Tavush Residents on Photograph Published by Pashinyan

The photograph of the first border pillar published by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan is a cornerstone of our statehood, said Karen Ghazaryan, a member of the community council of Acharkut in the Tavush region, during a conversation with Sputnik Armenia. Ghazaryan is among the locals protesting these days.

On April 23, Pashinyan shared a photo on his Facebook page, noting that the first border post had been installed in the Tavush-Ghazakh section of the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border.

“By publishing the photo of the first border pillar, the Armenian government aims to break people's resilience, undermine the instinct for survival,” Ghazaryan stated.

He is confident that if they fight tirelessly, results will follow. “Our demand is to withdraw from this losing, retreating policy. We must do everything to ensure that the authorities do not surrender our homeland, that they step back, and if they don't, to leave. We are fighting for these two options,” he noted.

Melkon Tamrazyan, a resident of Haghartsin village in Dilijan, also assured Sputnik Armenia that they will fight until the issue receives a just resolution. “Today, the capital is not Yerevan but Tavush. Today we are fighting here for a piece of our homeland, the consequences of which those living in Yerevan will eventually feel on their skin,” he said.

According to Tamrazyan, if fields are cleared of mines today, they are simply opening the gates to a new genocide.