Arman Tatoyan, Director of the Center for Law and Justice Foundation and former Ombudsman, told how the authorities of Azerbaijan purposely terrorized people in Artsakh and carried out ethnic cleansing. Even after the 44-day war, there were Azerbaijani positions in Taghavard and Karmir Shuka villages, in the immediate vicinity of settlements and schools.
“People told how Azerbaijani armed servicemen left green lights in houses at night and terrorized children. They terrorized people. They advanced from Sarushe village on September 19 and deployed armed forces near Stepanakert. In the Askeran area, Tatoyan recalled the scene where people from Askeran villages took refuge at the airport. On the map, he showed how the Azerbaijanis attacked and drove people in the direction they wanted. “Three children were killed in Sarnaghbyur; two were members of the same family, 8 and 10 years old, and they were at school at the time. There were also two civilians in the school.”
As to the advances in the direction of Stepanakert, Tatoyan said that it was strategically important for them to isolate Stepanakert, to cut off the connection with the government; they wanted to create chaos to get people out with as much damage as possible. The events developed so quickly, and the Azerbaijani armed forces were so entrenched in Stepanakert that the people who were outside their houses when they tried to go home saw that there was already an Azerbaijani flag on their house.
“They couldn’t take anything; they had to return to the center again. Azerbaijani armed services also aimed to damage civilian infrastructure that was vital for people. Stepanakert had two reservoirs for drinking water. The reservoirs were captured at once, closed, and the water could no longer be filtered.”
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Tatoyan had water brought from Stepanakert, showing the cloudy water filled in the bottle, and he mentioned: “People had to drink this water, and it is unknown what its ingredients are; we should find an opportunity to present it to the expert, so that we can use it as evidence. Water is vital. This is the policy of Azerbaijan in general; when they attack any settlement, they immediately try to take control and bombard the water resource areas.
That happened in some villages of the Vardenis community of Gegharkunik Region, in Syunik Region. For example, in the village of Nerkin Hand, people do not have drinking water; they have to use river water, Black Lake they took under their control. One of their main goals is to cause as much harm to people as possible in the mood to cause chaos.”
With the same logic, the exits and entrances of Stepanakert were closed. Tatoyan told. “On September 20, a civilian car from Stepanakert, the grandfather at the wheel, because his grandson was in the Harav village, decided to go, not knowing that the Azerbaijani armed services had established positions here because there was no communication. In his car, when he and his two sons-in-law were going after his grandson on the way, Azerbaijani armed officers just set a net on that car by firing rounds. We fixed the time; it was in visible conditions, it was a civilian car, they killed that person, and the two sons-in-law were injured, then they were taken to Stepanakert and Yerevan.
Who can think that there was no ethnic cleansing here? The study proves there were strikes in the direction of civilian settlements with artillery means. The fire was opened from Shushi towards Stepanakert; mortars were fired from Karin Tak, Kosalar, and Sghnak.
These are the Azerbaijani positions that were confirmed after the 44 days. To say that the Azerbaijani armed services did not have a problem with the population, so to speak, they only carried out anti-terrorist operations, is destroyed by these facts. Their goal was to create chaos, to cause as much damage as possible by cutting people’s connection.”
Tatoyan published photos from the bombed Stepanakert. “Under these conditions, it is not surprising to say that the international organization, which is called the United Nations, and has directly written on its website that no one can be marginalized, no rights can be violated, they come and record that we did not witness ethnic cleansing, there was no ethnic cleansing happened, while the international fact-finding works suggest and demand that, firstly, they should not have allowed such a thing.
Secondly, they should come to Armenia, talk to everyone in Kornidzor and Goris, understand where the problems are, and go to Artsakh and other settlements. That should have been their leading principle instead of directing them to the desired places under the control of the Azerbaijani authorities and then declaring that there was no ethnic cleansing.
From the behavior of international organizations, we get the impression that those beautiful principles that no one should be isolated and should not be marginalized; in the case of our people, we get only beautiful expressions written on websites made in halls during conferences.
Hripsime JEBEJYAN
