Raising Flags: Alison on Recent Events in Tegh and Across Armenia | Ep 247 - Apr 14, 2023 [EP247]

Posted on Friday, Apr 14, 2023 | Category: Armenia, Politics | Series: cog

Guest:

Topics:

  • Aghavno / Berdzor
  • April 11 Azeri Aggression Near Tegh
  • Raising Flags
  • Azeri Infiltrations into Armenia

Episode 247 | Recorded: April 14, 2023

Show Notes

Raising Flags: Alison on Recent Events in Tegh and Across Armenia

Aghavno / Berdzor

In August 2022, you were with a group of friends in Aghavno and called for followers to join you in an attempt to prevent the handover of Berdzor/Aghavno to Azerbaijan.

Questions:

  • Are these events, Berdzor, Aghavno, Jermuk, now Tegh, a consequence of policies of the Armenian government?

April 11 Azeri Aggression Near Tegh

The unprovoked Azeri shootings of April 11 killed 4 of our soldiers near Tegh village. A week ago we talked with Naira Melikyan, mother of fallen soldier Hayk Melikyan, who tried to visit this region with other concerned parents and activists, and she was prevented by Armenian border guards, who claimed to be stopping her “for her own safety”.

Naira reported that Azeris were building fortifications on Armenian territory, and wanted to see what is going on there. So she was clearly aware of something suspicious going on, and a few days later Azeri shootings killed four of our soldiers. It’s unbelievable that a private citizen can sense the trouble we’re in, yet the government turns a complete blind eye to the safety of Armenian soldiers and citizens, probably even colluding with the enemy in order to fulfill secret agreements that they signed behind the backs of the Armenian people.

Questions:

  • What’s your perspective on what has happened near Tegh?
  • What is the situation near the Kornidzor bridge, and the new road built by Pashinyan’s government that leads to the Berdzor corridor?

Azeri Infiltrations into Armenia

Earlier this past week two soldiers were reported to have crossed into Armenia from their posts in Nakhijevan. Armenpress reported them as having “gone missing”. One person was found and arrested the same day, and yesterday the second of the two was apprehended.

Questions:

  • Having recently visited Sisian and the region in general, what are your thoughts on these incidents?
  • Are the communities in the south safe?
  • Are Armenia’s border guards doing their job?

Parting Thoughts

Alison

Hovik

  • Refuse to accept misinformation, refuse to accept that the current situation is normal, and refuse to accept that we are helpless. Get involved!

Wrap-up

All right, that’s our show, we hope you found it useful. Please find us on Social Media and follow us everywhere you get your Armenian news, the links are in the show notes. Thanks to Laura Osborn for the music on our podcasts. We’ll talk to you soon!

Guests

Alison Tahmizian Meuse

Alison Tahmizian Meuse

Alison Tahmizian Meuse is a veteran journalist who has reported for major international publications including Agence France-Presse and NPR. She is currently a senior advisor at the New Delhi-based consultancy DeepStrat, and co-director of Aknandakan, an investigative documentary platform. She’s based in Armenia. Alison is a graduate of the George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs.

Hosts

Hovik Manucharyan

Hovik Manucharyan

Hovik Manucharyan is an information security engineer who moved from Seattle to Armenia in 2022. He co-founded the ANN/Groong podcast in 2020 and has been a contributor to Groong News since the late 1990s.

Asbed Bedrossian

Asbed Bedrossian

Asbed is founder of the Armenian News Network Groong and co-founder of the ANN/Groong podcast.

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