Category: 2021

 10:28,

STEPANAKERT, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. The Artsakh rescuers have resumed the search operations for the bodies of servicemen and missing in action in Martuni and Varanda (Fizuli) regions, the Interior Ministry of Artsakh told Armenpress.

The search operations have been halted since March 12 due to weather conditions.

So far, a total of 1499 bodies have been found during the search operations in the battle zones.

Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan

 10:18,

YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Armenian foreign ministry’s spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan commented on the statements made by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov according to which Azerbaijan, in accordance with its obligations, has handed over to the Armenian side all prisoners of war that were taken hostage during the military hostilities and before that.

Armenpress presents the MFA spokeswoman’s comment:

Question: Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan Jeyhun Bayramov stated during the press conference after the meeting with the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ann Linde that Azerbaijan, in accordance with its obligations, has handed over to the Armenian side all prisoners of war that were taken hostage during the military hostilities and before that. What is your comment on this statement?

Answer: This is another distortion of the Azerbaijani side on this urgent humanitarian issue. With his statement, the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan contradicts the other relevant bodies of that country, which confirmed the fact of the presence of dozens of Armenian prisoners of war in Azerbaijan, captured both during the hostilities and after the establishment of the ceasefire.

Azerbaijan is withholding information regarding the Armenian prisoners of war also from the European Court of Human Rights, which is dealing with the matter in the framework of proceedings under the interstate case of Armenia vs Azerbaijan. The Court has recently decided to notify the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the subject, noting that Azerbaijan has failed to respect time-limits set by the Court for the submission of information or provided rather general and limited information. There are currently active interim measures against Azerbaijan with respect to 188 Armenians captured by Azerbaijan. I must highlight that non-implementation of interim measures is tantamount to a violation of the Convention.

Let me add, that the 8th provision of the November 9 statement refers to all prisoners of war, captured civilians and other detained persons, and with such statements the Azerbaijani side proves that it deliberately does not implement the trilateral statement.

The continuous holding of Armenian prisoners of war undermines the implementation of the agreements set in the trilateral statement”.

 10:06,

YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan commented on the statements made by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov on March 15 at the meeting with the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office.

Armenpress presents the Ombudsman’s comment:

“At a press conference pertaining to the meeting with the OSCE Chairman-in-Office, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan stated: “Azerbaijan has returned all the captives to Armenia in accordance with its obligations.” The statement said that “on November 26, armed men from the Shirak province of Armenia (…) are not prisoners of war.” These statements of the Azerbaijani authorities are made regularly.

Considering that the issue concerns the protection of the rights of Armenian servicemen and civilians held captive in Azerbaijan and the fact that distorted presentation of facts to international organizations should not be allowed, Armenia’s Human Rights Defender considers it necessary to address the referenced statements in detail.

1. Both before and after the November 9 announcement, there is an ongoing armed conflict on the ground.

This conclusion follows directly from international humanitarian law, in as much as all servicemen and civilians of the Armenian side detained in Azerbaijan are prisoners of war are subject to be protected by international law, and they must be immediately released and returned safely.

2. The release and return of prisoners of war is a mandatory international requirement, not an act of “goodwill” or “kindness” of the Azerbaijani authorities.

This requirement applies in international law, regardless of whether it is enshrined in specific conflict resolution documents, and must be met without preconditions.

3. The behavior and statements of the Azerbaijani authorities, at a minimum, attest to the following:

1) they artificially delay the release and return of the Armenian captives;

2) abuse legal procedures, falsify the requirements of international law, prosecute prisoners, and use deprivation of liberty as punishment;

The special report of the RA Human Rights Defender proves with concrete examples that this practice grossly violates international human rights requirements (https://ombuds.am/…/1138b156720bec6ae0fd88dc709eb62c.pdf);

3) they use the issue for political purposes. This refers, for example, to reports in the independent media that the Azerbaijani authorities are using the issue of the return of prisoners for the exchange of territories in Artsakh, bargaining and other political purposes.

4) they abuse Clause 8 of the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020 as it relates to the return of captives, and they link it to other points in the declaration, clearly taking advantage of the fact that it does not specify the date of fulfillment of that obligation.

5) they deliberately cause continuous mental suffering to the families of captives and missing persons, and hey blatantly toy with the feelings of the Armenia and Artsakh societies;

6) they create public tension in Armenia and Artsakh with their behavior;

7) they do not publish the true number of captives of the Armenian side held in Azerbaijan, and do so without any legal grounds and in gross violation of human rights requirements.

