Armenian opposition parties are complaining that high prices for television campaign ads and extensive coverage of pro-government political parties are skewing Armenia's parliamentary campaign. International and local media monitoring reports appear to support the contention that the government and parties in power are dominating television election news coverage.
The Iran-Armenia gas pipeline, officially opened on March 19 by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Armenian President Robert Kocharian, has quickly emerged as a source of speculation about regional energy alliances. A trip to Armenia by Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili two days after the pipeline's opening provided plenty of fuel for conjecture.
The sudden death of Prime Minister Andranik Markarian on March 25 from heart failure has sparked considerable political unease in Armenia, with residents expressing concern over what implications it could have for parliamentary elections just a month and a half away.
The Armenian Ministry of Environmental Protection’s recent decision to give the go-ahead to the development of a copper-molybdenum mine in northern Armenia has sparked considerable concern among environmentalists and related non-governmental organizations.
As Armenia's parliamentary election campaign takes shape, opposition parties are crying foul after public and private television broadcasters set what leading government critics consider to be exorbitantly high prices for campaign ads.
In Soviet times, there were reportedly only seven communists in Lernamerdz, a hamlet of over 500 residents. But the situation changed after Armenia gained independence in 1991, and began to dismantle monuments to communist leaders, villagers say.
Lake Sevan's famous whitefish, or sig, helped Armenians overcome food shortages during the energy crisis of the early 1990s, but have since become threatened with extinction from over-fishing. Unclear environmental policies on the fish and a lack of economic alternatives for local fishermen have further complicated matters.
A dramatic increase in respiratory diseases over the past several years means that Armenia is now struggling to breathe, physicians and public health specialists say. While government representatives downplay the problem, environmentalists point to desertification as the cause.
Armenia's opposition Heritage Party has been blocked from entering its rented offices as part of an ongoing property dispute that party sympathizers say is politically motivated.
Armenia's opposition Heritage Party has been blocked from entering its rented offices as part of an ongoing property dispute that party sympathizers say is politically motivated.
