Category: 2021

YEREVAN. – Past daily of the Republic of Armenia (RA) writes: Armenia finally responded to [Azerbaijan president] Ilham Aliyev’s statements. But it was done … by the office of the RA third president [Serzh Sargsyan]. “He (Aliyev-ed.) does not lag behind his current Armenia counterpart in lying shamelessly and irresponsibly,” the statement said.

Some time ago, RA second president [Robert Kocharyan] also had given a harsh response to Aliyev, saying in particular: “Aliyev would never have dared to start a war, he would never have dared. Now he has become cocky, he has the right to become cocky now. But if his father [the late Azerbaijan president Heydar Aliyev] were alive; he, by the way, was a smart man. He [Heydar] would have pulled [Ilham’s] ear, say [to him] take it easy.”

This is noteworthy from the point of view that especially after the [recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] war; [Armenian PM] Nikol Pashinyan has never opposed [Ilham] Aliyev, who consistently makes shameful statements not only against Pashinyan himself, but also against Armenia and Armenians.

Moreover, according to our information, he [Pashinyan] does not allow the MFA to respond either; moreover, not only regarding Azerbaijan, but also Turkey. In particular, according to our sources, the RA MFA was to respond to Turkey’s MFA statements condemning the “coup d’état” attempt in Armenia, as well as the statements of other Turkish officials. Even a [respective] text was prepared, but Pashinyan forbade it to be disseminated on February 25; this once again caused great anger within the [Armenian] diplomatic corps.

By the way, this is not the only reason. So, according to our information, the patience of most of the representatives of the [Armenian] diplomatic corps has run out. We were receiving information last night that a number of diplomats, including ambassadors, will demand Pashinyan’s resignation.

The last days of February mark the 33rd anniversary of another crime committed against the Armenian people: the Sumgait genocide. The Media and Public Relations Department of the Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) National Assembly noted this in a statement.

“These massacres are fully in line with the legal definition of genocide, crimes against humanity as defined by the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

The Sumgait genocide was the response of the Azerbaijani authorities to the struggle of the Artsakh Armenians for their freedom and self-determination, which began in February 1988.

The peaceful population of the [then] NKAO [i.e., Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast] also became the target of large-scale aggression by Azerbaijan. It was manifested more inhumanely during the new war unleashed by Azerbaijan in the fall of 2020.

The factions of the National Assembly of the Artsakh Republic call on the international community, countries and organizations respecting fundamental human rights and freedoms to recognize and condemn the Sumgait genocide and Azerbaijan’s anti-Armenian policy,” the statement also reads.

Yesterday, , the president of Azerbaijan stated: “We carried out an anti-terrorist operation and as a result, more than 60 terrorists were arrested. They are now called prisoners of war. We think this is a distortion of the issue because there can be no prisoners of war 20 days after the end of the war. We have returned all the prisoners of war. We returned them before they returned us to our captives. And these people are not prisoners of war, they are terrorists, they are saboteurs.” Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman), Arman Tatoyan, wrote about this on Facebook Saturday. He added as follows:

1. The Human Rights Defender of Armenia once again resolutely states that all servicemen and civilians of the Armenian side detained in Azerbaijan are detainees by status.

All the servicemen were in Artsakh [(Nagorno-Karabakh)] to fulfill their constitutional duty; they carried out military legal service in Artsakh.

2. Reliable evidence collected by the Human Rights Defender’s Office confirms that the number of detainees is higher than confirmed by the Azerbaijani authorities; this also applies to the return of up to 44 detainees per group.

The Human Rights Defender has registered numerous cases when, despite the cases confirmed by videos and other evidence, the Azerbaijani authorities deny the presence of persons, or delay the approval process.

3. Initiating criminal proceedings against the detainees of the Armenian side held in Azerbaijan, arresting them and especially calling them “terrorists” or “saboteurs” are gross violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in general. They cannot be prosecuted or arrested in any way as a punishment for carrying out their legal military service.

This assertion is in line especially with the requirements of the Third Geneva Convention of 1949.

First, the Azerbaijani authorities were artificially delaying the return of the Armenian detainees, and then began to falsify and abuse the legal processes and directly stated that only “terrorists and saboteurs” were detained in Azerbaijan.

International humanitarian law prohibits such treatment. It obviously has the characteristics of a war crime.

The Human Rights Defender of Armenia also considers especially emphasizing that in the post-war process, human rights or humanitarian issues, including the release and return of detainees, shall be ensured immediately after the cessation of hostilities, and they must be kept out of the political processes.

This prohibition applies in any case under international law, regardless of whether it is enshrined in specific conflict-related documents.

4. The statement of the president of Azerbaijan that there can be no prisoners of war 20 days after the end of the war, thus calling the detainees “saboteurs” or terrorists, is absolutely unacceptable.

