Month: February 2021

Nine more bodies of killed were found during the search operations in Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on Monday, Artsakh’s State Service of Emergency Situations reported.  According to the initial information, all of the killed are servicemen (reservists and volunteers) and are yet to be identified through a forensic DNA analysis. 

A total of 1,354 bodies of fallen soldiers and civilians have been found during the search operations. 

Search operations will continue today in Hadrut region, the source said. 

Political scientist Suren Sargsyan has shared the photo of PM Nikol Pashinyan on Facebook, along with a message, which reads:

"I think this person has always believed that Armenia has no future as long as it has the Karabakh issue. He believes that the only solution to Artsakh issue is to cede it to Azerbaijan. He thinks as long as we have Artsakh, we have problems. He believes that if there is no Karabakh issue, peace will be established in the region, the Armenian-Turkish and Armenian-Azerbaijani border will open, and we will turn into Switzerland. He seriously believes in all these," Sargsyan wrote, adding:

"Pashinyan, however, lacks the understanding that

1. The Artsakh issue is not resolved
2. it is an hollow idea to assume peace will come with Armenia's defeat, likewise it didn't come with Azerbaijan's defeat,
3. it is an hollow idea that the region will prosper,
4. the complex regional situation is not conditioned only by the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict,
5. it is conditioned by Russian-Turkish, US/Israel – Iran counteractions, complicated relations between Georgia and Russia, etc.
6. the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement or the settlement of the relations is not a matter of feasible future,
7. the Armenian-Azerbaijani rapprochement or the settlement of relations is a matter of unfeasible future. We will be obviously continued to be viewed as an enemy for them. 

If you think better life will come with Artsakh's surrender, you are gravely mistaken."  

The state policy of Armenophobia continues in Azerbaijan, Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan said in a statement on Tuesday. The full text of his statement is below. 

"The Azerbaijani authorities continue to violate the internationally recognized rights of the border residents of Armenia (based on specific findings).

In particular, on the inter-community road leading from the Armenian city of Kapan to Chakaten and a number of other villages which connecting peaceful residential communities, the Azerbaijani military, on January 22, 2021 erected a sign with the words "Welcome to Azerbaijan" which was displayed in Azerbaijani and English, and leading up to it, with Azerbaijani flags.

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia has been receiving alarmed and anxious calls from the residents of Kapan, as well as the villages of Chakaten, Shikahogh, Srashen, Tsav, Nerkin Hand, Shishkert, and especially more so in recent days. These reactions are equally due to the placement of  flags on those sections of the road. The head of the community of Kapan has already provided the relevant information to the Defender.

The residents of these neighborhoods have issued alarms that these steps by the Azerbaijani authorities are deliberate and are aimed at grossly violating their physical security and emotional well-being, property and other vital rights, as well as violative of the health and welfare of the resident children.

By carrying out these demonstrative targeting of civilians, coupled with the practically daily shootings are undeniably exacerbating tensions in those Armenian villages.

Immediately after these alarms, a detailed study was initiated in the Syunik regional and central subdivisions of the Human Rights Defender's Office. Field observations were made, as well as a number of discussions were had with the residents. Consequently, the referenced alarms raised by those who reside in Kapan and by the community bodies there were all confirmed.

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia considers it necessary to consider these steps of the Azerbaijani authorities at least from the point of view of the following factors:

1) The state policy of organized hatred and enmity towards Armenians continues in Azerbaijan;

2) The highest authorities of Azerbaijan openly speak about the Armenian people in a language of ethnic cleansing and genocide, insulting the dignity of the entire Armenian people;

3) There are open calls for a new war against Armenia in Azerbaijan by not only public figures but even by human rights defenders in that country;

4) For more than a month now, the Azerbaijani military has been firing with small and large caliber weapons, at times while under the influence of alcohol or visibly drunk. This, as observed by the villagers in the immediate proximity of the mentioned villages of the Kapan in Armenia;

5) On the way from Kapan to Chakaten village, there are Azerbaijani soldiers, and other armed personnel;

6) As for the process of determining the borders of Armenia with Azerbaijan, within the framework of which such signs and flags were placed, it appears that the Azerbaijani soldiers are proceeding with gross violations and are endangering human life and rights, all of which contradicts the foundations of the international human rights system and the rule of law. Therefore, the outcome is not supported by law;

7) The Armed Forces of Azerbaijan have committed and continue to commit torture, inhumane treatment and other war crimes against the military and civilians of the Armenian side. This was especially so during the September-November 2020 war, but has continued hence.

