Georgian leadership has apparently decided to bite the bullet and comply with NATO's recommendations to downsize. More
Georgian Parliament Elects New Election Commission Chairman In a move that will only fuel the antagonism between the authorities and the embattled and embittered opposition, Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili has engineered the election as chairman of the Central Election Commission of a professional number-cruncher whom opposition parties suspect of answering to powerful Interior Minister Vano Merabishvili. More
Who's Out To Exacerbate Chechen-Ingush Tensions? Over the past several years, relations between Chechnya and neighboring Ingushetia, which from 1934-44 and again from 1957 to June 1992 constituted a single Checheno-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, have become increasingly strained and acrimonious. More
Springfield In The Caucasus “The Simpsons” has just celebrated 20 years on the air, and it’s not only U.S. viewers who have felt the impact of the groundbreaking cartoon. Its mix of social satire and slapstick has made deep inroads into the former communist bloc. More

CALL: Water poems, short stories and creative essays sought from the Caucasus region (ijnet.org)

Poets and writers from Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Azerbaijan and Turkey are invited to submit poems, short stories and creative essays for publication in the book "Our First Element: Caucasian Water." Deadline: February 5.
The book will include photographs by Caucasian photographers, old legends, water ritual and celebration stories, proverbs and quotes, contemporary poems and short stories. Entries can display the human relationship to water or refer to any water issue in the Caucasus region.
The 20 best works will be published in the book in the Armenian and English languages.
The publication is supported by The Foundation for the Preservation of Wildlife and Cultural Assets in Armenia.

Works should be submitted to creative@fpwc.org.

Internet: www.ijnet.org

NEWS: RFE/RL Caucasus Report 1/5/2010 (rferl.org)

A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region.

For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page .

Has The 2013 Georgian Presidential Campaign Already Started? Mikheil Saakashvili's second term as Georgian president does not expire for another three years. But the preparations for municipal elections in late May 2010, including that for Tbilisi mayor, already increasingly resemble the first stage in what promises to be a no-holds-barred fight to succeed him. More

Georgia's Russian-Language TV Venture Georgia has launched a new Russian-language television channel that critics say will fan tensions with Russia, still high after the brief 2008 war between the two countries. More

Low Turnout, Alleged Violations Mar Azerbaijani Local Elections Voters from three villages in Azerbaijan's Sabirabad Raion staged a protest on December 28 against perceived procedural violations during the December 23 municipal elections. More

Playing Into Moscow's Hands Paul Goble says few can doubt that recent Russian claims that Georgia is providing support for Islamist and nationalist militants in the North Caucasus are absurd provocations. But he also says even fewer in Tbilisil seem to recognize that far more is riding on their responses. More

No End In Sight To Daghestan Presidential Cliff-Hanger While some have construed Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's assertion that new elections will take place in several municipalities in Daghestan as setting a laudable precedent for annulling local ballots that are openly and blatantly rigged, others see it as way of not reappointing Mukhu Aliyev as the republic's president. More

Breaking Down The Azerbaijani-Iranian Border "The New York Times" yesterday highlighted Tehran's fears of its "increasingly aggressive separatist groups," so a rare video dug up by RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service is an interesting reminder. More

Ill Armenian Oppositionist Returned To Jail Imprisoned Armenian opposition figure Sasun Mikaelian was returned to jail on December 28 after spending more than three weeks in a civilian hospital in Yerevan, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More

Georgia Denounces Rosneft-Abkhazia Deal The Georgian Foreign Ministry says an oil agreement between Russian oil company Rosneft and the separatist region of Abkhazia is a violation of Georgian and international laws, RFE/RL's Echo of the Caucasus reports. More

Requiem For The Revolutions As Europe this year marked two decades since the fall of the Iron Curtain, the wave of democratic expansion that swept across the former Soviet space appeared to be ebbing. Has the democratic dream of 1989 run its course? More

Defector Describes 'Amoral' Conditions In South Ossetia Twenty-five-year-old Vitaly Khripun, a border guard with the Russian Federal Security Service in South Ossetia, defected from his post on December 21 and has asked for political asylum in Georgia. Khripun was serving in the Java district along the administrative border that has separated South Ossetia from Georgia proper since last year's five-day war between Russia and Georgia. In his first interview since his defection, Khripun says he was motivated to act by the culture of corruption and crue More

Not Such A Riot Armenian riot police have long been accused by civic groups of using disproportionate force against citizens. More

Picking Up The Pieces Of The Georgian War Memorial Tragedy If the story of Georgia's destroyed Glory Memorial began as a tragedy, it is ending as farce. Today, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov picked up on Vladimir Putin's wily proposal that the Soviet-era Kutaisi monument -- razed, with tragic consequences, by order of Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili -- be rebuilt in a more appreciative city. More

Putin Piles On As Georgia Grapples With War Memorial Tragedy The fallout continues in Georgia over the fatal demolition of a war memorial in the western city of Kutaisi. More