It is inadmissible to interpret the November 9 trilateral statement as if it applies only to the situation before the signing of that statement.

First, both before and after the November 9 statement, and now we are dealing with an ongoing (unfinished) armed conflict; this rule derives directly from the requirements of international humanitarian law.

In addition, the statement of the president of Azerbaijan directly contradicts also the intentions of the parties that signed the trilateral statement on November 9, and the application practice of that statement.

In particular, based on the demand of point 8 of that statement, the Republic of Armenia has already transferred to Azerbaijan two people who committed crimes, including killing of civilians, and were convicted in Artsakh. On the same principle, Azerbaijan transferred Armenia the Armenians formally convicted in that country.

Armenia and Azerbaijan also handed over the persons detained after the November 9 trilateral statement.

So, the mentioned statement should be applied to all situations both before and after November 9—as long as there is an objective need for the protection of human rights and the humanitarian process due to the consequences of hostilities.

Therefore, it is in principle inadmissible to condition the presence of detainees on the date of a tripartite statement. I emphasize once again that, regardless of the date of being detained, all servicemen and civilians of the Armenian side being held in Azerbaijan are prisoners of war—with their status.

5. The absolute urgency of the issue of the release of detainees should also be considered in the context of the anti-Armenian policy in Azerbaijan, which has been repeatedly confirmed by the reports published by the Human Rights Defender of Armenia on the basis of objective evidence.

6. Therefore, it is absolutely reprehensible that the issue of the release and return of the detainees of the Armenian side in Azerbaijan is clearly being politicized, and the legal processes are being distorted and abused.

All this grossly violates the humanitarian process and international requirements guaranteeing human rights. Therefore, they must be released without any preconditions and returned safely to Armenia.

7. I therefore call on the attention of the international community, and in particular the international organizations with a mandate to protect human rights, to the noted statement by the president of Azerbaijan in order to rule out any violation of the humanitarian process, to ensure that this process complies strictly with international human rights requirements.

When, back in 2018, the hero of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), General Vitaly Balasanyan—Secretary of the Artsakh Security Council—was sounding the alarm that nation-betraying forces had come to power in Armenia and it was necessary to fight [against them], everyone seemed to be skeptical of the general’s words. This is noted in a statement issued Saturday by the Justice Party of Artsakh.

“However, the nation-betraying forces, realizing very well what V. Balasanyan is alarming about, were trying to isolate him in every possible way.

Sadly, the 44-day war of 2020 confirmed the general’s words and concerns.

Today, [Armenia’s] nation-betraying [PM] Nikol Pashinyan is still at the helm of power, and naturally, he continues to fight against the heroic general who was the first to expose his [Pashinyan’s] nation-betraying program.

Yesterday, information was spread in some news outlet that, allegedly, V. Balasanyan is also involved in the nation-destroying process of ‘persuading back’ RA MOD GS [(Republic of Armenia Ministry of Defense General Staff)] chief Onik Gasparyan. The same signature of the same center.

However, knowing V. Balasanyan very well, we can state that the general who achieved victory in the [19]90s, who reaffirmed in April 2016 the fact of his being a glorious military-political figure, could not have participate in the nation-destroying process of ‘persuading back’ Onik Gasparyan.

And if he even met with Gasparyan, then only to support him and inform that both he and the patriotic segment of Artsakh stand with Homeland Salvation Movement [which demands Pashinyan’s resignation] and the Armenian army,” the statement also reads in part.

Azerbaijan and Turkey have transferred foreign armed terrorists to the conflict zone in order to engage in the hostilities against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh). This fact has been confirmed by our international partners and, first of all, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair  at the countries—highest level. Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ara Aivazian stated this in an interview with RIA Novosti.

“Foreign militants were arrested in the territory of Artsakh, who have confessed. The criminal cases were transferred to the relevant courts.

The fact that Azerbaijan has foreign militants has also been confirmed by a number of reputable international organizations. A November 11, 2020, statement from the UN Working Group on the use of mercenaries notes that the mercenaries stationed in the region are linked to armed terrorist groups involved in war crimes and serious human rights abuses during the Syrian conflict. The statement unequivocally reflects Turkey’s role in the transfer of foreign mercenaries,” the Armenian FM said.

“All foreign mercenaries transferred by Turkey and Azerbaijan to the Karabakh conflict zone must be immediately and completely removed from the region. The decision of the Azerbaijani leadership to turn the country into a Turkish satellite and a hotbed of terrorism is a serious threat not only to regional but also international security,” Aivazian added.

Units of the Armed Forces of Armenia with their commanders and personnel joined the statement of the General Staff of the Armed Forces on February 25 demanding the current government’s resignation.