Welcome to Europe

Reading yesterdays 4 headlines on Armenialiberty.org, it was interesting to see that three were related to our immediate Turkic neighbors (and their bad relations - or should I say lack of relations - with us) and one with our more distant neighbors... the EU and the Council of Europe. In the near term, it is the Turks that have our fuller attention, but in the long run, certainly, the latter will grow a great deal in importance. The article was on Armenia's integrations with Europe, both legally and organizationally. I know people will think I'm crazy for saying it, but in 15 years, if Armenia is not an EU member, it will at the very least be on the verge. I have traveled extensively in Armenia, Western Armenia and in Turkey, and let me tell you that Armenia as a whole is much more European and closer to meeting any and all of Europe's criteria to enter than Turkey ever has been. I think it is quite likely Armenia will enter the EU before or at the same time as Turkey, though I am sure they'll both make it in. How can I say Armenia will enter in a mere 15 years, when it just had elections with so much vote buying, etc? Well just look at Armenia 15 years ago, then look at it 15 years before that. 30 years ago, in 1977, it was part of an "invincible" Soviet Union. It was impossible for us to have independence from such a superpower, right? 15 years ago, in 1992, Armenia had seen that superpower collapse, independence come, a massive earthquake, a devastating war and blockade, and a completely, utterly destroyed economy. There was no industry, production or jobs. Over the last 15 years that situation took its toll with massive emigration, corruption, poverty, etc... but now, a great deal has again changed, construction, IT and tourism are booming, the culture here is become more open and western, and people are all amazed at how quickly the turnaround happened. So it hardly seems like a stretch to think that in 15 years, Armenia will have simply continued to progress and develop, enough to have entered the EU. So, those are my rambling thoughts on that topic.

In the other articles, Armenia again told Turkey it should open it's borders, the Tashnags said we should not return any land to Azerbaijan, and the European soccer group (UEFA) has decided to cancel the matches between Armenia and Azerbaijan because Azerbaijan refuses to let Armenians come to Azerbaijan. Instead, each team just gets zero points for each of the two matches. I think this is another injustice Armenia is being forced to endure. If Armenia is willing to play and host, Azerbaijan should lose a point for each game. Why is Europe allowing sports to be held hostage by these nationalist, racist, colonialists?

And on a much lighter note, a few recent pictures from my flickr page: