July 5, 2010 - 15:01 AMT
Armenian bloggers create alternative to Wikipedia

Armenian bloggers have created wiki.hayqpress.com internet resource as an alternative to largest internet encyclopedia – Wikipedia. The created resource provides unbiased and neutral information on Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh.

Founder of wiki.hayqpress.com, blogger Sedrak Mkrtchyan said that the decision to create such a resource was taken after a group of Azerbaijani internet users, known as 26 Baku wikipedians, launched a coordinated anti-Armenian campaign on Wikipedia.

"The Azerbaijani group have launched a real lobbying campaign on Wikipedia, placing anti-Armenian materials there. The resource established by us is open for placement of fair and unbiased information. Moreover, it is protected from Turkish and Azerbaijani attacks," Mkrtchyan told a press conference in Yerevan.

Recently, the Arbitration Committee of Russian-language section of Wikipedia adopted a decision on the case of 26 Baku wikipedians. Russian participant (nickname Divot) accused 26 Azerbaijani editors of violation of Wikipedia rules.

The activity of the most persistent violators has been banned on Wikipedia for the term from 3 to 6 months.