Author: Eduard Nalbandian

Archival documents show that in the Soviet period, there were cases in the border disputes between Armenia and Azerbaijan when the Azerbaijani authorities participated in official discussions, but at the same time carried out attacks on Armenian villagers, seized their lands and then turned those lands into a subject of discussions (the villages of Barana, now Noyemberyan, Koghb, Koti, Dovegh and others), Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan said in a Facebook post late on Sunday.

“For example, despite the order of the Central Executive Committee of the Transcaucasian Federation on April 28, 1923, which provided for the handover to the Ghazakh district of only 5,000 dessiatines [an archaic land measurement] of land of the Shinikh-Ayrum region, the Gazakh land construction group deliberately drew up a completely different plan, ignoring this decision.

“In parallel, the local authorities of Azerbaijan illegally seized more lands from the territory of the Armenian SSR than envisaged by the decision. In particular, by intimidating a local forester, they seized some 7,000 dessiatines of land, increasing their “land acquisition” to 11,800 dessiatines and making it a subject of discussion.

“Let me bring another example: starting from May 1922, the disputes and final work of the commissions on the border regions of Tavush, Karvansaray (Ijevan) and Ghazakh constantly delayed, since the Azerbaijanis seized most of the lands belonging to the Armenians but located in their territories and refused to return them. This, in turn, made it difficult for the villagers to use their pastures, forests and water resources,” the ombudsman wrote.

Citing the archival documents, Tatoyan said, in general, prehistory of disputes between the villages of these regions confirms that disputes often arose because of large Azerbaijani landowners who used to sell their lands to Armenians and then unreasonably demand them back. Whereas, the authorities of Soviet Armenia did not respond adequately to such steps of Azerbaijanis to prevent violations of the rights of Armenian peasants.

“These facts, as lessons learned, should be taken into account to prevent violations of the rights of Armenia’s border residents nowadays.

“Along with security and other components, decisions on the borders of the Republic of Armenia should also be based on the protection of the rights of villagers and the protection of human rights in general, excluding any mechanical approach,” he said. 

Second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan extended congratulations on the Republic Day celebrated on May 28. The message reads:

“Dear compatriots,

I congratulate you on the Republic Day.

On May 28, 1918, after a centuries-old and heavy breaks, the Armenian statehood was eventually restored. This is one of the brightest chapters of our modern history, written by the collective will of our people, heroic efforts and blood of its best sons.

Historical parallels are always arbitrary. However, the current situation in Armenia is no longer characterized by just a domestic political crisis, but by a crisis of statehood. Our whole nation is now facing the imperative of saving our statehood. Since 28 May 1918, we have experienced moments harder than this.

But today we are full of determination, unlike the current authorities that bring disgrace and kneel down [before the enemy]. We see serious prerequisites for building a firm statehood, resetting the disintegrated government institutions and the life of our society as a whole.

Rest assured that we, as a nation, will overcome these ordeals with honor, rebuilding the Republic of Armenia and leading the country to new heights.” 

Armenia has failed to learn lessons from last year’s war in Artsakh and is nearing a “tragic point”, according to military expert Tigran Abrahamyan, the head of the analytical center Henaket.

“The biggest problem for us is that the border in Syunik had gone unprotected, allowing Azerbaijanis to enter our territory without obstacles. In other words, our primary problem is the conduct of the military-political leadership,” Abrahamyan told a news conference on Tuesday.

According to him, the “criminal inaction of the authorities” has pushed Armenia into applying to Russia, the CSTO or a number of European countries.

“We should clearly realize that what is happening today in the direction of Gegharkunik and Syunik Provinces continue to be linked with the southern parts of Syunik and Artsakh. In other words, the act of aggression here, the ongoing negotiations with all their components are connected with the developments around Artsakh and Syunik,” he said.

Abrahamyan claimed Azerbaijan is now trying to resolve several problems for itself. First of all, it seeks to get new levers of pressure against Armenia, to make use of the inaction of the current Armenian authorities and to get the most out of the process.

“We must understand that what we are witnessing is very important for us in terms of the existence of the homeland, while for the current government that idea does not exist at all. You see, the government members state that the army protects the people, not the deserted areas, and there were no military positions in those areas, no fighting took place there, because there were no servicemen,” he said.

According to Abrahamyan, the statement that a large part of the border was unprotected in the post-war period amounts to a crime report.

“After the November 9 statement, we lost 75% of Artsakh, nearly 5,000 of our compatriots were killed, but Armenia has not learned lessons even today and is nearing the next tragic point. Those who have been to Syunik in the recent 6-7 months and have seen which part of the highway the Azeri forces are deployed, have a better understanding of the situation. Unfortunately, a large part of our society does not realize what a tragic point we have reached. This is not just a problem facing our homeland, there is also a regional problem here involving Iran, Azerbaijan and others,” he said.