Tag: blockade

“The story of the house began with a smile and ended with tears,” writes Yan Shenkman, a Russian journalist, who moved to Armenia after the war in Ukraine started. He compiled monologues from the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh for an upcoming exhibition about the homes they lost.

In September, two families-in-law from Artsakh found refuge in the village of Yeghvard, Armenia, joining over 100,000 displaced Armenians facing similar challenges. Marut Vanyan, a journalist from Artsakh, provides insight into their experiences.

In this last podcast for the year, EVN Report’s Maria Titizian and Roubina Margossian speak about the events of 2023: the blockade of Artsakh, followed by Azerbaijan’s attack on September 19, the total ethnic cleansing of the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh, Armenia’s efforts to diversity its security and foreign policy, Yerevan elections and more.

Specialists from the Ministry of Internal Affairs are working to alleviate the anxiety of the forcibly displaced children from Artsakh by offering psychological first aid. Their journey is captured in this photo story by Ani Gevorgyan.

EVN Report's Editor-in-Chief Maria Titizian speaks with Dr. Nerses Kopalyan, author of the monthly series "EVN Security Report" who explains the madman theory, a strategy in coercive bargaining, where the perceived extremism of an actor is leveraged to achieve one-sided outcomes. In this context, Kopalyan explains how Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s bargaining posture operates off of the logic that if his terms are not met, he reserves the right to wage war, thus anchoring the threat of destruction to force acquiescence from Armenia and the international community.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of September 8, 2023: Heavy Azerbaijani military buildup around Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia as fears of a new war mount; three students arbitrarily detained by Azerbaijani forces at the Hakari bridge are released; amid escalating tensions, US-Armenia joint military exercise to take place in Armenia next week and more.

Mellisa, a six-year-old from the village of Harav in besieged Artsakh, should have started first grade this year. However, she will not be attending school, and neither will her four older siblings.

Nothing in Artsakh is what it used to be. The Stepanakert market, once known as a feast of tastes and colors has now become a concentrated mosaic of all our misery, writes Tamara Grigoryan, a resident of the capital city.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of August 11, 2023: Luis Moreno Ocampo, the founding prosecutor of the International Criminal Court releases report, says blockade of the Lachin Corridor should be considered a genocide; international media coverage of the siege of Artsakh begins ramping up; Artsakh faces potential critical water shortages as mortality rates spike because of a lack of medicine and medical services and more.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of August 4, 2023: Despite calls from around the world to lift the blockade of Artsakh, Baku continues to strangulate 120,000 people; the abduction and arrest of a 68-year-old resident of Artsakh during a humanitarian transfer raises fears of deepening the already acute crisis in the region; diplomats accredited to Armenia and UN agencies visit Kornidzor where trucks of humanitarian aid continue to be blocked by Baku.

As Azerbaijan continues to tighten its noose around Artsakh, blocking all humanitarian assistance and aid from reaching the population, young people from Artsakh share pictures of their meals.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of July 28, 2023: The situation in Artsakh has reached a tipping point as 120,000 people continue to suffer under a total blockade imposed by Baku; almost 400 tons of humanitarian aid dispatched from Yerevan has not been allowed to enter Artsakh; authorities in Artsakh and Armenia continue to raise the alarm that if the blockade is not lifted, people will begin dying.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of July 21, 2023: The situation in Artsakh has become extremely critical, grocery stores are empty, medicine, medical supplies and fuel are on the verge of running out. Armenia’s Foreign Affairs Minister says that Baku’s intention is to create unbearable conditions for living and aims to ethnically cleanse Nagorno-Karabakh; warns that people are on the verge of hunger and starvation.

Baku does not want to end the humanitarian catastrophe it precipitated by blockading the Lachin Corridor. Its intent is to ethnically cleanse Artsakh of its indigenous Armenian population that has lived and flourished on that land for millennia.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of July 7, 2023: The situation in Artsakh becomes extremely grave as Azerbaijan’s total blockade continues; PM Nikol Pashinyan says a meeting with Azerbaijan’s president will take place in Brussels in the near future; two Armenian serviceman abducted on Armenian territory by Azerbaijani forces are sentenced to 11 years and six months by a court in Sumgait and more.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of June 30, 2023: Four servicemen are killed in an Azerbaijani attack in Artsakh; the foreign ministers of Armenia and Azerbaijan conclude the latest round of talks in Washington; after a total blockade, the ICRC is able to resume the transfer of patients from Artsakh to Armenia for now.

State-backed Azerbaijani “eco-activists” shut down the Lachin Corridor back in December 2022 placing Artsakh in a blockade. This was followed by the installment of an illegal Azerbaijani checkpoint on the Hakari Bridge on the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border, further strangulating the Armenian population. Live updates as the siege of Artsakh continues.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of June 23, 2023: It has been over a week that all humanitarian aid and cargo into Artsakh has been blocked by Baku; PACE Resolution condemns Azerbaijan and expresses surprise that Baku refuses to acknowledge the serious humanitarian and human rights consequences of the blockade; Chair of the European Parliament’s sub-committee on Security and Defense visits Lachin Corridor, calls the blockade illegal and says Baku must ensure the rights and well being of the Armenians of Artsakh.

