Notes From Hairenik: A Blog About Life in Armenia

November 30, 2006

Armenian and Azerbaijani Presidents meet yet again

Looks like Armenian President Robert Kocharian and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev cannot get enough of each other. On Tuesday they met for a third time this year in Minsk to try and hammer out a peace deal over the Nagorno-Karabagh conflict. Perhaps a romance is developing between them.

Supposedly they are making progress, as President Aliyev had announced that both sides were "already approaching the final phase of negotiations." What that entails is still to be determined, because no one is revealing any details--not them, the Foreign Ministers of both countries, nor members of the "Minsk Group," which was appointed by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and is supposed to be encouraging the leaders to come up with a final solution to the conflict sometime this century. Apparently, according to information the group released just before the talks, "complementary elements" were on the table as a measure to come up with a solution, whatever that means. Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian has added to his eternal list of vague statements that "the presidents assessed the meeting as positive in terms of atmosphere and constructive approaches." I suppose that may mean the meeting room was pretty decked out and plenty of iced vodka was made handy.

Armenian Defense Minister Serge Sargsyan said that there should be "dignified peace" as a result, and regarding the return of occupied territories/liberated lands, depending on who you speak with, he said that he "never specified whether we should surrender 15 meters, 20 meters or 500 kilometers [of land]... That’s not important to me. The important thing is to have mutual compromise.” I guess that means he's all for giving back the territories if that's what it takes--it doesn't seem to be very important to him, even though he (as well as President Kocharian) is a native of Karabagh.

I've often expressed my opinion about this supposed peace deal of which no one really seems to know the minute intricacies, which you can read about here and here. We only know for certain that a referendum was meant to be held 10 years after a deal was signed to determine Karabagh’s official status, and that the territories would all go back except possibly one of them, depending on how drunk Aliyev is if and when they sign an agreement. Although there is discussion that there may be a final decision on a settlement by the end of the year, it doesn't seem like there is much buzz in the community, not surprisingly. I haven't heard the president of Nagorno-Karabagh Arkady Ghukasian mention anything, although he is supposedly vehemently opposed to the talks since he is being left out of them. One thing that was revealed regarding how people in Karabagh feel, however, was that a constitutional referendum is scheduled to be held on December 10. Meanwhile, at least one Armenian government official has publicly stated that he believed no peace deal would be reached in the next few years, since 2007 and 2008 are election years in both Armenia and Azerbaijan. One alliance of Karabagh war veterans a while ago said something to the effect that there would be negative consequences if they perceive the final solution to be grossly in Azerbaijan's favor.

So it seems that the people in general are not taking a peace solution seriously, are indifferent, or are defiant, depending again on who you talk to. The officials of both countries have insurmountable pounds of pressure pressed against their heads to finish this thing once and for all, and it appears that the Armenian side is willing to solve the problem at all costs, judging from the statements I read, some of which I quoted above. I don't know when the Minsk Group or whoever is responsible will finally reveal what's in the peace pudding, but I think the citizens of both Armenia and Azerbaijan should be entitled the immediate right to know everything that is at stake, and what they have to live with.

You can read more about the meeting here.

Labels: Nagorno-Karabagh, Politics

Posted by Christian Garbis at 3:29 PM.

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November 28, 2006

Destruction on a whim legalized

Apparently it was made official by the National Assembly of Armenia that the government does not care about the interests and well being of its citizens. The Armenian Parliament only yesterday passed a bill that would allow for any building, historic or otherwise, to be torn down whenever it deemed proper by a decree to oblige the “needs of the public and the state.” Protesters for a second time in about seven days were parked in front of the parliament building’s iron fencing on Baghramyan Street opposing the bill—I happened to drive by the area at the time and immediately understood what was going on.

This law overturns a decision made by the Constitutional Court of Armenia last April that stipulated all such demolitions made be illegal. The ruling was based on public outcry for the insufficient, rather humiliating sums of money given to families living in Central Yerevan by the government, not to mention that several people were thrown out onto their asses from their own homes they occupied for decades. Although the going rate at that time averaged about $1,500 per square meter, many families were paid only a few thousand dollars for their properties, or a sliver of their homes’ actual worth. Apartments even on the fringes of Yerevan sell for a minimum of $25,000.

