The Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan presented a concept on the establishment of a demilitarized security zone in Syunik, taking into account the problems in the demarcation process of Syunik after the war and the violations of the rights of the residents by the Azerbaijani military.
During this presentation, Arman Tatoyan mentioned the beheading of Armenian soldiers by Azerbaijani soldiers and the instances where Azerbaijani soldiers cut the ears off Armenian soldiers as the main reasons for the need to create a security zone, which is proven by the propaganda inciting hatred against Armenians from Azerbaijani officials, including Ilham Aliyev himself in his statements. “These soldiers use the same rhetoric as the President of Azerbaijan. All of this is connected to one another,” Arman Tatoyan emphasized.
Aravot Daily asked about how peace activists claim that anti-Armenian sentiments are not widespread, but they are typical only of nationalist groups in Azerbaijan and Turkey, and only a small portion of the Azerbaijani armed forces. Besides, Ilham Aliyev recently stated that Azerbaijan is ready to close the page of hatred and hostility in the region. However, what is the real picture here?
Arman Tatoyan said, “That policy has state support from Azerbaijan. I specifically informed all the countries that are part of the UN Human Rights Council that Azerbaijan committed crimes against Armenians based on ethnicity, particularly murder, and they were confirmed by a number of ECHR judgments. These murders were encouraged by state bodies in Azerbaijan, so this is regarding institutional policy. The report compiled by myself and the Ombudsman of Artsakh on the war is completely based on evidence… Can you imagine the level of cynicism and insolence among Azerbaijani soldiers? They cut people’s ears off without hiding their faces and share it on social media because they know they will not be punished… what is the page of hostility? An entire generation in Azerbaijan was raised with those ideals.”
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Luiza Sukiasyan