Therefore, it is clear that the referenced measures of the Azerbaijani military were taken in a manner which violates the rights of the residents of Armenia’s border communities, by openly intimidating them (including children and women). This situation can not contribute to peace in the region in any way, but rather, it causes increased tensions, and violates the internationally recognized rights and interests of civilians as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.

Reports on these findings will be sent to international organizations, including the OSCE, the UN, and the Council of Europe (with the necessary supporting evidence). Separate reports will also be sent to special mechanisms of intergovernmental organizations."

The detention conditions of Syrian mercenaries held in Armenia are in line with international standards, a group of public monitors said in a statement on Tuesday.

During the 44-day war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, the Armenian side detained two Syrian citizens, who were placed under arrest as a measure of restraint. They are charged under a number of articles of Armenia’s Criminal Code, including mercenarism, international terrorism and gross violations of the norms of international humanitarian law during armed conflicts.

The group of public observers conducting public monitoring in penitentiaries of the Armenian Ministry of Justice checked the conditions of their detention during a visit to the penitentiary institutions.

The group of public observers says that the persons are kept in two different cells of the facility for security considerations. Their cells meet the standards provided for one person. In particular, there are bathrooms, running water, sufficient temperature and a possibility for air conditioning in the cells.

The administration of the penitentiary institution told the group that the Syrian mercenaries eat three meals a day and have undergone health checkups twice, as a result of which no health problems have been recorded.

Thus, the group reports that the detention conditions of the mercenaries are in line with international standards. 

The United Nations has released $2 million for the delivery of lifesaving humanitarian assistance to people who have sought refuge in Armenia as a result of the recent conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh).

These funds will immediately support the Armenia Inter-Agency Response Plan launched last week, which outlines resource needs for the UN and humanitarian partners to meet the critical needs of those displaced and host communities, the UN Armenia reported on Tuesday.

Six weeks of fighting last year in the Nagorno-Karabakh area ended with a trilateral ceasefire statement on 9 November, after more than 90,000 people, mostly women and children, had been displaced to Armenia.

“The United Nations began supporting people forced to flee their homes at the onset of the conflict and will continue as long as people remain vulnerable” said the UN Resident Coordinator in Armenia, Shombi Sharp. The UN is committed to supporting and ensuring the protection, especially of the women, men, girls and boys from in and around Nagorno-Karabakh who are in Armenia and who have been impacted by the recent conflict.

Funding from the UN’s Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) will help provide prioritized assistance for persons in refugee-like situations and host communities. 

The Response Plan scales up support already provided since the beginning of the conflict. From October until December 2020, the UN agencies and partners distributed over 33,330 non-food items, including bedding items, towels, hygiene supplies, and household items, in addition to providing 1,000 foldable beds, psycho-social support services to women and children and covering the utility costs for 64 collective shelter facilities. Some 11,500 school-age children, who are currently enrolled in primary and secondary education in Armenia, were also assisted. Further, hundreds of metric tons of food assistance has been provided to approximately 18,000 people each month, along with a number of other actions.

The Armenia Inter-Agency Response Plan was launched last week, under the joint leadership of the UN Resident Coordinator and UNHCR, the United Nations Country Team, together with NGO partners. The Response Plan involves 36 humanitarian partners and 188 projects with total financial requirements amounting to $ 62.6 million across six key sectors: protection, including child protection; education; shelter and non-food items; food security and nutrition; health, and early-recovery.