Nothing was mentioned in the article that I read about how pro-government parties, particularly the coalition-member organizations, voted on the bill. But a majority of 70 members of the 131-seat parliament voted in favor of it.

It goes without saying that not only am I opposed to the decision, I am appalled that the government actually declared by passing a law that it will blatantly oppose the human rights of its citizens whenever and wherever it feels like it. I heard instances where people were virtually tossed into the street when they ignored calls for their eviction, just moments before a bulldozer smashed away at their homes—one woman supposedly died of a heart attack on the spot when she returned from shopping to see her apartment destroyed. Some protested against the measly amounts of compensation and in return did not receive a single dram. There is no way of telling where such people are today, some of whom do not have identification papers, but occasionally you can still see some lost souls wandering around Abovyan and Aram Streets, with blank looks on their faces mumbling to themselves. I have also heard rumors—which would not surprise me if they are true—of such people being thrown into vehicles, then whisked away to be dumped off at trash heaps on the outskirts of the city, where they “belong.” Armenians are careless and cruel towards one another as I have observed and even experienced personally. Whenever necessary they place their own interests first and foremost without turning a thought as to how their decisions may affect neighbors around them. As one example, the resident of the fifth floor of my apartment building has nearly completed the construction of his private elevator. The entrance way to the building was defaced so that he could accomplish this feat of selfishness. When the construction workers realized that not enough support was provided for the elevator frame to be free standing, they bolted it to the stairway wall, thus jeopardizing the structural integrity of the building. Not to mention that there are tons of cement blocks and slabs that now rest on the building’s roof so that he could add a second floor to his flat. The stairway has been coated with a thick layer of dust and chunks of plaster for over a year. Issues involving administrative carelessness happen everywhere in Armenia, particularly in the tourist-trap village of Garni as well as Vanadzor—Armenia’s third largest city—where problems with infrequent water supplies and garbage removal still go unheeded in both places.

I really don’t understand what’s going on in this country anymore. The troubling thing is that I am getting used to the fact that citizens’ interests repeatedly being cast aside are normal, acceptable occurrences. Indifference has become the method by which to govern and survive.

I have written an article and some blog entries about these problems earlier in the year—read them here and here and here.

On an unrelated but poignant note, an article published last Friday demonstrates political party apathy in activating the citizens they supposedly serve—read it here.

Labels: Politics, Social and Cultural

Posted by Christian Garbis at 6:23 PM.

5 comments Links to this post

November 22, 2006

Hoping for the best at New Delhi

The case regarding our friends at New Delhi has made the news. An article written by Edik Baghdasaryan was published in the newspaper “168 Zham” last Thursday, and the same article was printed in English, Armenian, and Russian on Hetq Online on Monday. Jacks (a.k.a., Joshi) has recently appealed to Transparency International Armenia to assist him in figuring out how to expose those trying to extort yet more bribes from him and his coworkers. This article has already done that.

Ultimately their goal is to obtain visas lawfully at the normally set fee, which is about $300 for a one-year stay. But the situation regarding having to pay $1500 each to resolve their residency problems has yet to be sorted out. Supposedly a young lawyer will be helping them out pro-bono, but she is still trying to obtain information as to how to go about tackling the case.

Apparently bribe extortion from foreign nationals choosing to live in this country has been going on for years. OVIR officials have been targeting people of all nationalities, including Chinese and Iranians.

Jacks will finally depart for Delhi on Friday to attend his brother’s wedding, and will hopefully be back in a couple of weeks. Let’s only hope for the best.

Posted by Christian Garbis at 7:33 PM.

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November 16, 2006

The in-between season

The strange time of year has come once again, the time when uncertainty and sometimes extreme, sudden climate changes take form. Mid-November in Armenia is usually the period when you don’t necessarily know how you should dress to leave the house each day, and what you will come up against once you get out. The weather is crisp but not so cold so that you will have tiny icicles hanging from the tip of your nose a few minutes after walking around in the open air. This year the outside temperature did not fall below 70 degrees F. until about a week ago, when it unexpectedly dipped into the 40s. I can’t decide if it’s time to dig out the wool sweaters or not, assuming that I can even find the place where my wife packed them away. She’s gone off to India of all places on work-related business.

