Your Namak for Monday, May 1
Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh continues as Azerbaijan installs checkpoint, new law paves way for voluntary military service for Armenian women, and Poligraf nightclub in Yerevan raided by police.
Hi there, here’s your weekly briefing of Armenian news in English, curated, reported and fact-checked by journalists Astrig Agopian and Maral Tavitian.
Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh Continues as Azerbaijan Installs Checkpoint
On April 23, Azerbaijani border guards blocked the Hakari Bridge, near the Armenian border and at the start of the Lachin corridor, and established a checkpoint. The bridge was previously under the control of the Russian peacekeepers, who did not contest the checkpoint’s installation. The provocation comes amid the backdrop of the ongoing blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh, and represents a serious violation of the November 2020 ceasefire agreement between Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Moscow-brokered agreement states that the Lachin corridor, the only road connecting Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, will be controlled by the Russian peacekeeping mission until 2025. American and EU officials expressed their concern over the establishment of the Azerbaijani checkpoint, and some Armenian residents of Nagorno-Karabakh described the humanitarian and security issues the move brings.
New Law Paves Way for Voluntary Military Service for Armenian Women
On April 22, the Armenian parliament approved a law to allow more women to serve in the army on a voluntary basis. Women may serve for six months, after which they will have the option of switching to a five-year contract. This new non-mandatory military service for women should come into force before the next winter conscription. Under the current scheme, all men in Armenia between 18 and 27 years old must complete two years of military service.
Turkey Closes its Airspace to Armenian Airline Without Warning
On April 29, Turkey closed its airspace to Armenian airline FlyOne Armenia without prior warning. A plane on the Paris-Yerevan route had to change its journey and make an emergency landing in Moldova. “Yesterday, the aviation authorities of Turkey, without prior notification, canceled the permission previously granted to the FlyOne Armenia airline to operate flights to Europe through the Turkish airspace,” Aram Ananyan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Flyone Armenia, told Armenpress. On the same day, Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev landed in Turkey and met with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan for a working visit.
Poligraf Nightclub in Yerevan Raided by Police
In the early morning hours of April 23, Poligraf, a prominent Yerevan nightclub and safe space for the queer community, was violently raided by police conducting a drug investigation. The club published CCTV footage of the raid, in which clubbers and employees were reportedly detained for hours without explanation. The brutality of the intervention –– in which officers armed with machine guns mocked clubgoers and pushed them to the ground –– prompted a public outcry online. In response to the incident, locals held a rally in Yerevan’s Moscow Park to express their solidarity with Poligraf, and the club said that the raid represented an attack on the inclusive environment it cultivates.
Anoush Yesayan: Meet a young entrepreneur growing microgreens in Stepanakert
“I have a goal and I am working towards it. It actually helps to stay focused and sane despite the blockade and everything else.”
Getting in touch with Anoush Yesayan is not easy at the moment. Not only is the 24-year-old entrepreneur very busy growing her business, but she is also doing it from her hometown of Stepanakert, the capital of Nagorno-Karabakh. The region has been under blockade by Azerbaijan for five months now.
In between screen freezes and connection cuts, the shy young woman blushes and smiles while speaking about her business, flattered to share her story from inside the blockade.
Anoush was born and raised in Stepanakert, where she studied to become a school teacher. After working odd jobs as a waitress and shop vendor, the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War put a stop to her original aspirations. A year later, in 2021, she decided to start a business.
“I just wanted to do something new, useful and bring something to Artsakh that we did not already have. At first I did not know what,” she says. With a small budget and an inherited passion for growing things from flowers to herbs and vegetables, she had the idea to import microgreens. From this humble concept, Greench Microgreens was born.
“It does not look like much but microgreens have many vitamins from A to B, C, everything… so they are actually so good for your health,” Anoush explains. “And as in Artsakh we have a blockade, food shortages and maybe more problems in the future, it’s a good source of vitamins.”
The young businesswoman brought all the products from Armenia and abroad and started growing microgreens in her own house. Soon after, she created an Instagram page and started selling her homegrown greens to individuals and restaurants.
“The greens are also very small and cute, so many restaurants use it for an aesthetic aspect, as dressing for their plates,” she says.
In 2022, Anoush opened her online shop and joined the “Idea to Impact” program organized by Hub Artsakh NGO for young local entrepreneurs. Many in Stepanakert doubted her idea at first, including some of her own family members, but today she has convinced everyone. Anoush now grows several varieties of greens, each with unique nutritional benefits and flavors.
“At some point we really did not have vegetables at all at the beginning of the blockade, so people bought more and more greens to make sure they would get enough nutrients and vitamins,” Anoush says. “It really is a useful product.”
Her goal is to open a shop in Stepanakert, hire employees and keep on developing and expanding her business. Anoush also hopes to make different food products from the microgreens, to promote clean eating and sustainability in the region.
“I have a goal and I am working towards it. It actually helps to stay focused and sane despite the blockade and everything else,” the young businesswoman says. “But the blockade is not good for business or for anything else really. We stay strong, but I just really hope the road opens soon.”
To read: Western Armenian is an Endangered Language. A New Generation in LA is Learning It, an article by Liz Ohanesian in LAist, about creative ways to learn Western Armenian, a language which could disappear if diaspora Armenian youth do not embrace it.
To read (and taste!): Seven rising Armenian chefs who are making a mark on L.A.’s food scene, a selection of eateries by Armenian chefs in Los Angeles, showcasing modern and innovative approaches to food and pastry making, curated by Ani Duzdabanyan for the Los Angeles Times.
To read: From trauma to truth: why Princeton must recognize the Armenian Genocide, an op-Ed by Katya Hovnanian-Alexanian in The Daily Princetonian, highlighting the troubling history of Armenian Genocide denial in Princeton’s Near Eastern Studies Department, and calling on the university to change course.
That’s it for today, see you next week!
Questions? Story ideas? An urge to say barev/parev? You can send us a secure email at namaknews@protonmail.com.