LOS ANGELES, USA (Aug. 20, 2021) — Last week, in an unprecedented way, the USA Armenian Life Journalistic Team succeeded in reaching the capital city Stepanakert of Republic of Artsakh /Nagorno Karabakh.

The American journalistic delegation consists of USA Armenian Life Magazine, armenianlife.com Managing Editor and USA Armenian Life TV Host Appo Jabarian, U.S. Army Major General (Ret.) and journalist Mark MacCarley, U.S. Army Col. (Ret.), Wellesley University Foreign and Defense Policy professor and journalist Robert Cassidy, Hollywood cinematographer and photojournalist Aaron MacCarley.

Artsakh Republic Commander-in-Chief/President Mr. Arayik Harutyunyan and his Chief Advisor/Ambassador with Special Assignments General Rudi Hyusnunts received Mr. Jabarian, General MacCarley and Col. Cassidy. The meeting was both educational, insightful and inspiring.

The American journalists – Jabarian, Gen. MacCarley and Col. Cassidy discussed with Pres. Harutyunyan, a host of the most pressing issues impacting daily life in Artsakh-Republic.

Chief among the issues was the national security of the Artsakh Republic. Pres. Harutyunyan did not hesitate to sound the alarm on existential threats being faced by the Armenian republic.

Since the end of the Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh 44-day war in the Fall of 2020, this was the first American team of journalists that was able to visit the embattled and blockaded Armenian autonomous republic struggling to establish its independence and sovereignty.

Since last February, at least ten foreign journalists have been denied entry by the Russian peacekeeping troops controlling access to Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenia via the so-called Lachin corridor. The corridor is located in the Azerbaijan-occupied Berdzor region of Artsakh Republic.

One of the foreign journalists who have been denied entry, Vincent Prado, a reporter for the Enquête Exclusive current affairs program on the French TV channel M6, has had his requests to visit the territory refused several times by the Russians without any explanation.

Similar unexplained refusals have been received by Neil Hauer, a Canadian freelancer for the Guardian and CNN, and Mark Stratton, a British journalist who described his frustration in an interview for the BBC. The photographer Kiran Ridley received permission to visit the enclave but was turned back at the Russian checkpoint on 4 April, recently reported The “Reporters Without Borders” (rsf.org).

Before trekking to Artsakh Republic, on the first day of arrival in Armenia, Gen. MacCarley, Col. Cassidy, Mr. A. MacCarley and Mr. Jabarian made a pilgrimage visit to the 1915-1923 Turkish-executed Armenian Genocide Monument and Memorial Complex in Tsitsernakaberd, Armenia.

The USA Armenian Life journalistic team held a series of meetings and interviews with a number of political and military officials in Armenia who asked to remain anonymous. A certain number of the interlocutors answered a set of National Security-related questions presented by USA Armenian Life reporters. (Stay tuned.)

On the same day, The American journalistic delegation also paid its respects to the memory of the fallen Armenian soldiers at Yerablur Armenian Military Cemetery near capital Yerevan.

Subsequently, the delegation visited with the families of soldiers who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the safety and security of Armenia and Artsakh. The delegation was received by the family of National Hero 19 years-old Jr. Sgt. Robert Abachyan who had gone on a suicide mission against an Azerbaijani contingent of ten soldiers decimating them in the 4-day war in 2016. The delegation also paid a visit to another fallen soldier Samvel Atoyan who had served in the three wars – The First Liberation War (1988-1994); The 4-Day War (2016); and the 44-Day War in the Fall of 2020. On Tuesday Aug. 10, the American journalists met with General Samvel Babayan, the founding Commander in Chief of the victorious Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army. Babayan is a national hero for the military victories achieved under his command during the First Nagorno-Karabakh War (1988-1994).

Upon arrival in Armenia, the USA Armenian Life journalistic delegation was greeted by a host of citizens of the twin republics including Former Deputy Minister of Defense/currently Member of Armenian Parliament General Gagik Melkonyan, members of the Pilossyan, the Sahakyan, the Kouyoumdjian, the Avetisyan, the Shamshyan and the Mughdusyan families and fellow reporters and activists.

The day after arrival, the delegation was received by Mr. Serob Bejanian, Director of Press and Public Diplomacy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Armenia and his colleague Mr. Arman Melkumyan of MFA Armenia.

03c-IMG_5074

04abc-FCM08307

06b-IMG_5133

06c-IMG_5134

06d-IMG_5137