Without a clear recognition of the reality on the ground, especially Azerbaijan's obstructionist behavior, and without substantive enforcement instruments provided by international actors, a piece of paper cannot serve as a real peace deal, Tatevik Hayrapetyan writes.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of May 12, 2023: Azerbaijani Armed Forces launch attack against Armenian positions in Sotk, leaving six Armenian soldiers wounded; EU-mediated meetings between the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan are expected in the coming weeks; over 450,000 tourists visited Armenia in the first quarter of 2023, an increase of over 80% compared to the previous year.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of April 28: Azerbaijan installs checkpoint at the entrance of the Lachin Corridor in flagrant violation of the tripartite statement that ended the 2020 war; Azerbaijani eco-activists, who had been blocking the Corridor for 138 days, have temporarily suspend their protest; France’s Foreign Affairs Minister is in Armenia, says Baku must comply with the ICJ decision on the Lachin Corridor and more.

Tamara Grigoryan, who lived and worked in Karvachar for a decade and who now lives in Stepanakert asks a fundamental question: Are we going to live in Artsakh as the owners of the homeland or not?

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of February 24: The International Court of Justice orders Azerbaijan to ensure free movement of persons, cargo and other goods along the Lachin Corridor; Ruben Vardanyan, the State Minister of Artsakh is dismissed from his position by President Arayik Harutyunyan; the Government of Armenia gives the go ahead to Lydian to start operating the Amulsar gold mine and more.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of February 17: Armenia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Ararat Mirzoyan is in Turkey this week; 120,000 people in Artsakh continue to remain under siege as Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor continues; Armenia and Azerbaijan continue to discuss the next phase of the peace process and more.

Children who were separated from their families because of Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor, were finally able to return home to Artsakh after 47 days. They shared their thoughts before their long-awaited reunion.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of February 10: The population of Artsakh has been left without gas supply again Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor enters its 61st day; Armenia sends humanitarian aid and rescue teams to Syria and Turkey in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes; Seyran Ohanyan, Armenia’s former defense minister and member of the opposition Armenia Alliance was stripped of his parliamentary immunity this week.

Artsakh’s entire economy is heavily dependent on Armenia, and the blockade of the Lachin Corridor has made it more vulnerable, giving Azerbaijan the ability to weaponize Artsakh’s energy supply and control over its critical infrastructure.

Armenia and Azerbaijan presented oral arguments on their respective requests for additional provisional measures at the ICJ last week. International criminal lawyer and war crimes investigator Sheila Paylan breaks down the arguments.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of February 3: The International Court of Justice hears cases presented by Armenia and Azerbaijan against each other on the application of CERD; Azerbaijan’s ongoing blockade of the Lachin Corridor is now in its 54th day; Russia’s Foreign Affairs Minister says that as a result of the 2020 Artsakh War, Azerbaijan was able to reclaim the territories which belonged to it and more.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of January 27: The population of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) continues to be under siege as Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor is now in its 48th day; this week the EU approved the deployment of a 100-person civilian mission to Armenia for a two-year term, triggering a furious response from the Russian Foreign Ministry; U.S. State Secretary Antony Blinken tells Aliyev to reopen the Lachin Corridor, underscoring the risk of a humanitarian crisis and more.

Azerbaijan’s behavior meets all of the criteria that triggers the implementation of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principle. The international community must resolutely raise this issue in order to deter the Aliyev regime from continuing its predatory policies.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of January 20: Fifteen soldiers are killed when a fire erupts in a military barrack in Armenia’s Gegharkunik region; Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor is now in its second month; Armenian children returning to Nagorno-Karabakh accompanied by Russian peacekeepers are harassed by masked Azerbaijanis and more.

As Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor is now in its second month, all schools in Artsakh, starting from January 19, were shut down indefinitely because of the rolling electricity blackouts and shortage of natural gas supply.

For more than a month, Artsakh has been cut off from the rest of the world by the joint will of Azerbaijan and Russia as the international community watches silently because Artsakh is the blind spot of the peace negotiations, writes Gaidz Minassian.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of January 13: The blockade of the Lachin Corridor by Azerbaijan enters second month; Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev says the road is not closed for those Armenians of Artsakh who do not wish to become citizens of Azerbaijan, they can leave; a delegation headed by the President of France’s National Assembly arrives in Yerevan and more.

Why has the UN Security Council failed to react in a meaningful way to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict? Hovhannes Nazaretyan looks at some of the possible reasons.

The United Nations Security Council’s emergency meeting regarding the blockade of the Lachin corridor demonstrated a remarkable shift in the international community’s reaction to the Armenia-Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts.

In EVN Report’s news roundup for the week of December 16: Artsakh continues to remain in a blockade after so-called Azerbaijani “environmental activists” shut down the Lachin Corridor; after international pressure, Azerbaijani authorities restore natural gas supply to Artsakh; Armenia’s parliament adopts bill on creating a Ministry of Internal Affairs and more.

Armenia's Human Rights Defender Kristinne Grigoryan speaks to EVN Report about the consequences of Azerbaijan's blockade of the Lachin Corridor, the violation of the rights of the people of Artsakh as a result of that blockade and the legal instruments that Armenia can and has implemented to counter the consequences.

Armenia’s Government must quickly shape a coherent and powerful vision of what it wants to gain from the transport talks. If they get it wrong, the country is at risk of being outmaneuvered by Azerbaijan and taken advantage of by Russia.