EurasiaNet, Civil Society
Sunday, April 8, 2007

Youth Group Pushes for Change
By Onnik Krikorian:

Youth in newspaper hats stand on street corners and read aloud from
Armenian dailies. Masked young people march by parliament yelling "Don’t
Eat Too Much!" at deputies. It’s election season in Armenia, and with
the parliamentary vote just over a month away, one unconventional youth
group is waging weekly war on widespread political apathy.

Formed in 2003, Sksel a (It’s Started) has an uncertain number of
members, but its youth-oriented events in downtown Yerevan have been
gaining growing notice. Its target is the 639,950 Armenian voters below
the age of 30. Its mission is to show young people that public affairs
have an affect on their lives — the cry to deputies, for instance, was
a thinly veiled allusion to allegedly high-levels of government
corruption.

The group claims that its purpose is not overtly political, and, at
first glance, for many passers-by, the February march through town that
also aimed to "wake up society from its winter slumber" appeared to be
just a celebration of the traditional Lenten holiday of Barekendan. But
hidden among the color and noise which define every Sksel a event, a
political message is becoming more evident as the May 12 vote
approaches.

Posters calling for the release of recently detained former Karabakh
commander, Zhirayr Sefilian, have been on display at recent events, for
example. The group’s most recent demonstration was staged to protest the
eviction of tenants from their homes in downtown Yerevan to make way for
new construction, a topic with political overtones.

Some observers are already trying to make comparisons between Sksel a
and Georgia’s Kmara (Enough) or Ukraine’s Pora! (It’s Time!), youth
groups that played key roles in those countries’ respective 2003 and
2004 revolutions.

One of Sksel a’s organizers and founders, 24-year-old Arsen Kharatian,
understands the motivation for the comparison, but says he is unhappy
with it. "I don’t know if we are or not [similar]," Kharatian said. "We
mean different things to different people and we will follow our own
direction."

Twenty-seven-year-old Mikayel Kazarian, one of the group’s most active
participants, has his own expectations of what he hopes will be
achieved. "We’re part of the process that will bring change," he told
EurasiaNet. "The authorities should feel that they’re being watched by
the people. When society is passive, the authorities can do everything
and anything they want, and we need to apply pressure to change that."

The authorities, however, have not rushed to second that intention.

Citing previously scheduled outdoor events, Yerevan’s city hall has
refused permission for the group to hold an April 14 open-air rock
concert, funded, like the February march, by the British Embassy.

Like other observers, Sksel a organizer Kharatian is concerned that such
decisions are directly related to the election and attempts by the
authorities to prevent alternative groups from holding meetings or
staging rallies.

If so, Kharatian argues, the decision is misplaced. "I wouldn’t say that
we’re directly concerned with the election as we’ve existed informally
as a group since 2003, " he commented, "but there’s no doubt that the
country is about to face a major challenge which is why we’ve become so
active now."

The group has applied for an alternative date, but has yet to receive a
response, he added. A fresh refusal would demonstrate whether or not
blocking Sksel a events is "official policy," he continued.

Critics however, contend that many youth are attracted to Sksel a by the
possibility of attending free concerts or meeting other young people
with similar interests.

While supportive of the group, Eleonora Manandian, one of the leaders of
Armenia’s more active student movement during the mid-1990s, comments
that interest in politics among Armenian youth runs borderline to nil.

"Young people don’t care, especially when it comes to politics. They
don’t think that it is possible for politics to be honest and don’t
believe they can change anything even if they wanted to," Manandian
said. "And if there are those who are interested in politics, it is only
for their own personal careers or financial gain."

Sksel a’s Kharatian observes that "[y]outh in Armenia only become active
if it directly relates to them on a personal level, and that’s sad for
us, and it needs to change."

Already, some political parties are trying to put that trend to work.
Prosperous Armenia Party Youth Coordinator Isabella Shirinian admits
that two buses bearing the party’s logo which provide free
transportation for students to and from Yerevan’s Polytechnical
Institute are designed to target the youth vote. [For details, see the
Eurasia Insight archive].

To ride the buses, students hand over their identification cards before
they are returned some days later. The buses also make unscheduled stops
en route at party events and meetings. The implication from party
representatives is that students should vote for Prosperous Armenia at
the polls, noted one student.

"Elections don’t happen every day, and it shouldn’t be surprising that
students take any opportunity given to them to save several hundred
drams on travel," said the student, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
"This happens every election and is the main reason why most young
people don’t take them seriously."

Opposition parties also indulge in handouts. One recent story on an
election site run by the media assistance organization Internews
reported that the Orinats Yerkir Party offered recording assistance to
an aspiring young musician in exchange for attendance at party events.

Yet some civil society activists are more optimistic about the
possibilities for youth to become involved in Armenia’s political life.
The mixture of lighthearted fun and seriousness at Sksel a events,
opined Jeffrey Tufenkian, president of the local Armenian Forests NGO
and a veteran American environmental and human rights activist, provides
a critical opportunity for "positive activism."

Said Tufenkian: "It is actions and initiatives like this which gives me
hope for Armenia."

Editor’s Note: Onnik Krikorian is a freelance journalist and
photographer from the United Kingdom based in the Republic of Armenia.

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