Category: 2023

Selective abortion in Armenia

Bedik Zaminian
  • Gayane Sargsyan
  • Yerevan

Selective abortions on the rise

In Armenia about 80,000 girls have not been born over the past 30 years due to selective abortion, according to Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan.

“In order to have a healthy and stable society, we need the sex ratio of newborns to be natural, without any artificial interference. We see the catastrophic demographic consequences that have occurred in other countries, and we do not want a repeat of this situation in our country,” she said.

According to the minister, until 2020 an improvement in this respect was observed in Armenia, but after the Karabakh war the situation changed.

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Forty-year-old Anna Mkrtchyan (name changed) regularly resorted to the help of doctors in order to terminate the pregnancies over twenty years of marriage, as her family expected her to give birth to a boy. The mother of two daughters, she herself dreamed of having a son. But the dream came true only years later after numerous abortions and consequent health problems.

Now Anna recalls these events with regret:

“But then, many years ago, I could not make such a decision alone and give birth to girls. My husband and mother-in-law were against it, they needed a boy, a son, a successor to the family, who would preserve his father’s legacy.”

Stereotypes about parents who lost their sons in the war and decided to have another child

Due to selective abortion, the gender imbalance of newborns in Armenia has been far from international norms for many years.

According to the 2021 Global Gender Gap Report, this figure in Armenia is the highest in the region. Among 153 countries, Armenia is at 98th place, Georgia 74th, Azerbaijan 94th.

According to local statistics, the highest level of gender imbalance in Armenia was in 2000, with 120 boys per 100 girls.

In subsequent years this figure gradually decreased, reaching a ratio of 110 boys to 100 girls in 2020.

In post-war 2021, the lowest rate in recent years was recorded — 109 boys per 100 girls.

But in 2022, the gender imbalance of newborns in Armenia widened again, with 112 boys per 100 girls, whereas the sex ratio of newborns globally is 104-106 boys per 100 girls.

What exactly caused the growth of the gender imbalance index in 2022, experts cannot yet say.

“According to the data of 2022, we have a regression, the reasons for which have not yet been investigated,” the Ministry of Health responded to a request from JAMnews.

Demographer Artak Markosyan says the 2022 regression was unexpected:

“Since 2014 the gender imbalance index has been gradually, smoothly decreasing and has come close enough to international standards. I think the gap between 2021 and 2022 is impressive. And although now it is difficult to talk about all the reasons that led to such figures, I think the growth was due, among other things, to selective abortion.”

As a result of the 44-day war in 2020, thousands of families lost their homes in Nagorno-Karabakh. We gathered real stories of IDPs from Karabakh in Armenia

The Ministries of Health and Welfare are jointly undertaking a program to prevent discriminatory fetal sex selection for 2020-2023. It indicates the expected result of the sex ratio of newborns of 107 per 100 by 2023. Based on figures for 2022, the Ministry of Health believes that this indicator is “difficult to achieve”.

Zaruhi Tonoyan, Program Coordinator of the UN Population Fund’s Combating Gender Discrimination Program also considers this unrealistic:

“Unfortunately, we are seeing an increase in the gender imbalance index, and I do not think that we will be able to reach the ratio of 107/100. If we can return at least to the numbers of 2021, this will be a good result.”

In 2022, with the support of the European Union and the United Nations Population Fund, a study was conducted on the reasons for the “discriminatory choice of the sex of the fetus in Armenia”. And it turned out that the number of people who prefer the birth of boys has increased dramatically.

While in 2017, according to the results of a similar study, 38% of respondents said that people in their environment prefer boys, and in 2022 this figure was 53%.

After the second Karabakh war, most residents of the border villages of the Syunik region of Armenia are facing identical problems, with safety being the main one

In the same 2022 study, when asked why sons are preferred in the family, respondents answered:

91% – “the son is the successor of the family”,

83% – “the son is the defender of the motherland”,

67% – “the son is the heir to the property.”

According to a similar study in 2017 by the United Nations Population Fund:

64% – “the son is the successor of the family”,

33% – “son is the heir to property”,

17% – “the son is the defender of the motherland.”

Experts associate the increased percentage of justification “the son is the defender of the motherland” with the war of 2020 and security problems on the border of Armenia that followed it.