There are no notable holidays to speak of in Armenia during this month. Americans have Thanksgiving to look forward to in another week, while Armenians wait until December 31 to start partying for just about a week straight. In another month most people will be running around trying to stock up on snacks, candies, fruits, and hams to prepare for the holiday festivities. Republic Square will be overrun by drunk men in cheap red suits and faux white beards pretending to bring joy to the endless tykes that stop by to say hi. And although the weather has become more mild and tolerable in the last couple of days, the cafés for the most part are all shut down for the winter, thus you can’t sit outside anywhere for a cup of coffee and instead have to dwell in some ground-floor unventilated establishment filled with cigarette smoke. If only the by-product dust from the mass construction as well as the endless pounding of hammers would die down during this time….

November has always been a strange month for me, and I can’t necessarily clearly explain why. First I always find myself in a bit of shock that the year seemingly went by so quickly. Then I am startled that a new year is just around the corner, and that the decade that seems like had just begun is now winding down. I am also in denial about the oncoming of winter until at least the beginning of December, so I refrain from putting on the electric heaters until then, convincing myself that it is not so cold even if it is getting chilly in the house. You see, it’s not necessarily autumn, although technically it is, but it also depends on where you are. In Vanadzor for instance it is safe to say that winter has arrived there, as they already had their first frost weeks ago, and it was absolutely frigid when I visited last weekend. In other words, I find myself asking how it can be autumn if I am already shivering as if three feet of snow were on the ground? Mount Aragats is already covered in snow—how is that possible in the fall? And why is there fresh-sprouted greenery all over the countryside as if spring has just arrived? It’s a perplexing time. I suppose in a couple of weeks I won’t need to worry about it anymore.

Labels: Thoughts and Musings

Posted by Christian Garbis at 5:40 PM.

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November 15, 2006

Air quality significantly decreasing in Yerevan

During the last month in particular I have noticed that it is becoming extremely difficult to breathe when walking downtown, particularly along Abovyan and Tumanyan Streets. Lately I have actually been feeling a bit strange when strolling around there and being hit by the fumes, as that area is where I live as well as work. Perhaps the reason why it is especially hard to breathe there may have something to do with the insane traffic that has developed as a result of the never-ending construction. I should mention that there are thousands more cars on the road now than this time last year. An estimated 16,500 vehicles entered Armenia in 2005; that number has supposedly increased significantly this year, and will undoubtedly go up in 2007. Apparently, so far 17,000 cars have already been imported in 2006, a 30 percent increase from 2005. These numbers only represent cars that are actually accounted for, as some still manage to pass by customs somehow.

I suppose the main ways to curb further pollution would be to temporarily suspend all vehicle imports, impose fines on drivers whose cars have faulty emissions—which arguably is nearly always the case with these cars, especially the Russian ones, and to give incentive, perhaps in the form of waiving the excise tax on vehicles for one year, for drivers to install natural gas fuel systems in their cars. But since most members of the Armenian government really don’t care about any issues affecting the public at-large because they are too preoccupied with making money for themselves, taking advantage of their influential positions and immunity from prosecution, we can’t expect any form of legislation anytime soon to make that change occur. Unless of course, people start complaining and protesting in substantially large numbers to put pressure on the government to act, but we know that is not going to happen either in the near future the way the “vochinch” mentality has been spreading like a life-threatening epidemic. The strange thing is the Yerevan municipality collects a “clean air” tax every year from people renewing their vehicle registration and safety inspection. I’d love to know where that money goes.

