Presenter Marianna Ghahramanyan dissolved into tears on live television as she read out the breaking news that her nation¡¯s dream had died.

Apologizing, the experienced broadcaster tried again to tell her viewers that Armenian authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh had announced the dissolution of their breakaway republic after more than three decades of fighting for independence against Azerbaijan.

Tears choked her words once more. ¡°It was so painful,¡± Ghahramanyan, 39, recalled later at a cafe in Armenia¡¯s capital, Yerevan. ¡°It¡¯s a personal tragedy for me and a huge tragedy for my people.¡±