Georgian President Blasted Over Monument's Demolition The demolition of a Soviet-era war memorial in the western Georgian city of Kutaisi was meant to make space for a new parliament building. But many opponents say the act shows blatant disregard for the country's World War II sacrifices, and the death of a mother and daughter in the blast has only increased their anger. More

Russia Marks 130 Years Since Stalin's Birth Russia is marking the 130th anniversary of the birth of Soviet leader Josef Stalin with medals and marches in his honor, as well as an exhibition that shows his crude and vindictive side. But even as many Russians continue to revere Stalin as a strong leader, others remember his cruel legacy as the man responsible for millions of deaths during his nearly 30-year rule. More

NEWS: 26 Nov 09 | Caucasus Reporting Service 521 until 24 Dec 09 | Caucasus Reporting Service 525 (iwpr.net)

24 Dec 09 Caucasus Reporting Service 525
Armenia: Nuclear Plant Controversy
Yerevan pushes ahead with new station in face of protests from ecologists. By Gayane Mkrtchyan in Yerevan (CRS No. 525, 24-Dec-09)
Georgian Conflict Exploitation Concerns
Some observers suspect the authorities are taking advantage of people caught up in Georgia’s wars. By Natia Kuprashvili in Tbilisi and Davit Gaimsonia in Gori (CRS No. 525, 24-Dec-09)

18 Dec 09 Caucasus Reporting Service 524
Armenia: Media Reach Out to Turkey
But commentators say they should not be too quick to let down their guard. By David Muradian and Sara Khojoian in Yerevan (CRS No. 524, 18-Dec-09)
Azeris Turn to Satellite TV in Propaganda Battle
Armenians wooed with TV news broadcasts from the enemy. By Samira Hasanli in Baku (CRS No. 524, 18-Dec-09)
Chechens Mark Ten Years of Exile
A decade after they fled their homeland, Chechens in Georgia still fear it is unsafe to go back. By Lizaveta Zhahanina in Tbilisi (CRS No. 524, 18-Dec-09)
Abkhazia Gets Recognition Boost After Poll
Bagapsh says his re-election showed Abkhaz desire to be independent. By Anaid Gogorian in Sukhum (CRS No. 524, 18-Dec-09)

11 Dec 09 Caucasus Reporting Service 523
Greens Protest Over Georgian Airport Plans
Environmentalists oppose controversial hub close to Black Sea nature reserve. By Lasha Zarginava in Poti (CRS No. 523, 09-Dec-09)
Gyumri Residents Recall Catastrophic Tremor
Destructive force of 1988 earthquake was so swift that people thought the Armenian city had been bombed. By Ashley Killough in Gyumri (CRS No. 523, 09-Dec-09)

4 Dec 09 Caucasus Reporting Service 522
Tbilisi Criticised Over Repatriation Requests
Tens of thousands of Meskhetians apply to come home, but Georgian officials accused of not doing enough to help them. By Fati Mamiashvili in Tbilisi (CRS No. 522, 04-Dec-09)
Georgia: Collapse of Armenian Church Provokes Row
Armenian minority say incident illustrates their limited rights in the country. By Lela Iremashvili in Tbilisi and Hasmik Hambardzumyan in Yerevan (CRS No. 522, 04-Dec-09)
Azeris Face Spending Crunch
Economic experts warn budget cut resulting from falling oil revenues could harm most vulnerable. By Kenan Guluzade in Baku (CRS No. 522, 03-Dec-09)

Project Highlights
Caucasus: Oct/Nov ‘09
IWPR Karabakh workshop participants find out how web journalism can enhance work of journalists and activists. By IWPR staff (4-Dec-09)

Reporting Impact
Caucasus: Oct/Nov ‘09
IWPR discussion events prompt Tbilisi officials to cooperate with Georgian NGOs on refugee issues. By IWPR staff (4-Dec-09)

26 Nov 09 Caucasus Reporting Service 521
Azerbaijan: Ethnic Azeri Immigrants in Rights Struggle
They say the country’s immigration law makes it hard for them to gain permanent residence permits. By Samira Ahmedbeyli in Baku (CRS No. 521, 24-Nov-09)
Armenia Surprised by Anti-Russian Agitation
Emails and text messages seek to spark campaign over military bases. By Naira Melkumyan in Yerevan (CRS No. 521, 24-Nov-09)
Abkhazia Sees Tourism Boom
Russians flock to breakaway territory despite accommodation shortage and poor service. By Anaid Gogorian in Sukhum (CRS No. 521, 26-Nov-09)

NEWS: RFE/RL Caucasus Report 11/5/2009 (rferl.org)

11/5/2009 5:15:53 PM A review of RFE/RL reporting and analysis about the countries of the South Caucasus and Russia's North Caucasus region. For more stories on the Caucasus, please visit and bookmark our Caucasus page .

