With the election for Yerevan's City Council 10 days away, the campaign is becoming bruising. But it's not jockeying between the government and opposition that has emerged as the chief source of rancor. Instead, the campaign has opened a window on a simmering power struggle within the governing coalition.
Journalists in Armenia, both opposition and pro-government in orientation, indicate that they are increasingly wary of trying to fulfill the press' traditional role of government watchdog.
Armenia's framework agreement with Turkey on the possible normalization of relations is already changing the face of politics in Armenia. Citing insurmountable disagreements with Armenia's policy toward Turkey, the Armenian Revolutionary Federation Dashnaktsutiun pulled out of the government's ruling coalition on April 27 and announced it would join the opposition.
The April 23 announcement of "tangible progress" in normalizing relations between Armenia and Turkey has sparked deep concern in Yerevan that the Armenian government has made "dangerous" compromises on the Nagorno-Karabakh peace talks and on efforts to secure international recognition of an Ottoman Turk massacre of ethnic Armenians as genocide.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan's trip to Yerevan may have been brief, with little publicity, but it has nonetheless further fueled Armenia's ongoing debate about mending ties with Turkey.
Yerevan's City Council elections may be more than a month and a half away, but improvements to the Armenian capital's infrastructure and appearance remind residents that the unofficial campaign season is well under way.
As Turkey and Armenia inch closer to some potential form of reconciliation, Armenian attention is increasingly focusing on whether or not Turkey will opt to participate in the construction of a new Armenian nuclear power plant.
It is not just railways, energy and telecommunications that unite Russian and Armenian business interests. This summer, a controversial joint project to mine uranium is expected to break ground; a prospect that some Armenian environmentalists warn could turn Armenia into "an environmental disaster zone."
In a surprise move that some say could spark further political turmoil, former President Levon Ter Petrosian has announced plans to run for mayor of Yerevan in the Armenian capital's May 31 elections.
In a surprise move that some say could spark further political turmoil, former President Levon Ter Petrosian has announced plans to run for mayor of Yerevan in the Armenian capital's May 31 elections.