“Although we have had security problems for the past 30 years, since 2020 they have worsened. I suppose that this is the reason for the higher rating of male children as defenders of the homeland,” says Zaruhi Tonoyan, Program Coordinator of the United Nations Population Fund.

“Security issues certainly had a major impact on more people responding this way. On the other hand, I think that the post-war emotional background could also contribute to this,” says demographer Artak Markosyan.

A visit to the Center for Pediatric Oncology and Hematology in Armenia and its heroes

According to the results of the study, in the Gegharkunik region preference was given to boys (33% of respondents).

Tavush region is the only one where families want more daughters (17%) than sons (13%).

In Yerevan, these figures are equal — 12% for girls and boys.

In 2022, the number of people giving equal preference to children of different sexes has sharply decreased compared to 2017.

“In 2017 56% of respondents gave equal preference to boys and girls, but in 2022 this figure fell to 36%,” Zaruhi Tonoyan says.

Journalist Tatul Hakobyan drove along the new Armenian-Azerbaijani border to speak with locals

Demographer Artak Markosyan believes that if the gender imbalance grows in 2023, a serious study will need to be carried out:

“First you need to understand the reasons, then try to find solutions to reduce this imbalance.”

According to Zaruhi Tonyan, the problem should be attacked at the social level:

“We must emphasize the role of girls in society and in the family. We will not have a problem of preference only when our way of thinking changes and the importance of the child is not determined by gender.”

According to her, many state and international programs are currently underway, but:

“There is a need to introduce more precise monitoring and evaluation mechanisms at the national level, so that these actions can be properly monitored and their effectiveness evaluated.”

She also emphasizes the role of educational programs, the need for close work with primary health care workers, and media and information campaigns.

Armenian MFA calls on Russia to ensure the withdrawal of Baku’s forces from the Lachin Corridor

Greg Madatian

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 20:51,

YEREVAN, APRIL 23, ARMENPRESS. On the authorities of Azerbaijan, grossly violating the provision 6 of November 9, 2020 Trilateral statement, have already officially blocked the Lachin corridor, taking steps to install a checkpoint in the corridor in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent, ARMENPRESS was informed from MFA Armenia.

This step carried out by the armed forces of Azerbaijan today cannot even be considered as another provocation of Azerbaijan: it is really a flagrant violation of one of the fundamental provisions of November 9, 2020 Trilateral statement, aimed at the consistent implementation of Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and the complete annihilation of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. The continuous illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor since December 12, 2022 under fabricated environmental pretexts and the installation of a checkpoint under false and groundless pretexts today are the continuation of the consistent implementation of this planned policy. 

This action is being carried out against the unequivocal statements of the international community and especially the legally binding decision of February 22,  2023 of the International Court of Justice. Moreover, the authorities of Azerbaijan do not make an effort to fulfil the well-known agreements or even to cover up its continuous violations of the fundamental norms of international law and in every possible way aggravate the regional situation, preparing the ground for the use of large-scale force.

The Republic of Armenia, as a signatory to the November 9 Trilateral statement, considers this step of installation of a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan unacceptable. This, as well as the previous similar actions of Azerbaijan, combined with continuous Armeniophobic and threatening rhetoric, are aimed at scuttling the negotiations on the document on the normalisation of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

We call on the Russian Federation to finally fulfil the obligation under provision 6 of the Trilateral statement by eliminating the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor and ensuring the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from the entire security zone of the corridor, and we call on the member states of the UN, having a mandate for the preservation of international security, to clearly record Azerbaijan's actions undermining the regional security and take effective steps towards the unconditional implementation of the decision of the ICJ, the highest international legal body.

Asbarez: Armenian Soldier Killed by Azerbaijani Fire in Sotk

Mary Lazarian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

A soldier on the frontline


An Armenian soldier was killed on Sunday after Azerbaijani forces opened fire on Armenian military positions in Sotk in the Gegharkunik Province.

At around 11:50 a.m. local time on Sunday, Artyom Poghosyan, a soldier at the Armenian Defense Ministry’s N Military Unit, was fatally wounded by enemy fire at the combat position located in Sotk, the defense ministry reported.

