“Ensuring the security of our population has become one of our most serious issues today,” the mayor of Kapan, Gevorg Parsyan, told Aravot Daily.
He stressed that Syunik is in danger. And, according to him, the most pressing issue today is confirming the national borders. “Carrying out demarcation within the borders of the USSR is a very serious issue, especially for us, the people of Kapan, from a security standpoint. In that case, the distance from the nearest residential area will be around 1 kilometer. And it’s natural for me to be able to say that the safety of our population will also be in danger. And I blame all of this on our Prime Minister and the policies he adopted, as well as the policies adopted by our government. This tough situation in Kapan was caused by this.”
Gevorg Parsyan remembered the experience of living with Azerbaijanis in the 1990s. “We had a specific goal to establish that security zone using our experiences in the 1990s as a basis. So, we built our position kilometers ahead of the former borders in order to maintain that security zone and maintain that distance between the borders, understanding that our population will not be in danger if we are able to maintain that security zone. The agreement was signed on November 9th. The first point of the agreement specifically states that the forces of Azerbaijan and Armenia will remain in their positions. The Zangelan region borders our region. According to the agreement, three regions were transferred to Azerbaijan, but there is no mention of Zangelan or Kubatlu. So, it is logical that, if we consider the seven regions of Artsakh to be a conflict zone and if the first point of the agreement states that both sides remain in their positions, then the Zangelan region becomes that type of zone. And we stayed there until November 10th. We fought without retreating, and so, we need to remain in that region.”
Gevorg Parayan believes that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan needed to have done everything to prevent the war. “Why did he bring this war upon us? Why are we in this situation now? He needed to have done everything to prevent the war. Especially considering that he clearly knew that we were not able to fight against the armies of Azerbaijan and Turkey. As a result, the residents of Kapan are now facing this danger. Now that we have that security zone, we need to maintain it.”
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The government and diplomats need to work in order to maintain the zone. However, Gevorg Parsyan does not believe that they will be able to resolve this problem.
Ami Chichakyan
