Azerbaijanis Advanced with GPS, Reached Near Amaras Monastery, Installed Their Flags

The Artsakh flag installed at the Amaras Monastery, located near the village of Machkalashen in the Martuni region, was removed yesterday. Metakse Hakobyan, a member of the Artsakh National Assembly’s ‘Justice’ faction, told ‘Pastinfo’ that she had visited the Machkalashen community in the Martuni region yesterday with three other members of the faction’s co-chair. During the visit, the residents shared that Azerbaijanis had advanced using GPS and effectively crossed the border, placing their flags, after which the Armenian side appealed to the Russian peacekeepers, who pushed them back and returned them to their point of origin.

“I cannot say whether this was a demand from the Azerbaijani side, but the Russian side had suggested removing the Artsakh flag from Amaras. If the installation of the flag is that significant, at the very least, we should place the Armenian flag,” Hakobyan noted, adding that it felt strange during a discussion with the community leader and residents when the leader responded, saying, ‘Of course, we must remove the flag.’

According to Hakobyan, a near altercation occurred when they pointed out that if prior to the war, the population was frightened by the assertions that if Araik Harutyunyan were not president, Nikol Pashinyan would not provide funding for Artsakh, they are still similarly frightened now that the Russian side does not regard them as significant and that they must follow any orders rather than communicate, explain, and understand each other.

“The authorities continue to keep the population in an atmosphere of fear. We asserted that a flag should not have been placed on the monastery at all initially because it was installed after the war, and if it was placed, it should not have been removed because the removal is essentially a sign of defeat. We must be assertive and clarify peacefully with the Russian side that if this is our territory, there should be no issue; we can place our flag and any symbol we want,” Hakobyan emphasized, noting that the community leader had left in frustration as he had nothing to say to the residents.

Members of the National Assembly suggested negotiating on this issue, but as of now, the flag has not been reinstalled. When asked if it could be noted that the mayor, who could negotiate or at least communicate with the Russian peacekeepers, exhibited inaction, the deputy responded positively, indicating that this does not fall within the military duties. The deputy believes it is the mayor's responsibility, even though, through his mediation, soldiers could speak with the Russian peacekeepers.

“In essence, it also does not fall under the responsibilities of the Russian peacekeepers to demand the flag be raised or removed—especially in our homeland, in the territory under our control,” Hakobyan remarked, adding that one must simply converse with the Russian peacekeepers before us, as they are also human beings, not our commanders or issuers of orders. They can be talked to very calmly, kindly, and any issues can be resolved, which is not happening, as this is another opportunity for the authorities to keep the population away from the Russian peacekeepers by creating an atmosphere of fear, suppressing the idea that civilians can personally speak, engage, and raise their security concerns with the Russian peacekeepers.

“The entire election campaign of Araik Harutyunyan was built on the fact that if he were not elected president of Artsakh, Nikol would not give them money. And believe me, a significant portion of the voters took this very seriously and simply went and voted for Araik Harutyunyan. Now the same way, they have created an atmosphere of fear—this time regarding security issues—to silence the population and keep them in a state of subjugation, allowing them to act only as their movements dictate,” Hakobyan emphasized.

Hakobyan reported that although Azerbaijanis have their route, they transport heavy loads along our route, and yesterday they witnessed a large Azerbaijani convoy, and even late in the evening as they were returning to Stepanakert, the cars were still stopped on our roads, and Azerbaijanis were out of their vehicles. “Artsakh is in this condition, yet Araik Harutyunyan, with a wide, proud smile on his face, was standing next to Nikol Pashinyan in Yerevan alongside Arthur Tovmasyan. This is the situation in Artsakh, and I do not know what they came there to celebrate or with whom,” said Hakobyan.