Remembering the Armenian genocide and the lives built in Fitchburg

Christine Harutyunian
By SALLY CRAGIN | Correspondent
at 4:30 a.m.

Monday April 24 is the 108th commemoration of the 1915 Armenian Genocide: “Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.”

As the granddaughter, and great-granddaughter of survivors, my family and I are grateful that Fitchburg opened its arms to victims who fled Western Armenia (now Eastern Turkey) in 1915; as well as in the mid-1890s (“the Armenian Massacre”).

My grandfather, Krikor Mirijanian  was a child when he survived horrific violence and the deaths of many family members including his mother in his home village of Arapkir, near Harpoot. My maternal grandparents, Martin Manooshian and Rose Boyajian Markarian Manooshian (she married twice after being widowed) escaped the massacres two decades earlier. The family settled in Cleghorn, overwhelmingly French-Canadian at that time, in a tenement at 178 Daniels St. (since burned in the 1990s, and rebuilt).

The majority of Armenians coming to New England settled in Watertown, Worcester, Lowell or Lawrence, drawn by the textile and shoe mills. However, enough Armenians came to our city to merit a chapter in Doris Kirkpatrick’s splendid and detailed “Around the World in Fitchburg” published in 1975 by the Fitchburg Historical Society.

What opportunities did the newly-arrived Armenians have here? Many Armenian arrivals immediately joined a church (St. Joseph for those in Cleghorn) and got a job. The 1924 poll tax documents at the Fitchburg Historical Society revealed that within a decade of the 1915 genocide, some 33 Armenian families comprising 77 individuals were paying taxes in Fitchburg. The majority of these (presumably) recent arrivals lived in Ward 2. More than a third (25, including my great-grandfather Martin Manooshian; and great-great Uncle Philip) worked nearby at Parkhill Mill.

My family, the Manooshians and Mirijanians went into dry-cleaning (Star Cleaners) as did the Chicknavorians (City Cleaners). Miran Miranshian was a tailor, and George Booradian, Nishan Vizigian, and Kerop Chakemanian went into shoe repair. Just one woman was listed as a business owner: Alice Varjabedian had a grocery store at 9 Chestnut St. from 1918 through 1924 (in 1925, she and “John H.” — possibly a son — were “removed to Chelsea”).

Recently Fitchburg Historical Society’s Facebook page posted an image scanned from a glass negative. Sharp-eyed readers immediately identified the writing on the window as Armenian, and award-winning local historian George Mirijanian (who is also my uncle) did some research and translated the sign to: “Haygagan Jasharan.”

George explains: “Haygagan” means Armenian, “Jasharan” means restaurant. Colloquial Armenian “Jash” means “to eat” and “aran” means “a place.” This gives us words like “Hokejash” – the meal after a funeral.”

And so, it turns out that Haygagan Jasahran may have been the heart of what was never known as “Little Armenia” but which had numerous Armenian businesses nearby, including tailor Krikor Havanian (78 River St.), barber Mugurdich Yarumian (82 River St.), and grocer Melkiset Melkisethian (84 River St.; he also worked at the Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works).

After the genocide of 1915, more Armenians arrived and opened businesses. Over time, many Armenian first names give way to English names. When my grandmother entered first grade in 1920, her teacher told her she had to change her name. So Shakie (pronounced SHAH-kay), became Charlotte. Her older sister Satenig had received a similar renaming by the same teacher and was subsequently known as Irene (perhaps after nationally-known dancer Irene Castle, who’d starred with her dance partner Vernon Castle in silent movie hit Patria, 1917). And my grandfather Krikor was given the name “George” when he arrived at Block Island.

In a generation — sometimes two — the Armenians left Cleghorn for other parts of Fitchburg or the region. However, we must doff our cap to fellow Armenians who have kept their business in Fitchburg for many years. Oriental Ispahan, owned and operated by Robert and Paula DerMarderosian, is an excellent place to purchase a quality rug (85 Lunenburg St., Fitchburg), and our cousin Stephen Keosian, who runs Keosa Brothers Shoe Repair is the best shoe repairman I know (201 Lunenburg St., Fitchburg).

