Hundreds of refugees from Nagorno-Karabakh demonstrated in Yerevan on Wednesday to demand that Armenia’s government expand its aid programs for them and seek international security guarantees for their return to their homeland.
The rally was organized by Karabakh civic organizations and public figures that emphasized its nonpartisan character. Their joint statement read out by one of the speakers singled out the housing needs of the refugees and criticized a government plan to help them obtain permanent homes in Armenia.
Under the tentative plan outlined by Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan last month, the government will finance the purchase or construction by refugees of new homes in mostly rural areas. The funding will be set at 3 million drams ($7,400) per person. It would constitute a grant for Karabakh children and pensioners and a loan for the other refugees.
Karabakh’s main political factions were quick to reject the plan. They said that with the money promised by the government displaced Karabakh Armenians could only buy homes in remote small towns and villages that offer very few job opportunities.
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The statement adopted during the rally likewise said that the government must increase the housing funding levels and not demand its repayment. It said the government should also continue paying monthly compensations to refugees renting apartments or houses.
Since November, refugees who do not own a home or live in a government shelter have received 50,000 drams ($125) per month to pay rent and utility bills. The aid program expires at the end of this month.
The organizers of the rally further urged Yerevan to strive for “international protection mechanisms” for a collective repatriation of the Karabakh Armenians.
“Any Azerbaijani rule there must be ruled out because that would be genocidal rule,” said one of them, former Karabakh premier Artak Beglarian.
“At the moment, I don’t see a realistic chance of a repatriation meeting our demands,” admitted Gegham Stepanyan, Karabakh’s exiled human rights ombudsman. “At the same time, I believe we must not close the issue or allow international actors to close the issue.”
The Azerbaijani government says that the Karabakh Armenians are free to return to their homes if they agree to live under Azerbaijani rule. Karabakh’s leaders and ordinary residents rejected this option even before last September’s Azerbaijani offensive that forced them to flee to Armenia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in February that Moscow and Baku are “discussing prospects for the return of the Armenian population to Karabakh.” Stepanian dismissed the statement at the time, saying that only “international guarantees” could convince the Karabakh Armenians to return home.
Armenia’s government does not seem to be seeking such guarantees. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has repeatedly indicated that the Karabakh issue is closed for his administration.
