Armenia Unlocked

On September 9, Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan announced that the Amulsar gold Mine will continue to operate in Armenia’s south. This announcement comes despite year-long protests by activists and residents of nearby towns, and despite an environmental impact assessment report that warns of significant impact to the environment. Peter Liakhov, English section editor of Tbilisi-based Open Caucasus Media joins the show.

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/.

This week’s focus is Armenia’s trade sector – the challenges, the strategies, and the solutions. Joining the conversation is Samson Avetian, the author of "Armenian Economy: the Next 25 Years". He is co-founder of Angel Investor Club of Armenia as well as an adjunct lecturer at the American University of Armenia. He has earned an MBA from Harvard University.

 For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/.

Shortly after taking office, Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s government initiated changes within the structure of Armenia’s government, which included reducing the number of ministries from 17 to 12. It was decided that the functions of the ministry of the diaspora will be incorporated directly into the office of the Prime Minister and a position for a High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs was created. The first person to hold this position is Zareh Sinanyan, appointed on June 14.

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/.

On June 24, the trial of Osman Kavala and 15 other people will begin in Istanbul, Turkey. They are civil society activists who have been charged with attempting to overthrow the Turkish government by organizing and financing the 2013 Gezi Park Protests, among other charges. If found guilty, the defendants could face a possible sentence of life in prison. Nate Schenkkan, Director for Special Research at Freedom House, joins this conversation.

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/.

Together with Eric Hacopian, we are covering the most important news in Armenia, from judicial reform to the economy. Eric Hacopian is a political analyst from Los Angeles who is currently based in Armenia.

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/.

On June 4, for the first time, Armenia abstained from voting on a UN resolution that reaffirms the rights of Georgians displaced from South Ossetia and Abkhazia to return to their homes. This decision by Armenia’s government has wide implications – it’s a gesture of friendship towards Georgia, but it also exposes the critical geopolitical realities, number one being the issue of Russia influencing not just Armenia’s vote at the UN but also Armenia’s place in the international community.

Today, the Deputy Foreign Minister of Karabakh, or the Republic of Artsakh, joins the show. Armine Aleksanyan was born in Karabakh and is a graduate of both the Artsakh State University, and the Diplomatic Academy of London at University of Westminster. She began her work in the foreign ministry in 2000 and has been serving as Karabakh’s deputy foreign minister since 2015.

Pashinyan’s revolutionary economic program - as he calls it - promises radical growth in the next five years. At the one year mark of Armenia’s Velvet Revolution, we are taking a look at Armenia’s economic future. Peter Liakhov, a Yerevan-based freelance journalist, joins the show.

Armenia Unlocked - Fresh perspectives on issues shaping Armenia.

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

We are again looking at the impact of the 2016 April War that took place between the Karabakh Defense Army, backed by Armenia, and the Azerbaijani Army. Emil Sanamyan, reporter and fellow at the Institute of Armenian Studies at the University of Southern California, joins the show from Washington D.C.

Armenia Unlocked - Fresh perspectives on issues shaping Armenia

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

This week, we’ll be looking back at the Four Day War which took place in April 2016 between Armenia and Azerbaijan. We’ll try to understand its impact beyond those four days, especially in the most immediately affected and still vulnerable areas. Bishop Bagrat Galstanyan, who lives and works in border villages and towns, joins the conversation.

Armenia Unlocked - Fresh perspectives on issues shaping Armenia

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

On the morning of April 2, 2016 the Nagorno Karabakh Defense Army reported violent clashes across the entire line of contact with Azerbaijan. This week also marks the one year anniversary of the start of the Velvet Revolution.

Armenia Unlocked - Fresh perspectives on issues shaping Armenia

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

A bit of news from Armenia, Russia, and Kazakhstan. And, we talk to Anna Hess Sargsyan from the Center for Security Studies in Switzerland about Karabakh.

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes. ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.   

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

This episode is a brief review of Armenia’s energy sector - from energy efficiency, to energy savings, to old and new methods, as well as geopolitical and international factors.

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes. ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.   

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan returns from first official visit to Iran. Azerbaijan sentences an Armenian citizen to 20 years in prison. Timothy Straight, the Honorary Consul of Finland and Norway in Armenia who also has social entrepreneurship initiatives in the region, discusses economic development in rural Armenian regions of Armenia.

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes. ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.   

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

After days of heated debate, Armenia’s National Assembly has adopted a new government program. The U.S. State Department has criticized Armenia’s mission to Syria that includes experts, doctors, deminers, and a 83-member group to ensure their security. The mission arrived in Syria on February 8. 

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes. ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.   

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

As formal and informal meetings between Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders carry on, CivilNet continues the conversation on Karabakh and the peace process. This time, with a former peace negotiator - Ambassador Carey Cavanaugh.

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes. ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.   

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

Today’s episode is a review of migration numbers and attitudes towards migration in Armenia. What were the trends? What are the trends? What are the attitudes about both out-migration and in-migration? And how has the “velvet revolution” impacted all of this.

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes. ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.   

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

On January 14, Armenia’s newly elected parliament – the 7th in the history of Independent Armenia -- began the first session. And, On January 16, Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov and Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan met in Paris, along with mediators from the US, France, and Russia. The official statement following the meeting, was the most positive one that the public has heard in many years.

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes. ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.   

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

Armenia’s Central Electoral Commission has released the names of people who will become deputies in the new parliament. And, Lene Wettlenad, who has been heading the Russia department and covering Armenia for the Norwegian Helsinki Committee since 2008, joins the show for a conversation on civil society and Europe in Armenia.  

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes. ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.   

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

Now that Armenia’s parliamentary elections are over, it's time to unpack Armenia-Russia relations in this new era. Washington D.C.-based journalist Emil Sanamyan joins the show.

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes. ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

Armenians have cast their votes and elected a new parliament. As most expected, Nikol Pashinyan’s My Step Alliance took the majority of votes, just over 70 percent. So, what comes next?

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes. ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.   

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

Yesterday, all eyes were on the great Armenian debate. All the top candidates of all of the parties running in the December 9 parliamentary election participated. And this was a first for the country. Joining from Montreal is Alex Sardar, The Chief Innovation Officer at CIVICUS World Alliance for Citizen Participation, and long-time civic activist and resident of Armenia.

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes.

ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.   

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

On December 9, Armenians will head to the polls to elect a new parliament. We are taking a closer look at campaigns and voter behavior in the country. Joining the podcast are American political consultant Eric Hacopian, currently in Armenia, as well as Rafael Oganesyan, Instructor at the Department of Political Science at the University of Las Vegas and the director of the Armenian Election Study.

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes.

ARMENIA UNLOCKED, a podcast from CivilNet TV, brings you reporting and analysis from specialists around the world.   

For more, visit: www.civilnet.am/

The campaign posters and slogans are out. Official campaigning for parties participating in the December 9 parliamentary elections is in full force. In a new round of raids, Turkish police arrested another 13 academics and activists in continued crackdown. And, weeks after US national-security adviser John Bolton’s visit to the South Caucasus, the reactions about Iran sanctions and arms sales are continuing in the media.

Armenians will elect a new parliament on December 9, what are the policies that will impact the aftermath of the election? A humanitarian and a political issue -- the Azeri and Armenian captives in each side. And, a Turkish journalist travels to Armenia to document the Syrian War through the eyes of Syrian-Armenians. 

The biggest stories and ideas — from Armenia and the region — in less than 15 minutes, with reporting and analysis from around the world. 

For more, visit: https://www.civilnet.am/