Category: 2023

(Noyakert) Before fleeing to Armenia, faced with the advance of Azerbaijani troops, Souren Martirossian had time to take a last look at his orchard in the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave.

“The image of our beautiful garden, which I saw for the last time, is etched in my memory: pomegranates and persimmons shone on the trees, under a bright sun,” says this 65-year-old man.

His family, eight people in total, were part of the flood of some 100,000 inhabitants who left this mountainous territory, reconquered in September by Baku thanks to a lightning offensive against Armenian separatists.

This exodus of almost the entire Armenian population from the enclave, at the center of a territorial conflict between Baku and Yerevan for decades, has triggered a migration crisis in Armenia.

On September 19, the first day of the Azerbaijani offensive, “we heard machine gun fire and explosions caused by artillery near our house,” recalls Arevik, Souren’s daughter-in-law.

“At first we thought it was just another skirmish with the Turks,” she explains, referring to the Azerbaijanis, who speak Azeri, a Turkic language.

“But then our panicked village chief came and said we had to run away, because the Turks were already in the outskirts of our village. »

The Martirossian family now lives in a decrepit house in Noyakert, about fifty kilometers from the Armenian capital Yerevan, rented thanks to government aid.

A single day of fighting was enough to convince the Armenian separatists, who had controlled the territory for around thirty years, to surrender.

A major victory for Baku, which thus brought back under its fold this enclave which had until then escaped it.

For Souren Martirossian, the culprits are obvious: Armenia and Russian peacekeeping troops.

The latter were deployed by Moscow, Armenia’s ally, as part of the ceasefire agreement which ended previous hostilities in the area in 2020.

“Our army fought courageously to protect our homeland, it was Russia and the Armenian government who were defeated in Karabakh,” assures Souren Martirossian.

The separatists agreed to dissolve their self-proclaimed republic at the end of the year, effectively putting an end to the long territorial dispute between Baku and Yerevan.

But their leader, Samvel Chakhramanian, finally retracted last week, to everyone’s surprise.

The announcement may be spectacular, but it will have no concrete effect, because the separatists have been driven out of Nagorno-Karabakh, now under firm Azerbaijani control. And Armenia is unlikely to be willing to support the functioning of a separatist institution on its own territory.

But Samvel Chakhramanian’s statements struck a chord with many refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh, who continue to dream of the independence of their enclave, despite the defeat.

“The children have nightmares all the time, crying at night and wondering when we will come home,” says Arevik.

But, for her, a return is only possible if the “safety” of her children is guaranteed and she is certain of being able to live “completely separated” from the Azerbaijanis.

Armenia and Azerbaijan recently assured that they wanted to normalize their historically execrable relations by signing a peace agreement.

This process, seen as good news by the partners of these Caucasian countries, does not excite the refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh.

A tenacious hatred, fueled by the two wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the enclave, still poisons relations between the two peoples.

“I don’t believe in peace” with the Azerbaijanis, says Boris Doloukhanian, a 65-year-old refugee, whose son was killed during the 2020 conflict.

NOYAKERT: Before fleeing the advancing Azerbaijani troops for Armenia, Suren Martirosyan glanced back one last time at his fruit garden in Nagorno-Karabakh, and the momentary vision has haunted him ever since.

"That image of our beautiful garden, which I saw for the final time, still lingers in my eyes: pomegranates and persimmons gleamed brightly on the trees under the brilliant sun," he said, looking at his calloused hands.

The 65-year-old's family of eight is among more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians who fled Karabakh after Azerbaijan recaptured the long-disputed region in a September lightning offensive against Armenian separatist forces.

The exodus of the entire Armenian population from the mountainous enclave has sparked a refugee crisis in Armenia.

On Sep 19, "we heard machine-gun fire and artillery shells exploding close to our house", said Suren's daughter-in-law Arevik.

"At first, we thought it was just another skirmish with the Turks," she said, referring to Turkic-speaking Azerbaijanis.

"But then our panicked village headman came in and said we must all run away as the Turks were already in the village outskirts."

The Martirosyans now live in a decrepit house they rented thanks to government aid in the village of Noyakert, some 50km from the Armenian capital Yerevan.

After just one day of fighting, Armenian separatist authorities, which had controlled Karabakh for three decades, surrendered and agreed to reintegrate with Baku.

Suren blamed Russian peacekeepers - deployed in Karabakh after Armenia's ally Moscow brokered a ceasefire in autumn 2020 – and the Yerevan government for the fall of the breakaway Karabakh republic.

"Our army fought bravely to protect our motherland, it was Russia and the Armenian government who suffered defeat in Karabakh."

Azerbaijan's victory marked the end of the protracted territorial dispute, which had long been seen as unresolvable.

On Sep 26, separatist president Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree ordering that the breakaway republic "will cease to exist" by the year's end.

But in a surprise move last week, he rolled back on the announcement in comments given in Yerevan.

The statement appeared to undo a historic move by the separatists to dissolve the disputed territory that was at the centre of two costly wars between Armenia and Azerbaijan in 2020 and the 1990s.

It will have no effect on the ground, as Karabakh is now under full Azerbaijani control, and Yerevan is unlikely to support the continued functioning of separatist institutions on its territory.

But Shahramanyan's decision resonated with many Karabakh refugees who still cherish their decades-long dream of secession from Azerbaijan.

"Kids are constantly having nightmares, crying at night and keep asking me when we will return home," said Arevik.

"We will return under the sole condition: if we will be living separately from the Turks, and when our children's safety will be guaranteed 100 per cent."

Arch-foes Armenia and Azerbaijan have said they are close to signing a peace agreement based on the recognition of each other's territorial integrity.

But few among Karabakh refugees share the hope, as deeply-rooted ethnic hatred still poisons relations between Armenians and Azerbaijanis after decades of enmity.

In a significant development within Armenia’s media landscape, the Union of Journalists of Armenia (UJA) has spoken out against the suspension of broadcasting by Sputnik, a Russian news agency. This move by the professional association has stirred conversations about the evolving dynamics of media integrity and political pressure in the region.

Reacting to the violations of journalistic ethics and the dissemination of false information by Sputnik, the UJA has suspended the news agency’s membership. The decision is seen as a response to Sputnik’s biased reporting and failure to adhere to the principles of professional journalism. The UJA’s action underscores the need for journalistic integrity and the importance of unbiased reporting in the media landscape.

Adding to Sputnik’s woes, the Tospa radio station, which carries programs of Russian broadcaster Sputnik, has seen its license suspended for one month by the Armenian authorities. The suspension came in the wake of ‘ironic and offensive’ comments made about Armenia by Tigran Keosayan, a Russian propagandist of Armenian origin. The move is perceived as a reaction to the derogatory remarks and an assertion of national dignity.

The developments surrounding Sputnik have raised concerns about press freedom and the principle of freedom of _expression_ in Armenia. The UJA’s stand and the suspension of Tospa’s broadcasting license could have implications for the broader media environment in the country. These actions serve as a reminder of the challenges faced by media outlets in maintaining a balance between journalistic integrity and political pressures. They also reinforce the necessity for diverse voices and perspectives to continue to have a platform in Armenia’s public discourse.

https://bnnbreaking.com/politics/armenias-media-landscape-stirred-union-of-journalists-reacts-to-sputniks-suspension/