Finally, we invite anyone interested in Armenian culture to join us at Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day at Leominster Public Library, 30 West St., Leominster this Sunday, April 23, starting at 2 p.m. We’ll talk about the history, poetry, language and culture, and “famous Armenians.” The remembrance is free to all and light refreshments will be served.

And remember, you can research your own family’s Fitchburg history at Fitchburg Historical Society, open to the public on Monday, Tuesday (10 a.m. to 4 p.m.), Wednesday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.), 781 Main St, Fitchburg. Call 978-345-1157.

Sally Cragin is an award-winning journalist and the director of Be PAWSitive Therapy Pets and Community Education. 

Armenia, Artsakh Urge Russia to End Blockade after Illegal Lachin Corridor Checkpoint

Emil Lazarian
by Asbarez Staff

 

 

 

in Armenia, Artsakh, Featured Story, Latest, News, Top Stories

Azerbaijan set up an illegal checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor


After Azerbaijan illegally set up a checkpoint on the blockaded Lachin Corridor, the authorities in Yerevan condemned Azerbaijan for the blatant violation of the November 9, 2020 agreement and called on Russia to “fulfill its obligations” and end the blockade of Artsakh.

Artsakh President Arayik Harutyunyan also made a similar appeal to Moscow after convening an emergency session of the country National Security Council.

With the establishment of the illegal checkpoint on the Lachin Corridor, “the people of Artsakh have once and for all become hostages in the hands of Azerbaijan, with the growing danger of apparent ethnic cleansing, and that the further effect of the Trilateral Ceasefire Agreement is under serious threat,” said Harutyunyan.

“We appeal to the parties of the Trilateral Ceasefire Agreement, and especially the Russian Federation, to immediately start discussions on lifting the blockade of Artsakh, preventing the establishment of an Azerbaijani checkpoint and providing real guarantees for the security of the people of Artsakh,” the Artsakh president added.

“We anticipate that effective step will be taken to resolve the security and humanitarian problems faced by the people of Artsakh in the shortest possible time, the absence of which will allow the government and the people of Artsakh to decide what to do next,” the statement said.

Below is the text of a statement issued on Sunday by Armenia’s Foreign Ministry.

On the authorities of Azerbaijan, grossly violating the provision 6 of November 9, 2020 Trilateral statement, have already officially blocked the Lachin corridor, taking steps to install a checkpoint in the corridor in the area of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent.

This step carried out by the armed forces of Azerbaijan today cannot even be considered as another provocation of Azerbaijan: it is really a flagrant violation of one of the fundamental provisions of November 9, 2020 Trilateral statement, aimed at the consistent implementation of Azerbaijan’s policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh and the complete annihilation of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh. The continuous illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor since December 12, 2022 under fabricated environmental pretexts and the installation of a checkpoint under false and groundless pretexts today are the continuation of the consistent implementation of this planned policy. 

This action is being carried out against the unequivocal statements of the international community and especially the legally binding decision of February 22,  2023 of the International Court of Justice. Furthermore, the authorities of Azerbaijan not only are not making an effort not only to fulfill the well-known agreements, but they are covering up their continuous violations of the fundamental norms of international law as well as in every possible way aggravate the regional situation, preparing the ground for the use of large-scale force.

The Republic of Armenia, as a signatory to the November 9 Trilateral statement, considers this step of installing a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor by Azerbaijan unacceptable. This, as well as the previous similar actions of Azerbaijan, combined with continuous Armeniophobic and threatening rhetoric, are aimed at scuttling the negotiations on the document on the normalization of relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

We call on the Russian Federation to finally fulfill the obligation under provision 6 of the Trilateral statement by eliminating the illegal blockade of the Lachin corridor and ensuring the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from the entire security zone of the corridor, and we call on the member states of the UN, having a mandate for the preservation of international security, to clearly record Azerbaijan’s actions undermining the regional security and take effective steps towards the unconditional implementation of the decision of the ICJ, the highest international legal body.

Reuters: Azerbaijan puts checkpoint on Lachin corridor bridge leading to Karabakh

Lena Karagyozian


By REUTERS

 

Published: APRIL 23, 2023 17:59

Azerbaijan said on Sunday it had established a checkpoint on the only land route to the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a step that was followed by claims of border shootings by both Azeri and Armenian forces.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians and it broke away from Baku in a war in the early 1990s.

