After the meeting with the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Narek Mkrtchyan, the President of “Return to Dizak” NGO, Margarita Karamyan, gave details to journalists. “Surprisingly, it was the Minister who called us to the meeting. I didn’t have high expectations and was not mistaken; it was another long conversation about nothing. I am saying that because about a year ago, the former Minister of Local Government and Infrastructures of Artsakh, Hayk Khanumyan, came here for a meeting with the Minister of Social Affairs, came out and announced in the presence of all of us that no social program will be implemented in Armenia for Artsakh Armenians. We all we must return to Artsakh. And after that, the Armenians of Artsakh, who remained in Armenia and did not return to Artsakh, benefit only from the 40-thousand dram housing rent program, which they give as assistance to compensate for house rents,” he said.
Margarita Karamyan noted that it is strange that a country where refugees have been constantly appearing for the past 30 years does not have a state body to deal with refugee issues. “And to call us today, to talk about the problems of refugees for 30 years… I don’t know what to call it, another long conversation, many words about nothing. They ask us what we offer, but we have been making our offers for three years. That is just another “note” to say that we met with refugees. During meetings in various structures, I always ask: explain to me, I have an Armenian passport, but do you consider us citizens of Azerbaijan? They should decide who we are. I said: we don’t expect anything from them anymore, just let them open the way; let us go to our families. Why do they call us every time and want to listen? How long can they say the same thing? If they need data, that data is presented in many places. We demand to create a state body and develop a state strategy for refugee problems, which has not existed in 30 years, and we have lost that human resource,” she added.
Margarita Karamyan also reminded that they sent a letter to Nikol Pashinyan and demanded that they raise the situation in Artsakh in the UN Security Council and demand that UN peacekeepers be brought to Artsakh because the Russian peacekeepers are not fulfilling their function.
Rosa HOVHANNISYAN
