Levon Hayryan expressed displeasure that the issue of Artsakh refugees was never raised on the platform of the Resistance movement. The question of independence or status of Artsakh was not raised. “They only said that Artsakh will not be part of Azerbaijan, which is neither a status nor a political category. Why don’t they announce the status of Artsakh, because they don’t want to go against the infamous document of November 9?”
“It seems that all the refugee issues have been resolved, but for two years, we have been scattered all over Armenia with Hadrut citizens and we do not have any status, no one wants to talk about this issue,” said a person forcibly displaced from Hadrut during a demonstration in front of the government on July 5, Artur Stepanyan. He organized a protest with his compatriots, demanding refugee status from the RA authorities. “We ran away from Hadrut, we ran away from the genocide, on social networks and in the media, when people were shown being slaughtered, they were slaughtering the residents of Hadrut. We escaped from being slaughtered, we arrived, we reached different settlements in Armenia, why don’t they want to grant us refugee status?” said Artur Stepanyan.
According to him, no one talks about Hadrut. It is not mentioned anywhere. “The prime minister says: Berdzor, Aghavno are not the former NKAO territory, we should return them to Azerbaijan, but doesn’t the prime minister know that the settlements of Hadrut, Shushi, Martuni or other regions, which were occupied by the Azerbaijanis, are the former NKAO territory. Why aren’t they returned?”
Levon Hayryan, who was also forcibly displaced from Hadrut and who is the head of the NGO “For the sake of Hadrut,” said that they did not choose the day of the protest by chance. They are trying to show the people that on this bright holiday for the Armenian people, Constitution Day, there is a section of society whose demands are ignored by the government. “Not only are they not satisfied, not only are they not interested in anyone, but they try to blur, plaster, and hide, forget.”
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According to him, the Armenian authorities do not realize that the loss of Artsakh means the loss of our statehood. Levon Hayryan says that the other day, they were informed that their status is indicated in the document, not violently displaced, but forcibly displaced. “In other words, the service of enforcement of judicial acts forcibly evicted us from our homes. Maybe we didn’t pay house taxes for that. We must demand that they give us refugee status. Today we are gathered here to discuss our future steps. First, we should involve everyone around us in our movement.” He said that they participated in the meetings of the Resistance Movement because they agreed with their first demand, that is, Nikol Pashinyan should leave.
But Levon Hayryan expressed displeasure that the issue of Artsakh refugees was never raised on the platform of the Resistance movement. The question of independence or status of Artsakh was not raised. “They only said that Artsakh will not be part of Azerbaijan, which is neither a status nor a political category. Why don’t they announce the status of Artsakh, because they don’t want to go against the infamous document of November 9?”
According to him, “Today, our ruling elite and the political opposition have found themselves in the Turkish-Russian grip, and the sad thing is that our elite has started to enjoy that grip, and Nikol Pashinyan’s statement that international partners propose to lower the bar is proof of that.” He says that France came out even more than us, because immediately after the war, it recognized the Republic of Artsakh, with the borders of 1994. And the US State Department officials, according to Levon Hayryan, regularly declare that they cannot encroach on the sacred principle of self-determination of the people of Artsakh.
“Here it remains to understand that Nikol Pashinyan’s friends, relatives and international partners are only the Turks, Azerbaijanis and Russians, because they are the only ones who propose to lower the bar.” Referring to Nikol Pashinyan’s statement about handing over Berdzor, Levon Hayryan said that instead of fighting, they are creating an atmosphere of fear so that people don’t rebel. He added that the dream of the people of Artsakh is to join Armenia.
Lusine BUDAGHYAN
