VIDEO: Azerbaijanis Attempt to 'Share' the Aerial Station in the Village of Dzhakatun; New Border Being Drawn

Azerbaijanis are looking to draw a new border through the television tower located near the village of Dzhakatun in the Syunik region, despite the presence of a border marker dating back to Soviet times. During the visit of a Sputnik Armenia film crew to the village, antennas apparently retrieved from somewhere were brought to the village mayor's office. It turned out that these antennas were brought from a tower located on a nearby hill that is clearly visible from the village. This tower hosts the television transmission facility and antennas for mobile operators Vicacell and Ucom.

It was revealed that during the border demarcation, the Azerbaijanis claimed that the border runs directly through the construction of the television tower. “The border runs along the hill; beyond that is their territory, on this side is ours. They (the Azerbaijanis) turned on the GPS, and half of the building falls within their territory,” said village mayor Housik Sarukhanyan.

However, according to both Sarukhanyan and the local residents, the Soviet-era border did not pass through that area. A border post, preserved since Soviet times, remains just 30 meters away from the tower. “There it is planted, everything stays in its place. Behind them are theirs, on this side are we,” said a village resident.

He expressed concern that if the Azerbaijanis settle on top of the hill, there will be nothing left for the village. “Today they are here, in a month, they will be in the village,” he remarked.

He does not understand how it is possible that the border post, set up since Soviet times, remains so far from the building, yet for some reason the new border is claimed to go not through it, but through the station itself. The mayor is also puzzled about why and how the GPS indicates the border through the tower's structure. However, he has been instructed to remove the electrical installations and transfer them to another village.

“Such stories are not just here; it’s the same in Agarak,” noted Sarukhanyan.