For vehicles to run on natural gas is essential for a city as small as Armenia. It has already been proven that vehicles with natural gas systems emit relatively clean emissions compared with those from gasoline or diesel fuels. You can also drive at least twice the distance on a full tank of natural gas than with gasoline. Some buses started running on natural gas in Boston for instance over five years ago. That is also the case with public transport in Armenia, as most if not all the minibuses weaving through Yerevan and even older Soviet-era jalopies seem to run on natural gas. Buses leaving the capital for the regions also run on this newer, progressive form of energy, which is commendable. But I would argue that just from my observations, the majority of the cars on the road, especially the imports of used crappy European Opels and formerly owned (a.k.a., stolen) patched-up from collision Mercedes-Benz or BMWs racing through the streets, run on gasoline. I’ve found that the quality of the fuel varies, depending on where you fill up. I usually stick to “Premium” grade gasoline, since you never know what you’re going to get with “Regular,” especially at independent, mom-and-pop fuel stations—I have heard from one person that diesel fuel is sometimes combined with it at some places. Speaking of diesel fuel, I am realizing now how dirty it is here. Trucks nearly always emit thick black, choking smoke, especially when climbing hills, which tells you that the exhaust systems on such vehicles are unquestionably faulty if not non-existent. Another dead giveaway to the pollution is the smog hovering over Central Yerevan, especially noticeable when climbing Azatutian Street towards Victory Park.

I am hoping that government officials—perhaps after hearing remarks from the European Union or whomever wants to formally complain—will put a cap on the amount of cars being imported, because it really seems as though there are quite enough on the road. I mean, you don’t really need to drive through Central Yerevan, since you can walk from one end to the other in less than 15 minutes, or else hop on a minibus to get across town in five. Perhaps when the Russian government makes a strong statement regarding increasing pollution in Yerevan Armenians will listen. But since Armenia is now virtually dependent on Russia for all natural gas imports, particularly when the latter finally takes control of the Armenia-Iran pipeline which is still under construction, I would not expect anyone complaining, especially when there is more potential than ever to make cash. I think the most we can expect are tax breaks to people who want to use natural gas instead of gasoline to fuel their cars as a step to curb more pollution, or else allowing discounts on all gas tank sales. It would not be a bad idea at all, actually.

Labels: Healthcare

Posted by Christian Garbis at 1:01 PM.

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November 9, 2006

The Komidas Project

Revised 12/5/06: Armenian song has recently entered a phase of stagnation. Nothing of unique importance has emerged apart from substantial compositions written and occasionally performed by a few minstrels during the last 25 years or so. Ancient melodies notably from the genius songwriter Sayat Nova are now being conveyed in mildly techno-influenced or overambitious, yet flat popular music arrangements. In fact, finding alternate ways of reinterpreting essential melodies that help identify Armenian culture has become a sort of normal practice. Nevertheless there are important interpretations of the national music that do stand out above a sea of soon-to-be forgotten ambitions.

A new recording of improvisations and arrangements based on the ancient Armenian songs as documented by musicologist Gomidas Vartabed (also spelled Komitas) has just been released by composer Ara Sarkissian, who holds a masters degree in music composition from the Boston Conservatory. He was visiting Armenia for about six weeks this fall, during which he played keyboards for Artur Meschian's live performances. Just before he left he gave me a bootleg copy of the disc for me to hear, as I was expecting to review it for some time now.

He recorded the disc over the course of two years in Boston, using several experienced musicians in Gomidas’s repertoire, although the intention was to record parts of the album in Yerevan as well. The Komidas Project, as Sarkissian’s led group is called, is aiming to present the music using contemporary classical modes without sacrificing the integrity of the original melodic-harmonic arrangements. This 20-part suite, titled “Es El Yes Em” (And This Is Me), represents the group’s first issue, distributed by Sarkissian’s own Lucent Music label.

Gomidas was a devout priest who first attended the seminary at Ejmiadzin, the Holy See of the Armenian church, in 1881 and immediately began singing in the choir. In 1890 he became a monk, was ordained a priest 1893, then left Ejmiadzin in 1895 for Tbilisi and later Berlin to study composition, musicology, and singing under the tutelage of Professor Richard Schmidt. Beginning in 1899 he started the demanding task of noting Armenian song in villages throughout Armenia, which had previously been undocumented, using a modernized version of the ancient “khaz” musical notation system. Khaz was used for Armenian music composition from the 8th to 18th centuries, then was gradually abandoned due to its complexity. It incorporated the use of 12 Armenian alphabet consonants with 25 neumatic symbols to coincide with written lyrics as indications of how the music was to be sung. As many surviving khaz texts as possibly discovered were collected, then painstakingly deciphered by Gomidas through comparison as well as trial and error. In his travels he also aimed to document Turkish, Kurdish, and Persian songs, simply by listening then immediately transcribing them. During a span of only a few years he managed to collect 3,000 songs, only 1,200 of which currently survive. He is widely considered to be the savior in preserving the long tradition of Armenian song.