4. Consequently, calling any of the Armenian servicemen and civilians captured by the Azerbaijani armed forces “terrorists” is a gross violation of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in general.

This assertion is particularly relevant given the requirements of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949.

5. The statements of the President of Azerbaijan and the Minister of Foreign Affairs about the captives directly contradict the intentions of the signatory parties to the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020 and the practical application of that announcement.

In particular, based on the requirement of clause 8 of that statement, the Republic of Armenia has already transferred to Azerbaijan perpetrators of crimes in Artsakh, including two convicted Azerbaijani murderers of Armenian civilians. Azerbaijan handed over Armenians formally convicted in that country on the same principle.

Moreover, there took place a return of captives after the November 9 trilateral announcement.

6. Therefore, the said statement should be applied to all situations arising from before as well as after November 9, and so long as there is an objective need for the protection of human rights and the humanitarian process due to the aftermath of hostilities.

In principle, it is improper to condition the issue of prisoners based only on the date of the trilateral declaration.

We emphasize once again that, regardless of the date of captivity, all servicemen of the Armenian side held in Azerbaijan, including civilians, are prisoners of war by their current status.

Such a mechanical approach is unacceptable.

7. In addition to the foregoing, the credible evidence collected by the Human Rights Defender’s Office of the Republic of Armenia confirms that the number of detainees is higher than confirmed by the Azerbaijani authorities. This assertion takes into account the return of 44 prisoners of war in a single group, including those captured during the hostilities prior to the November 9 tripartite declaration.

The Human Rights Defender has registered numerous cases when, despite the evidence confirmed by videos and other evidence, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the fact that those people are within their custody and control, or delay the approval and processing of their release.

8. The absolute urgency of the issue of the release of prisoners should be considered in the context of the Azerbaijani state supported policy of hatred towards Armenians which has been repeatedly confirmed and based on objective evidence contained in the reports of Armenia’s Human Rights Defender.

This fact is confirmed by a number of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.

9. Therefore, the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia once again draws the attention of the international community and especially the international organizations with a mandate to protect human rights to the statement of the Azerbaijani authorities, and in this instance, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.

It is necessary to ensure the absolute implementation of international humanitarian and human rights requirements and, immediate release and return of the captives of Armenian side without preconditions”.

 18:48,

YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. The European Parliament’s March 11 resolution on the Syrian conflict confirms that Turkey has sent Syrian mercenaries to fight in the war against Artsakh unleashed by Azerbaijan on September 27, 2020. ARMENPRESS reports there are two mentionings about that in the resolution. The first one says, ”According to the Co-chair countries of OSCE Minsk Group, Turkey transported Syrian mercenaries to Nagorno Karabakh”.

The second point emphasizes that the European Parliament condemns those activities of Turkey. ”The European Parliament strictly condemns using Syrian mercenaries in the conflicts of Libya and Nagorno Karabakh. That’s a violation of international law”.

 19:05,

YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. Joint tactical and professional military drills kicked off in Armenia on March 16 at 09:00.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the Defense Ministry of Armenia, the units involved in the drills have been brought to relevant levels of combat readiness.

Preparatory works for combat shooting are underway.

 19:20,

YEREVAN, MARCH 16, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian received the delegation led by Foreign Minister of Sweden, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office Ann Linde.

As ARMENPRESS was informed from the press service of the president’s Office, President Sarkissian welcomed the visit of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and noted that Sweden assumed the OSCE chairmanship in an important and hard period for Armenia.

The President referred to the war unleashed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh, its consequences, the existing situation and the challenges. In this context a wide range of issues referring to the regional security and stability were discussed.

Noting that the current regional situation is in the focus of the OSCE, Ann Linde highlighted the role of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-chairs and the personal representative of the OSCE Chairman-in-Office for the establishment of peace and finding a lasting and stable settlement of the conflict.

President Sarkissian particularly referred to humanitarian issues, noting that Azerbaijan continues to violate the international humanitarian laws, keeping Armenian war prisoners and civilian hostages in detention. He added that Armenia expects the assistance of international partners for the solution of that key issue.

The sides also referred to the priorities of the Swedish chairmanship of the OSCE, as well as the Armenian-Swedish bilateral agenda, noting that the two countries have a great cooperation potential and highlighted the full utilization of that potential.