http://unzipped.blogspot.com/2007/04/modern-day-opression.html

just checked again – video is no longer available…

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cut short a two-day visit to Armenia due to the domestic political situation and key talks on the Iranian nuclear issue in Rome, a diplomatic source here told AFP.

BTW: Talking of which, the company wants to hire bloggers here in Armenia with good English writing skills so if any of you out there is interested please send me an email (address is on my blog).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7057837.stm

Like I said, this is news. I mean, for Armenia to be interesting the topics of main interest are clear i) International Genocide Recognition, ii) Nagorno Karabakh peace possibilities and iii) elections.

For Iran at present it’s mainly nuclear which is why that subject is about the only thing that would make Ahmadinejad’s visit to Yerevan of specific interest as a world story.

Ahmadinejad Cuts 2-Day Visit to Armenia Short

YEREVAN, Armenia — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad cut short his two-day visit to Armenia on Tuesday, an Armenian presidential spokesman said.* The Armenian government had expected Ahmadinejad to address parliament and, in what was likely to cause controversy, plant a sapling at a memorial commemorating the victims of what Armenians consider genocide.

Viktor Sogomonian, press secretary of Armenian President Robert Kocharian, gave no reason for the Iranian president’s decision to skip both planned events and return to Iran.

Russia’s ITAR-Tass news agency, citing an unnamed source, said the decision was connected with unexpected developments in Iran.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,304248,00.html

As reported by Mediamax, .

http://gayarmenia.blogspot.com/2007/09/ahmadinejad-no-homosexuals-in-iran.html

If it is, then I would have liked to have seen Yerevan’s gay community or even Sksela picket and protest his visit.

Now, if he were here to discuss nuclear cooperation, then maybe, but as it was I just don’t think his visit was of any interest apart from to regional analysts. Certainly, there was nothing much for bloggers to find of any note, in my opinion. Perhaps one line or paragraph in the international newspapers, or a passing mention in any larger piece on Iran, but no. Maybe 300-400 words along with a zillion other such stories? Perhaps.

Sorry, not interesting as a quick browse of the BBC and CNN news web sites shows. Besides, there was other news about Iran that was of far more interest and which was published ignoring the visit by Ahmadinejad. Now, had media-freedom, civil-rights, gay rights activists or Iranian students protested in Yerevan, it would be something different.

However, sorry, I disagree. This wasn’t a major news story although the larger issue of Armenian-Iranian relations is of course something to keep on eye on. Bordonaro’s second answer you quote is interesting, but hardly earth-shattering news. Still, for Iran watchers your round-up will be interesting, but there’s no reason to expect any international or blogging coverage, in my opinion.

On the other hand, perhaps now there is at least one aspect of his visit that is significant. That is, he cut his visit short. He was meant to visit the Genocide memorial, the Mosque and hold a number of meetings, but he didn’t.

Ahmadinejad cancelled a series of events on Tuesday and was due to leave the Armenian capital Yerevan for Tehran on a late-morning flight, an official in Armenian presidential press service said, without providing an explanation.

“There have been changes in the programme of the Iranian president’s visit. He will return to Tehran before the planned time,” the official said.

That for me is newsworthy and when we hear speculation as to the reason why, I think this becomes a story, although still not a major international one. Instead, I would include mention of that in any story on Iran depending on what those reasons where.