“A bordering layer was discussed yesterday. A bordering layer and zone are different things. I do not agree with the approach that border issues are tied to administrative territorial departments. That is a violation of citizens’ rights,” the RA Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan said during a session of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Protection of Human Rights and Public Affairs during the presentation of the annual report on “The Activities of the RA Human Rights Defender in 2020, the State of Protection of Human Rights and Freedoms” referring to a statement made by the deputy NSS director on how a border layer must be established in Syunik.
Arman Tatoyan said, “Yes, every country has a border layer and zone, which is established by a kilometer. International agencies ask me, ‘That is their border, where should Azerbaijanis stand?” I ask them, who said that it is their border? They bring us maps from the 1970s and ‘80s and GPS devices and say, ‘This is ours, you have to leave…’ I don’t understand. We should also bring maps from the 1920s. According to those maps, Al lakes were ours, they were a part of the Republic of Armenia. There were also 21 villages in the Kapan region.”
Arman Tatoyan continued, “Documents from the archives prove that Azerbaijanis were using the same policies in the 1920s by attacking our villagers constantly. They taught their residents to file complaints against our villagers. They would sell their lands to our villagers, then come to take them back. Even reports from committees on border conflicts with Aksel Bakunts’ mediation describe these violations. They even attacked committees. One Azeri individual was held responsible for such an incident once.”
Arman Tatoyan insisted on the position that a demilitarized security zone be established in Syunik that has nothing to do with the border, and that assumes Azeris should collect their flags and signs, the presence of which is a violation of the rights of the Armenian population, and leave. “We are cooperating with the National Security Service, and I am pushing forth my policies as the Human Rights Defender. What will the situation surrounding our citizens’ rights be if, for example, an accident takes place on the portion of the road from Goris to Vorotan that is under Azerbaijani control? The Azeris must leave that area because it is not theirs. It is not written anywhere. Their presence does not have any legal basis, and they are in that area with threats of war,” the Ombudsman said.
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Luiza Sukiasyan
