With political jockeying already underway in advance of Armenia’s parliamentary vote next spring, civil society activists are pondering ways to use the Internet to promote electoral transparency.
An online “youth group initiative” set up by four 20-somethings in Armenia is illustrating how far Facebook can go in maximizing political influence while concealing identity.
This spring, when 15 young activists gathered outside Tajikistan’s state electricity supplier during an energy crisis to “lay flowers for the dead electricity,” they anticipated spending a night in jail. But the country’s first documented “flash mob,” a protest that lasted less than 30 minutes on April 8, passed peacefully.
Yerevan’s city government, a body not generally known for being digitally savvy, is making a break with the Analog Age. Seeking to encourage the use of public transportation, officials have authorized a pilot project to provide free Wi-Fi on five city buses.
Facebook-inspired protests in Azerbaijan are evolving into a game of cat-and-mouse designed to invigorate protesters while straining law-enforcement authorities by keeping them on a constant state of alert.
BAKU -- Youth activists in Azerbaijan say they are coming under pressure over a Facebook campaign calling for a day of antigovernment protests on March 11, RFE/RL's Azerbaijani Service reports.