Azerbaijan said it had established a checkpoint on the road leading to Karabakh, a step it said was essential due to what it cast as Armenia's use of the road to transport weapons.


Azerbaijan "took appropriate measures to establish control at the starting point of the road," the foreign ministry said.

"Providing border security, as well as ensuring safe traffic on the road, is the prerogative of the government of Azerbaijan, and an essential prerequisite for national security, state sovereignty and the rule of law."


Armenian officials said Azerbaijan was installing what they cast as an illegal checkpoint at the Hakari bridge in the Lachin corridor, the only road across Azerbaijan that links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh.

Pictures of the bridge posted on social media by Azeri officials showed one side of it blocked by vehicles and soldiers.


Armenia's defense ministry said a soldier named Artyom Poghosyan was killed at around 0750 GMT when Azeri forces opened fire on an Armenian position in Sotk, an Armenian village east of Lake Sevan. Azerbaijan denied it killed the soldier.

Azerbaijan then claimed that Armenian soldiers fired on Azeri units at around 1110 GMT in the Lachin district, a claim Armenia denied.

In 2020, Azerbaijan retook territory in and around the enclave after a second war that ended in a Russian-brokered ceasefire upheld by Russian peacekeepers.

Azeri civilians identifying themselves as environmental activists have been facing off since Dec. 12 with Russian peacekeepers on the Lachin corridor.

Armenia says the protesters are government-backed agitators who are effectively blockading Karabakh. Azerbaijan denies blockading the road, saying that some convoys and aid are allowed through.

In recent months Armenia has repeatedly called on Moscow to do more to support the peace and ensure unfettered access between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabak through the Lachin Corridor.



Reuters: Tensions over Karabakh rise after Azerbaijan blocks land route from Armenia

Manouk Vasilian
Reuters
  • Azerbaijan blocks bridge leading to Karabakh
  • Armenia says the checkpoint is violation of ceasefire
  • Armenia calls on Russia to implement its commitments
  • Armenia and Azerbaijan claim border shooting incidents

MOSCOW, April 23 (Reuters) – Azerbaijan said on Sunday it had established a checkpoint on the only land route to the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a step that was followed by claims of border shootings by both Azeri and Armenian forces.

Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but its 120,000 inhabitants are predominantly ethnic Armenians and it broke away from Baku in a war in the early 1990s.

Azerbaijan said it had established a checkpoint on the road leading to Karabakh, a step it said was essential due to what it cast as Armenia's use of the road to transport weapons.

Azerbaijan "took appropriate measures to establish control at the starting point of the road," the foreign ministry said.

"Providing border security, as well as ensuring safe traffic on the road, is the prerogative of the government of Azerbaijan, and an essential prerequisite for national security, state sovereignty and the rule of law."

Armenia said the checkpoint at the Hakari bridge in the Lachin corridor was a gross violation of the 2020 ceasefire agreement which ended a 2020 war. It called on Russia to implement the agreement which states that the Lachin corridor, the only road across Azerbaijan that links Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh, must be under Russian peacekeepers' control.

"We call on the Russian Federation to ultimately implement the trilateral statement," Armenia's foreign ministry said of the agreement that was brokered by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The U.S. government said it was "deeply concerned" by Azerbaijan establishing the checkpoint on the only land route to the contested region of Nagorno-Karabakh, saying it undermines efforts toward peace in the region.

The U.S. State Department also said there should be free and open movement of people and commerce on the Lachin corridor, and urged both sides to resume peace talks.

Pictures of the bridge posted on social media by Azeri officials showed one side of it blocked by vehicles and soldiers.

Armenia's defence ministry said a soldier named Artyom Poghosyan was killed at around 0750 GMT when Azeri forces opened fire on an Armenian position in Sotk, an Armenian village east of Lake Sevan. Azerbaijan denied it killed the soldier.

Azerbaijan then claimed that Armenian soldiers fired on Azeri units at around 1110 GMT in the Lachin district, a claim Armenia denied.

In 2020, Azerbaijan retook territory in and around the enclave after a second war that ended in a Russian-brokered ceasefire upheld by Russian peacekeepers.

