Controversial Armenian magazine out after break
Arminfo
15 Mar 07
Yerevan, 15 March: Cartoon lion Banifatsi next to former commander of
the NKR [Nagornyy Karabakh republic] Defence Army Samvel
Babayan. Saddam Hussein, executed on the eve of 2007, and Hrant Dink,
the editor of the [Istanbul-based bilingual Armenian-Turkish] Agos
weekly, killed by a Turkish nationalist. This "salad" appears on the
issue of the Armenian magazine Forbes, which was published after a
three-month break and under a new title of Demker (Faces).
Elizabet Petrosyan, CEO of the Demker, LLC, (formerly Forbes-Armenia),
told a news conference today [15 March] that the reason for changing
the title was "too direct" associations with the well-known American
magazine Forbes. In addition, the artificial politicization of the
magazine’s first issue which made it scandalously famous was the
reason why the editor-in-chief, Petros Gazaryan, was sacked. Elizabet
Petrosyan will be fulfilling the duties of the magazine’s editor for
the time being. In addition, after the "noisy" debut in December
[2006], the editorial staff decided to review its policy. Petrosyan
said that the focus would be on economic topics but not politics.
"Unfortunately, business and politics are closely interlinked in
Armenia. For now, we cannot completely drop political topics,
especially in the run-up to the [12 May] parliamentary
election. However, unlike the first issue of the magazine, the focus
will be on the analysis of the political situation in the country as
well as on opinion polls about the forthcoming election," Petrosyan
said. Articles written by local politicians in their own manner will
also be published in the magazine.
Petrosyan was positive about the future of the magazine in the
Armenian market. The latest issue was published in 2,000 copies, and
the circulation will only increase in the future.
Petrosyan also said that Demker would continue to cooperate with its
counterparts from the US-based Forbes. She said, however, the
partnership with the Russian analogue of the publication has been
terminated for good.
Apparently, the recent statements by the Forbes-Russia
editor-in-chief, Maksim Kashulinskiy, were the reason for the
unequivocal conflict between the two publications. Kashulinskiy has
said that the Armenian Forbes had nothing to do with either the
Forbes-Russia or the Forbes-USA. Petrosyan, however, once again
refused to comment on that statement, saying only that Kashuliskiy "is
not authorized to make this kind of statements."
The first issue of the Armenian Forbes, published on 15 December 2006,
was a real New Year scandal, because it published the list of the 10
wealthiest individuals in Armenia, and representatives of the top
political and business circles were among them.