Despite the availability of that still wide selection of material, only a popularly selected number of those songs are regularly performed over and over, chiefly in modern Armenian dance music—which often reigns injustice to them, by folk troubadours, and notably in string quartet arrangements. Several of these songs were used as a base foundation for Sarkissian to compose themes and variations on the original material. The results are careful arrangements of original music performed alongside the Gomidas melodies, sung or spoken text, or both. The disc’s opening track features a two-and-a-half minute solo piano performance by Sarkissian, a simple yet striking melody performed underneath a signature Gomidas-attributed phrase.

Another remarkable device with which Sarkissian chose to communicate the song form was the composer’s own voice. Some of the few songs that were actually recorded by Gomidas in 1912 while in France on primitive 78 rpm shellac discs, which had been uncovered several years ago from the national archives in Yerevan, were incorporated. The master’s voice first surfaces on the second track, in an eerie, even haunting form, as if sung through a temporarily formed porthole window from the hereafter. His tenor vocal is looped in some places and crossfades into the following occurrence.

The familiar woodwind voicings of Martin Haroutunian of the Arev Folk Ensemble, particularly on the flute-like shvi, appear frequently, he being a lesser-known master of the Gomidas popular song book having studied and performed the melodies for nearly 20 years now. Other musicians weaving in and out of the suite include Karen Kocharian on drums, Todd Brunel on clarinet, Arvin Zarookian on bass, Junko Simons on cello, Paul Erlich on guitar, Ara Gabrielian, spoken word, and Yeghishe Manucharyan, voice. Sarkissian plays piano and occasionally synthesizers on all tracks.

Influences from various music forms can be deduced apart from Armenian folk melodies, notably jazz and modern classical or ambient composition. In particular, the ninth cut, one of the strongest, seemingly incorporates improvisational elements, infused with faint echoes of John Coltrane’s master work “A Love Supreme” coupled with Gomidas’ voice on “Kali Yerg” as it immediately blends into the next track—a fascinating example of such innovation, creatively crisscrossing Armenian themes with western sound.

As a contrast, the sixth track offers a quirky, at times even corny interpretation of a different theme by simultaneously retelling the story of a pesky, mischievous mosquito.

Unfortunately some of the tracks are limited in sound quality, perhaps due to mixing inconsistencies. Thus in certain places the piano performances especially sound muffled or even scratchy, but this does not detract from the obvious professionalism of the musicians, or the beauty of the work overall. [ed., I was just told that the degraded sound effect was intential to match that of the Gomidas voice recordings.] The recording can be easily considered an inspiring, unprecedented wholly unique interpretation of the Gomidas-preserved songs that should gain quite some attention. It is with hope that this disc will be picked up by an influential recording label and earn a wider audience through broader distribution, as it is well deserving of it. More information about the recording artist and purchasing the disc can be found at http://www.lucentmusic.com/.

The Komidas Project on December 3 added an accompanying music video for Track 2 of the suite, which was set to the song "Mokats Mirza." It consists basically of several crossfading images of Gomidas in various forms, such as in sculpture, on coins and postage stamps, and also artist renderings, but there are rare photographs of the master as well.

Labels: Music

Posted by Christian Garbis at 6:56 PM.