Georgian Opposition Wants U.S. To Renounce Recognition Of Kosovo The chairman of Georgia's opposition Labor Party is in Washington to discuss Georgian-U.S.-Russian relations and the recognition of Kosovo and Georgia's breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, RFE/RL's Georgian and Russian services report. More

Russia Is Dying To Learn Its Census Data The news that the next Russian census will be held in 2010 is welcome news indeed. There had been considerable speculation that the census had been delayed largely for political reasons, and it is encouraging to think that the opinions of experts who say the census information is crucially needed were heeded in this case. More

Commander's Testimony Fails To Substantiate Mukhrovani Coup Allegations Testifying in court in the ongoing trial of military officers accused of plotting to overthrow the Georgian leadership, the commander of Georgia's land forces could not confirm that two of the charged officers were pursuing any broader political objective. Nor could he say positively that three other men identified as the masterminds of the alleged coup were present at the Mukhrovani military base on the crucial morning of May 5. More

Has Armenia's Economy Bottomed Out? Official statistics suggest that after seven consecutive months of negative economic growth, the Armenian economy has begun to recover. But some prominent former officials are skeptical. More

Jailed Armenian Journalist To Run For Parliament Jailed Armenian opposition newspaper editor Nikol Pashinian says he will run as a candidate for parliament, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More
Campaign To Discredit Exiled Chechen Leader Intensifies Over the past year, Chechen Republic head Ramzan Kadyrov has repeatedly said he would welcome the return to Chechnya from London of Akhmed Zakayev, who heads the Chechen Republic Ichkeria (CHRI) leadership in exile. But last week, Kadyrov abruptly changed tack, branding Zakayev a liar and a hypocrite and accusing him of misrepresenting the present situation in Chechnya. More

RFE/RL Begins Russian-Language Program To South Ossetia, Abkhazia RFE/RL's first Russian-language news program to the Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia began today. More

EU Envoy Hopes Turkey-Armenia Protocols OK'd Soon The European Union's special representative to the South Caucasus, Peter Semneby, said he hopes the rapprochement protocols signed by Armenia and Turkey will be ratified soon, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More

Russia To Build New Nuclear Plant In Armenia The Armenian government says Russia will build a nuclear power plant in Armenia that will nearly triple the country's current levels of nuclear energy production, RFE/RL's Armenian Service reports. More

New Bone Of Contention Emerges Between Georgian Opposition, Government Even before the putative date (May 30) of next year's Georgian municipal elections has been confirmed, opposition parties are expressing concern that amendments to the election law proposed by the authorities will give President Mikheil Saakashvili's United National Movement (ENM) an unfair advantage over its opposition rivals. More

Karachais Join Balkar Protest In Moscow A group of Balkars launched a series of public pickets in Moscow on October 26 to protest perceived discrimination at the hands of the predominantly Kabardian leadership of the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic (KBR) and the failure of the federal authorities to implement the 1991 law on the rehabilitation of ethnic groups deported by Stalin from the North Caucasus in 1943-1944. More

Violence Pervades Ingushetian President's First Year In Office Since being named president of Ingushetia a year ago, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov's greatest achievement over the past year is arguably that he is still alive, having made a remarkable recovery from injuries sustained in an assassination attempt in June. But he also secured financial aid from Moscow to kick-start the republic's moribund economy, and has made every effort to reach out to, and win the trust of, a population alienated and disgusted by corruption and inefficiency. More

Georgia Braces For ‘Provocations’ On Border With Russia Georgian parliamentarians met on October 28 with top national security officials to discuss the implications of recent Russian allegations that international terrorists affiliated with Al-Qaeda are transiting Georgia en route to join the ranks of the North Caucasus resistance. More

Georgian Public Broadcaster ‘Unable’ To Grant Patriarchate Air Time In the wake of last week's scandal surrounding the internet footage showing Patriarch Ilia II, the head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, apparently denigrating Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili, Ilia's press secretary Mikael Botkoveli has addressed a formal request to the Georgian Public Broadcaster to air a debate on the issue. More

Massacre In Armenian Parliament Still Echoes On October 27, 1999, armed men stormed the Armenian parliament and killed eight people, including the prime minister and speaker. Ten years later, lawmakers and other officials say the tragedy permanently changed the emerging institutions in post-Soviet Armenia. More

EU Reviews Cooperation With The South Caucasus Foreign ministers of the three South Caucasus countries today met with an EU troika of top officials in Luxembourg. The routine meeting takes place yearly under the aegis of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreements the EU has with Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. The EU is offering all three countries an upgrade to an Association Treaty, which could eventually bring with it free trade and visa-free travel, but would not open the door to EU membership. More

Biden: Trip Has Laid Eastern Europe's 'Reset' Fears To Rest U.S. Vice President Joe Biden has just wrapped up a three-day visit to Eastern Europe. In an exclusive interview with RFE/RL, Biden said he believes he has successfully allayed fears that U.S. efforts to improve relations with Russia could come at the expense of Washington's Eastern European allies. More