Threatening lands

Meghri, Kapan and Yerevan (Armenia) - October, 2023

In Meghri, right after the conquest of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan on September 19th, people started to wonder if the same thing would happen here in southern Armenia as well.

Many armenians believe that Azerbaijan would aim for a territorial unity of the areas that are currently under its authority, an integrity that could comprise the nation in a single area: as a matter of fact, Azerbaijan also has its Nagorno Karabakh, an area detached from its main territorial nucleus, its exclave called the Naxichevan, a piece of Azerbaijani territory within the Armenian state bordering Turkey on its west side. Most of the armenians think that Azerbaijan, thanks to its lightning quick recent conquest, will try to take over Syunik, a strategic strip of land that separates Azerbaijan from its exclave. Meghri, located in this southern region of Armenia, is a small mountainous town of about 4,000 people near the border with Iran. During the times of the Soviet Union, there was a railway line that connected Azerbaijan with its detached territory. After years of conflict with mutual acts of violence, the road was closed and forgotten.

Peace negotiations following the attack by Azerbaijan in September and the consequent annexation of the former Republic of Nagorno Karabakh in the Azerbaijani territories are still underway: among the various conditions that are being discussed, there is also the creation of a corridor that allows routes trade and regular exchanges of goods and people between the two separate Azerbaijani territorial entities. After the second Karabakh war, which ended with an agreement facilitated by Russia, Armenia had agreed to allow a land connection between Azerbaijan and Naxichevan, as long as it was under its direct control, but today for the local press, according to Armenian population most common point of view, Azerbaijan is determinated to connect its territories at any cost.

Clear signs of these intentions sometimes seem evident even in the words of the current Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, who launched on September 19th the operation in Nagorno Karabakh. In his latest public statements, Alyev has started referring to Armenia as “Western Azerbaijan,” calling for the creation of the “Zangezur Corridor,” a highway connecting Azerbaijan with Naxichevan along the former Soviet railway. Already in 2021, he had declared that the corridor would be realized in any case with or without the approval of Armenia, and now that the cancellation of the Armenian enclave has been completed, it is the prominent Armenian press itself that admits that should Azerbaijan follow through on its threats, no one will step in to defend Armenia, not Europe, nor the United States. The other cumbersome actors involved, Russia, Iran and Turkey for instance seem to complicate the situation. Russia, despite widespread disappointment in Armenia for its failure to intervene decisively in the fall of Nagorno Karabakh, remains the country's largest trading partner with control of energy resources and a significant military presence. Many have lost faith in this historic ally, but they have also blamed Armenian President Nikol Pashinyan for putting at risk the country's security by opposing Russia and cultivating new geopolitical relationships with United States and Europe.

Many of the people that accepted to be interviewed in Meghri and Kapan, the capital of the Syunik region, preferred not to reveal their names or be photographed. I was asked several times if I was an Azerbaijani spy. Their attitude was proud and severe but they asked everything with politeness and respect. I explained and showed them the Armenian journalist card and most of them were willing to give quick interviews. Tension was clearly perceptible from the words of many of the subjects interviewed, as was the pride, the bond with their land and the will to save it.

“We are worried, we live in a state of tension every day. Hourly. We also know where their troops are located on our borders. This is our land and we will not leave it, we will fight to the end. But if they manage to win, they will force us to leave just like in Artsakh (as the Armenians call this region)"

A taxi driver met in the central square of Meghri. He did not want to be photographed an revelaed by name.

 The tension for what could happen in these areas sometimes seems to be silenced by the disbelief for the loss of an important part of their history, as well as by the anger and sorrow for personal losses.

 “If they had to give up like this they must have known already in 2020 . They knew that it would have ended like this. And if they had admitted I would still have my children who died…but not 30 years ago they died only recently. They made the last war. They died so that our presidents could surrender like this 2 years later without fighting, even for one day. I don't believe in anything anymore."

(A woman in front of a restaurant along  the river’s bridge in Meghri)

The cancellation of Nagorno Karabakh is a wound that will remain open for a long time because the region represented the rebirth of the Armenian people after the genocide of 1915.

The Azerbaijani annexation of Artsakh, removed a fundamental component of the Armenian identity and its deep cultural roots.

“We are still shocked by what happened, part of us especially the older ones are living a nightmare they cannot believe in”

 (a woman in the center square on the main street)

In others, a sense of concern prevails about the consequences of the exodus from Nagorno Karabach

“ In the hospital where I work in Aghavnadzor, north of Yerevan, there are homeless old and young people all with different psychological problems. They all arrive from Nagorno Karabach and have nothing left. The important thing is to try to keep the children happy for our future too."

(Mila, a nurse who was visiting her family here.)

“The country's economy was already a big problem, I am  worried that there will be more and more people dying of hunger because so many have arrived from Nagorno Karabakh”

(A mechanical fixing the car we used to get there.)

With young students the approach seems to be very different.

“We are not afraid of anything, we have always been hated and attacked by everyone around us. We must be prepared to fight"

However, in most people, insecurity and concern for their existence prevail.

“Armenia cannot be attacked. It would end forever. Armenia will no longer exist, if they attack here they attack everywhere. We do not have the means to defend ourselves even though we have always wanted to do so and we have even succeeded in the past. But now we don't even have real friends anymore"

(Restaurant owner)

 As much as they seemed convinced of what they said, certainties seem to clash with the possibilities of the future. The Azeri invasion of Armenia for now remains only linked to the predictions of analysts and politicians, but the effects of its potential realization leave the Armenian population in doubt