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November 7, 2006

A frustrating day

Today was a tough day for me in trying to get things done here. In one case it had to do with a misunderstanding and in the other it was a situation of how to avoid paying a bribe. Late this morning I was supposed to meet a man who I contracted to make a sample set of wooden gift boxes made of walnut, which were suppose to be made last Friday. It turns out they weren’t ready, and he wanted to meet on Saturday if not Sunday. I was busy on Saturday and called to arrange an appointment for Sunday, which was not possible for him, and by the way he had seven boxes waiting for me, even though we agreed that he would make only five. After further bartering over the meeting time and place, we settled for 11:00 am at the former Brussov Institute bus stop on Gomidas Avenue. Unfortunately, depending on who you ask, the stop is in two different locations—one on the corner of Papazyan Street and the other about a quarter mile up the road, on the opposite side. He told me to meet him in front of the hardware store—unfortunately for me there were four in the immediate vicinity of where my car was parked, rather where I thought I was supposed to meet him. I made two phone calls to his home, but his son said he was out—waiting for me—and that he did not have a cell phone so that I could contact him. After a half-hour walking up and down Gomidas Street, even walking past the store in front of which he envisioned we were supposed to meet, I received a call from him whereby he immediately started to argue with me. I told him to finally meet me on the corner of Papazyan and Gomidas to avoid another screw up, and when he approached me the quarrelling began unsurprisingly just before I explained to him where I thought we were to meet. Then he started walking up to random people asking where the former Brussov Institute bus stop was located, in an effort to embarrass me. On top of everything, he told me that the order did not bring him any profit and concluded that he would no longer do business with me because he didn’t like my attitude. I guess he didn’t appreciate the fact that I would not let him get away with his bullshit.

Later on I returned home to prepare the boxes for shipping, as my parents were anxiously expecting them to decide whether to place an order for the Christmas season. I wanted to ship a broken iPod with the boxes in the same shipping package to avoid having to pay two separate rates and save around $80. The Armenian postal department, or Haypost, provides an express delivery service where a package weighing one kilo would be delivered to a US location supposedly in six days for a cost of 26,640 dram. When I approached the clerk, I made a mistake of telling her that the package contents were worth $200—the iPod originally cost me about $250 and the boxes about $22. But apparently the Armenian “customs house” has the right to search all packages with goods worth $100 or more. She claimed that she would have to open and inspect the package herself, just to make sure I was not sending meat or plant seeds. Even though I insisted that I was not doing so, that there were only personal items in the box, she pressed further. Then finally I told her there were some small wooden boxes and a radio-like device, which even though was mine, she claimed I would have to pay customs taxes on it. Thoroughly dissatisfied and suspicious that she was trying to solicit a bribe from me, I burst out then stomped up Abovyan Street to visit the post office on the corner with Sayat Nova Street. But it turned out that they had no mandatory shipping slips in stock there. Rather than visiting yet another post office to await yet more unpredictable results, I called FedEx as the only other rational option. Of course there was more debate about whether to go to the customs house, and when I asked if a law stipulating as such was printed for me to read, the woman I was speaking with loudly as she seemed to be partially deaf gave the receiver to someone else. I made an appointment to meet that service representative, and I told him the contents were worth only $10. I made no mention of the iPod (which in its present condition is of no value), and the cost for shipping the package was just over 31,000 dram. Basically the fuss is about avoiding having to pay out bribes—it’s that simple. If the customs house was to inspect the package, they would make up any possible reason to withhold as much money as feasible to stuff their pockets. The department is considered to be one of if not the most corrupt government institution in Armenia, and their officials are making exorbitant amounts of dollars numbering in the hundreds of thousands each year, if not more. As an example, attached to each car that is imported into this country is an expected customs tax payment of at least $2,000 minimum at the border, and that amount is for cars older than 10 years from the production date. Newer car owners have to pay as high as $10,000 in customs taxes. This is the main reason why you can’t for instance buy a 1994 Opel Vectra—basically a General Motors junk box manufactured somewhere in Europe—for less than $5,000, when in reality it shouldn’t cost half that amount at the most.

In any case, I cannot say how much I would have been required to pay out to Haypost or the customs house, but the point is that I should be able to read a document that stipulates why and how much I would need to shell out. Logically I should only have to pay the shipping costs of the package, since I’m not running a personal business and exporting goods. And I can’t imagine how much export-only companies are suffering financially with the inflated dram combined with high customs taxes. There needs to be a shake down, and despite all the calls from big businessmen who are feeling the heat nothing is being done to remedy the situation.

But in most cases I have found that running errands usually involves bickering about one thing or another, and it has long ago become tiresome as well as redundant. Yet arguing remains as being the means by which to accomplish what you need to do in Armenian society, unfortunately for everyone.

Labels: Personal Experiences, Thoughts and Musings

Posted by Christian Garbis at 8:43 PM.

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