At least Levon have recognised his past mistakes and appologized several times to armenian people.

Has anyone ever seen his strongness outside of Armenia, where we really need that?! Was he strong in negotiations with Aliyev or with Turkey?! Or was he strong every time he was begging Putin for a meeting and then waiting in his reception till the latter finds time for him?! Or was he strong in trying unsuccessfully to convince Americans 10 years long to invite him once for an official visit to US?!

Armenia didn’t profit at all from his alleged “strongness”, just already weak democracy and economy were damaged. So, what OUR country needs – another ten years of new “strong President” SS?! NO!!!

Were you there 2 nights ago or have you seen footage? There is no way in hell anyone could identify ALL the shooters.

Spreading racist invective like you are is destructive to the post-game assessment. All Armenians need to ease up on the hate and reconsider what has brought us to this and what can be done to move forward.

At 11 PM the Terminator could not have identified the faces of all the shooters, much less your supernatural physician.

You write “Indeed, when you consider how much propaganda and misinformation was being spread by some pro-opposition outlets it’s understandable why the government would move against them. Of course, don’t get me wrong.” !!!!!

Getting you “wrong” or “right” – I don’t really care. I do care about the truth. You’ve been there since 1998 — your task was to sift through the disinformation on all fronts.
The idea that it’s all false so we can’t tell the truth is an excuse. As an expat, you have an extra obligation to be particularly attentive because you had access to training and education most Hayastansi’s did not have.

I first went to Armenia during the Cold War era — I saw the 1988 demonstrations. I saw the Spetznast in Yerevan. I hung out with real fedayeen, not the asphalt ones. Real fedayeen never ever used their position to hurt other Armenians. No excuses.

If you bloggers really want to contribute, a important place to start is with your own attitudes. Armenia is not a “living museum” for your own fantasies about your identity.
Some of the things that make (made) Armenia extra-ordinary were not some mystical element of a mythic (in the larger than life sense, rather than the sense of being false) Armenian identity. It was due in large part because this was a primarily homogeneous society within a larger empire, and there was a relative lack of inequality for decades.
Most of us in the diaspora didn’t know what that would look like until we came to Yerevan.

Hmmm, do I digress? Perhaps I do. Anyway, I have seen too many diaspora Armenians who sing fedayeen songs and rant on about Turks, but when the real work has to be done, they back off because “you don’t know who is telling the truth”. Figure it out. Stand up for something. Go to Yerablour, look at all those graves, and get over your own ego. Those of you in Armenia — do something — get at the truth no matter how much you fear it will threaten your preconceived ideas of Armenia and Armenian-ness. Around the world, Truth and Justice Reconciliation Programs (like in South Africa) show that, corny though it may sound, it is only the truth that will set you free.

Mar 3rd, 2008 at 9:51 am

I think the beatings started when the police chased people away from the Liberty Square in the morning.

“Demonstrators hurled stones and petrol bombs, setting vehicles on fire, and police and troops responded with truncheons, tear gas and by firing bullets in the air.”

Which side started first?