Articles by Michael Mensoian

About Michael Mensoian (64 Articles)

Michael Mensoian, J.D./Ph.D, is professor emeritus in Middle East and political geography at the University of Massachusetts, Boston, and a retired major in the U.S. army. He writes regularly for the Armenian Weekly.

During the National Day observance, the Coalition moved from the abstract—simply naming victims—to displaying poster-size facial photos that allowed the public to realize that these victims were flesh-and-blood Armenian women.

Confronting Domestic Violence in Armenia

Special for the Armenian Weekly Try if you can to put yourself in the position of a battered woman who awakens each morning praying that she can go through the day without another confrontation. You still have bruises from the violent episodes that seem to arise out of nowhere, without reason. The [more...]

October 30, 2014 // 36 Comments

Maro Guloyan died at the age of 20. She had an infant child and was pregnant with her second baby. Activists say the marks on her neck indicate death by manual strangulation. The court accepted her husband’s claims that she committed suicide.

Domestic Violence in Armenia: An Ugly Crime Still Denied

Special for the Armenian Weekly Zaruhi Petrosyan was a young mother of a two-year-old infant girl when her life came to an end after an alleged fall down a flight of stairs. At the time, her husband claimed that the death had been an accident. However, her bruised and battered body attested to [more...]

September 25, 2014 // 66 Comments

Aliyev’s policy of securing short-term populist support, however, is clearly poised–if not somewhat intended–to exacerbate the already heavily tense relations with Yerevan.

Artsakh and President Aliyev’s Dilemma Revisited

Azeri incursions along the Line of Contact (LoC) during the past several weeks have escalated significantly in frequency and intensity. As would be expected, the Artsakh defenders have been more than able to protect their homeland against these blatant violations of the ceasefire agreement. The [more...]

August 30, 2014 // 16 Comments

Artsakh: A Zero Sum Solution Weighted in Favor of Azerbaijan

Special for the Armenian Weekly We seem to overlook the fact that the ongoing negotiations concerning the Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) conflict (as it is commonly referred to) has been set-up to yield a zero sum solution favoring Azerbaijan. From the very beginning, the Madrid Principles that set the [more...]

July 16, 2014 // 21 Comments

Turks today enjoy economic power built in part on the massive amount of expropriated wealth taken from Armenians and on land depopulated of Armenians. Not only has the wealth been passed down through the generations, it has been the basis for further economic development. This gain has been matched by the increasing loss of not only the initial wealth and land, but all the economic gains that would have been made with it by Armenians.

Turkey and Genocide Recognition: A Candid Assessment

Here we are within one year of an historic milestone in our quest for justice. It is now 99 years since the Ottoman-Turkish government unleashed the genocide that slaughtered some 1.5 million innocent Armenian men, women, and children. A genocide that uprooted another 500,000 from their ancestral [more...]

June 9, 2014 // 19 Comments

Opening…for Dynamic Leader, Consensus Builder

Able to Inspire and Work with Diverse Groups Armenia reminds me of an idyllic lake. The feel-good news that comes from Armenia is eagerly accepted because we want our country to succeed, but like the placid surface of the lake, the good news hides the turbulence that lies below. There has to come a [more...]

May 7, 2014 // 1 Comment

A scene from Junior Sergeant Armen Hovhannisyan’s funeral.

Reflections on the Killing of Junior Sergeant Armen L. Hovhannisyan

The Armenian Weekly March 2014 Magazine: Armenia’s Foreign Policy in Focus According to the Karabagh Ministry of Defense, Junior Sergeant Armen L. Hovhannisyan was killed on Jan. 20, 2014 repelling an Azeri force engaged in a probing action against Karabagh defensive positions along the Line of [more...]

April 3, 2014 // 8 Comments

The Reality that Is Armenia

Special for the Armenian Weekly Now that a new year is here, maybe we can resolve to spend some time thinking about what is happening in and to Armenia. We can recall the joy and the pride we felt when the second free and independent Republic of Armenia was declared in 1991 (please don’t [more...]

January 29, 2014 // 50 Comments

Ever since the 1994 ceasefire brought a semblance of peace to Artsakh, its people have made great strides in democratic self-governance and in rebuilding and improving the economic and social infrastructure wantonly destroyed by Azerbaijan during the Karabagh War. (Photo by Arevik Danielian)

Artsakh’s Prospects for the Future

Special to the Armenian Weekly Ever since the 1994 ceasefire brought a semblance of peace to Artsakh, its people have made great strides in democratic self-governance and in rebuilding and improving the economic and social infrastructure wantonly destroyed by Azerbaijan during the Karabagh War. [more...]

January 5, 2014 // 31 Comments

Christmas tree on Renaissance Square in Stepanakert (Photo by Arevik Danielian, The Armenian Weekly)

The Year 2014: Hope for Change or Same Old, Same Old?

Welcoming a new year is a joyous occasion. It offers the opportunity for a fresh start. Unfortunately, there are times when the “baggage” of the old year has to be dragged along, condemning us to the same old, same old for another year. Christmas tree on Renaissance Square in [more...]

December 18, 2013 // 0 Comments

1 2 3 … 7 »

Dec	JAN	Mar
	24
2013	2015	2016