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The aftermath of the last Nagorno-Karabakh war pierces the social fabric of Armenia to the core. As the confrontations with Azerbaijan become more frequent and deadly, Armenia makes use of military training schools aimed at civilians in the face of the possibility of a military escalation.
One year after the end of hostilities agreement with Azerbaijan, the mourning remains for the loss of thousands of soldiers, most of them within the age range of 18 to 20 years, according to the country’s compulsory military service regime. In addition, concern prevails for Armenian soldiers and civilians held captive in Baku, numbering two hundred and whose release is the subject of delicate negotiations in which the Russian peacekeeping forces are also involved.
Clashes between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops have been increasingly frequent, starting with the provocation of the government of the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, whose aggressive policy begins in the official discourse and culminates in the contact line of these neighboring countries.
Despite the efforts of the Minsk Group of the OSCE, the mediator of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, peace has not yet landed in the region. On the contrary, the focus of the offensive extended to the Syunik province, in southern Armenia. After the large-scale confrontation ended on November 9, 2020, the danger resumed a few months later with the penetration of Azerbaijani troops on Armenian territory. This operation was sponsored by the desire of the Azerbaijani leader to take over this region and, thus, create the land connection of his country with the Najichevan enclave and with its ally Turkey.
In this context, the threat of a new war runs along the border of these countries. The position of society is heterogeneous and veers from helplessness and disillusionment, in an effort to prepare to face new hostilities. In this order, the prominence of military schools for civilians emerges.
Military-trained citizens
The Metsn Tigran military regiment works in one of the corners of the center of Yerevan (“Tigran the Great”), named after the king who led Armenia to the peak of its power until 55 BC This institution was founded in 1989 on the basis of volunteer troops from the war for the liberation of Nagorno-Karabakh, which culminated in the signing of from a ceasefire in 1994. Since then, it has deployed military operations on different occasions, such as the four-day war in 2016 and the last Nagorno-Karabakh war last year.
In recent times, their ranks have been swollen with civilians interested in taking military training courses. Every three months, a new group begins a training cycle, which incorporates everything from military tactics to weapons handling. The courses are free; the coaches carry out the trainings on a voluntary basis.
Hayk Manukyan is the commander and practically all his days are used to pass on the knowledge built up throughout his vast military career to the members of Metsn Tigran. He has led his squad in different battles in Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, and as his nickname reflects, ‘Kerri’ (“uncle”In Armenian), he is the largest of the ranks of young people who gaze at him with admiration.
“In war we have seen everything, successes and failures; we have felt the pain of losing and the joy of winning, ”says Hayk, while lamenting his fallen comrades since the first Nagorno-Karabakh war in the early 1990s.
In peacetime, Metsn Tigran was engaged in social work, until in 2014 its functions rotated towards the concentration of volunteer soldiers and the organization of military training. Hayk Manukyan claims that the work of the regiment will continue actively in the future towards the direction of serving the motherland.
Hovsep Ghazaryan is one of the former members of Metsn Tigran. He joined them in 2014 and two years later went to the front lines in Nagorno-Karabakh. “One of my friends invited me to ‘Kerri’ trainings which, at the time, were secret. When the sun went down, we would take up arms and carry out tactical exercises in some fields far from the city, ”recalls Hovsep, who today is the coach of the new members of the squad.
As soon as the war broke out in September 2020, Hovsep contacted ‘Kerri’ to find out what to do. Immediately, the regiment mobilized and departed for Nagorno-Karabakh, where it was allocated a portion of the battlefield. Several volunteers from the battalion died as a result of the impact of the heavy artillery from Azerbaijan.
Hovsep was seriously wounded and had to be hospitalized after 20 days of fighting. He claims that the most powerless moment of his life was when he was trapped in a wheelchair while his friends defended the city of Shushi, which later fell under the control of the Azeri forces. “On the battlefield, you wake up thinking that this day may be the last,” says the young man and assures that he has survived thanks to the knowledge acquired during the Metsn Tigran training sessions.
Defense of the fatherland
The entry of participants to the group does not pose obstacles; it is free, even for women. Its equity policy attracts young people convinced that the task of defending the homeland does not discriminate against gender. Despite the fact that the regime of compulsory military service in Armenia concentrates exclusively men, women find in Metsn Tigran a space to train and enlist in the military sector. Several have developed their skills as snipers.
Members of Metsn Tigran assume that they are prepared to join the Armenian Defense Army in any martial emergency scenario. Sarkis Panosian is one of them. He was born in Uruguay, has lived in Armenia for six years and today he is a citizen of the country. He is part of this regiment of volunteers from the proposal of a comrade, after the war of 2016. “Do you want to be prepared and come with us the next time it happens again? He asked me. I answered yes without hesitation, ”says Sarkis.
Following the news of the penetration of the Azeri troops on Armenian territory in May this year in the Gegharkunik region, the Metsn Tigran volunteers left for the posts at risk to assist the soldiers of the formal army.
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