OC Media

OC Media

Trans woman ejected from Armenian parliament after appeal to MPs

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(Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

A trans­gen­der human rights activist was asked to leave Armenia’s par­lia­ment, the National Assembly, after giving an impas­sioned speech to MP’s calling for more pro­tec­tion for trans­gen­der people in the country. [Read more…]

Protests as Yerevan authorities demolish cafés around Opera Square

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Demo­li­tion of cafés in the park around the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Yerevan. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Author­i­ties in Yerevan have begun to demolish cafés in the park around the National Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet, leading to protests from staff and owners. [Read more…]

In pictures | Nowhere else to go: the stories of Yerevan’s homeless

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A homeless man sleeps on a bench in the centre of Yerevan. There are currently around 400 homeless people in Yerevan, with three-quarters of them living on the streets. (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Yerevan’s homeless pop­u­la­tion comes from all over Armenia and beyond, but they all have ended up in the same place. There is one shelter in the city, with a capacity of 100, but it is not enough to house the hundreds living on Yerevan’s streets. [Read more…]

Opinion | Accepting our past is the only way we can move forward

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Javid Agha is an Ankara-based writer and social media observer focusing on Armenia and Azer­bai­jan, whose writing has been featured across the web including on the BBC. He is editor of Azer­bai­jani art and culture platform, VarYox.

In Azer­bai­jan, as in Armenia, remem­brance of the victims of past atroc­i­ties often takes on a one-sided nature. Despite attempts to twist and politi­cise such events to serve nation­al­ist causes, a more com­pas­sion­ate approach is needed to move forward, and a remem­brance that above all, innocent victims are always sacred.

[Read more…]

Taxes, corruption, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Turkey: Pashinyan’s vision for the ‘New Armenia’

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Having swept to power in a landslide electoral victory, the new gov­ern­ment of rev­o­lu­tion­ary leader Nikol Pashinyan is now laying out its vision for a ‘New Armenia’ — with ambitious plans for peace and reform.

[Read more…]

To change the system from within or without — the dilemma for feminists in ‘New Armenia’

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Maria Kara­petyan (Anahit of Erebuni)

As more and more women choose to enter politics in rev­o­lu­tion­ary ‘New Armenia’, a debate is raging within the country’s feminist circles: how best to transform Armenia's patri­ar­chal systems — from within or without. [Read more…]

‘I don’t want our faces to be labeled as poor and miserable’ — extreme poverty in Armenia

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Gyumri, Armenia (Armine Avetisyan/OC Media)

Almost a million Armenians live below the national poverty, around a third of the country. For over two decades suc­ces­sive gov­ern­ments have promised— and failed — to tackle poverty; following the Velvet Rev­o­lu­tion, Pashinyan’s gov­ern­ment has promised the same. [Read more…]

Talking about sex: an unspoken topic in Armenia

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(Armine Avetisyan /OC Media)

Sex is a taboo topic in Armenia, and as such, many children turn to the internet for answers about this and other intimate topics. While schools have intro­duced basic lessons on living a ‘healthy lifestyle’ that touch on the topic, most experts agree they are not fit for purpose. [Read more…]

Pashinyan block wins landslide in Yerevan Council elections

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Candidate of Yerevan Mayor Hayk Marutyan and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan (/Facebook)

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s My Step bloc has won a landslide in Yerevan’s City Council elections, with their candidate, Hayk Marutyan, set to become the capital’s new mayor. According to pre­lim­i­nary results from the Central Elections Com­mis­sion, the group won 81% of votes in Sunday’s snap election. [Read more…]

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