Azeri civilians identifying themselves as environmental activists have been facing off since Dec. 12 with Russian peacekeepers on the Lachin corridor.

Armenia says the protesters are government-backed agitators who are effectively blockading Karabakh. Azerbaijan denies blockading the road, saying that some convoys and aid are allowed through.

In recent months Armenia has repeatedly called on Moscow to do more to support the peace and ensure unfettered access between Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh through the Lachin Corridor.

Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Susan Fenton

AFP: Azerbaijan Sets Up First Checkpoint on Key Route to Armenia

Garik Boshkezenian

Published By: Pritha Mallick

AFP

Azerbaijan on Sunday set up a checkpoint on the only land link between Armenia and the Nagorno-Karabakh enclave, sparking an angry response from its arch-rival Yerevan.

The move fuels tensions between the ex-Soviet Caucasus nations that fought two wars over Azerbaijan’s Armenian-majority region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

“The units of the Azerbaijani Border Service established a border checkpoint on the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan, at the entrance of the Lachin-Khankendi road," the state border service said.

Baku and Yerevan went to war in 2020 and in the 1990s over Nagorno-Karabakh.

Under the Russia-brokered ceasefire that ended the 2020 conflict, Azerbaijan is required to guarantee safe passage on the Lachin corridor, which is patrolled by Russian peacekeepers.

Azerbaijan, however, said it set up the checkpoint at 12:00 pm (0800 GMT) on Sunday “to prevent the illegal transportation of manpower, weapons, mines."

It added the checkpoint “shall be implemented in interaction with the Russian peacekeeping force."

Since last year tensions have risen over the Lachin corridor, with Russia focused on its offensive in Ukraine.

In December, Azerbaijani activists blocked the Lachin corridor to protest what they claim was illegal mining.

Yerevan accused Baku of staging the demonstrations and creating a humanitarian crisis in the mountainous enclave.

In a new escalation on Sunday, Azerbaijan said it built the checkpoint following “threats and provocations" from Armenia, which denied the claims.

Baku accused Yerevan of using the corridor for the rotation of army staff, “the transfer of weapons and ammunition, entrance of terrorists, as well as illicit trafficking of natural resources and cultural property."

It said it recorded military convoys entering Azerbaijan’s territory and “the construction of military infrastructure… at the point closest to the territory of Azerbaijan."

The Armenian foreign ministry said the claims were a “far-fetched and baseless pretext".

It said setting up the checkpoint was “a gross violation" of the 2020 ceasefire agreement, part of Baku’s “policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh."

Separatist authorities of Nagorno-Karabakh called on “the Russian Federation to immediately begin discussions" including on “preventing the establishment" of the checkpoint.

Distracted by its offensive in Ukraine and the confrontation with the West, Russia has been visibly losing influence in the region, which it sees as its traditional sphere of influence.

Yerevan, which relies on Russia  as a security guarantor, has grown frustrated over the Kremlin’s failure to fulfil its peacekeeping role.

Several servicemen from both sides have been killed in clashes in recent months.

And on Sunday, Armenia reported Azerbaijan’s forces killed one of its servicemen.

Azerbaijan said it was responding to enemy fire.

https://www.news18.com/world/azerbaijan-sets-up-first-checkpoint-on-key-route-to-armenia-7620319.html

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https://www.scmp.com/news/world/russia-central-asia/article/3218080/azerbaijan-sets-first-checkpoint-only-land-route-armenia

AP: Armenia says soldier killed, but Azerbaijan rejects claim

Lara Antonian

Armenia’s defense ministry says that one of its soldiers was killed by an Azerbaijani sniper near the border

By The Associated Press
, 7:09 PM

Armenia’s defense ministry said Sunday that one of its soldiers was killed by an Azerbaijani sniper near the border, but Azerbaijan denied the claim and separately reported that its soldiers had come under fire from Armenia in another part of the border area.

Tensions further rose on Sunday when Azerbaijan announced it had opened a checkpoint at the start of the road that leads from Armenia to the ethnic Armenian region of Nagorno-Karabakh that is within Azerbaijan. Armenia claimed that such a checkpoint violates the pact that ended fierce fighting between the countries in 2020.

Nagorno-Karabakh, which had substantial autonomy under the Soviet Union, came under control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by the Armenian military in 1994 at the end of years of separatist fighting. Armenian forces also took sizable territory surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh itself.

Azerbaijan regained most of the surrounding territory and pieces of Nagorno-Karabakh itself in the six-week 2020 war that killed about 6,800 soldiers. Under a Russia-brokered armistice, transit along the so-called Lachin Corridor road that connects Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia was to continue under the guarantee of Russian peacekeepers.

But in December, traffic obstructions began when protesters claiming to be enviromental activists blocked the road. Since then, Nagorno-Karabakh has suffered food shortages and sporadic loss of electricity and gas.

At least seven soldiers were killed in clashes between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces earlier in April.

Armenia claimed a sniper killed one of its soldiers near the village of Sotk. Azerbaijan denied that and said Armenians opened fire with small arms on its forces, who returned fire.

Azerbaijan has repeatedly alleged that Armenians have used the Lachin Corridor to bring weapons and ammunition into Nagorno-Karabakh.

https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/armenia-soldier-killed-azerbaijan-rejects-claim-98787039

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https://ktvz.com/news/ap-national-news/2023/04/23/armenia-says-soldier-killed-but-azerbaijan-rejects-claim/
 

Azerbaijan sets up checkpoint on only land route between Armenia and disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region

Christine Harutyunian
India –
Moscow, RussiaEdited By: Nishtha Badgamia

The checkpoint might cause an escalation in tensions between the two former Soviet Union countries which have fought two wars in 2020 and in the 1990s over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Azerbaijan, on Sunday (April 22), set up a checkpoint on the only land route between Armenia and the contested Nagorno-Karabakh enclave. The move has since sparked outrage from its arch-rival Yerevan which has called it a "gross violation" of the 2020 ceasefire agreement. Azerbaijan set up the checkpoint after claims of border shootings by both Azeri and Armenian forces. 

The checkpoint might cause an escalation in tensions between the two former Soviet Union countries which have fought two wars in 2020 and in the 1990s over the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The region in question is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, however, is home to predominantly ethnic Armenians. 

The conflict in 2020 ended after a Russia-brokered ceasefire where Azerbaijan is required to guarantee safe passage on the Lachin corridor which is also patrolled by Moscow’s peacekeepers. However, Baku has argued that it had to establish the checkpoint on the road leading to Karabakh for what is seemingly suggested was Armenia’s use of the road to transport weapons. 

War of words over the checkpoint

Azerbaijan said it built the checkpoint following “threats and provocations” from Armenia, which has since denied these claims. 

Baku said that the checkpoint was established at 12:00 pm (local time) “to prevent the illegal transportation of manpower, weapons, mines,” adding that it will “be implemented in interaction with the Russian peacekeeping force.”

The foreign ministry, in a statement, also said, “Providing border security, as well as ensuring safe traffic on the road, is the prerogative of the government of Azerbaijan, and an essential prerequisite for national security, state sovereignty and the rule of law.” 

Baku alleged that they recorded military convoys entering Azerbaijan’s territory for “construction of military infrastructure…at the point closest to the territory of Azerbaijan”. 

Meanwhile, the Armenian foreign ministry, in response to these allegations, said that the claim was “far-fetched” and called the checkpoint at the Hakari bridge in the Lachin corridor a "gross violation" of the 2020 ceasefire agreement. 

“We call on the Russian Federation to ultimately implement the trilateral statement,” said Armenia’s foreign ministry. This comes as Russia is in the midst of a conflict with Ukraine as well as a confrontation with the West. 

Blaming each other for recent attacks

In recent months, several servicemen have been killed from both sides amid clashes. Armenia’s defence ministry said a soldier named Artyom Poghosyan was killed at around 0750 GMT when Azeri forces opened fire on an Armenian position in 

On the other hand, Azerbaijan denied the attack and later said it was responding to enemy fire by Armenian soldiers fired on Azeri units at around 1110 GMT in the Lachin district. The claim has since been denied by Armenia. 

(With inputs from agencies) 

https://www.wionews.com/world/azerbaijan-sets-up-checkpoint-on-land-route-from-armenia-in-disputed-region-585480

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