Relatives of those who went missing and died as a result of the gas station explosion in Artsakh in September 2023, and those who perished during the war operations of September 19, held a protest near the government building today.
The relatives of the missing persons are demanding that the government provide information about their loved ones, while the relatives of the victims are calling for the exhumation and transportation of their relatives’ bodies to Armenia.
The relatives of the missing persons said they have appealed to the United Nations, the European Union, the Russian Embassy, the Artsakh authorities, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the Human Rights Defender, but have received no positive or negative responses.
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“It seems that no one wants to deal with that issue, it doesn’t matter to everyone that there are missing people, but we are sure that the boys are alive, they are under the control of the Azerbaijanis. On October 7, we have a recorded call, the call was from Shushi, Karen, one of the missing, called her girlfriend, the girlfriend reported this fact to the National Security Service, the Red Cross, but until now there is no information,” said one of the participants of the demonstration.
People have heard different stories from witnesses and, based on these, concluded that their relatives are alive. They said they passed a DNA test, which showed no match for any of the 21 missing persons. “From there, it follows: where are they? So they are alive. We have been in constant contact with our rescue service workers, who told us they approached the area and found no remains. So, those boys are alive; they were taken away. Many people saw how Azerbaijani soldiers were taking people from the area. The wounded were taken to a Russian base for treatment, but people say they saw them being taken from there in large vehicles. People don’t just say these things without reason, right?”
One person from Artsakh shared: “There are facts that after the incident, employees of the Azerbaijani rescue service were at the scene. The driver of the Artsakh rescue service told me that after the one-day war, clashes occurred with the Azerbaijani armed forces in the Martakert region during search operations. An Azerbaijani official accompanying the Azerbaijani rescue workers prevented and defused a conflict between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. He then said to the driver of the Artsakh rescue service, ‘Why are you leaving? Stay and live with us. If we wanted to harm you, we wouldn’t have taken the wounded from the explosion site for treatment.’
There were other facts, which we presented in writing to the National Security Service and the Human Rights Defender. The Investigative Committee is also aware and dealing with it, but there is no real answer. Ten months have passed, and 20 people are still missing. We have presented all the facts. Our complaint is that the Armenian authorities should address this issue and provide a reasonable answer. They could have done so in 10 months.”
Naira Yeghyan, one of the demonstration participants, said that her husband’s passport and car keys were found at the explosion site, but there is no information about her husband. These facts have been presented to law enforcement agencies, but they still have no information.
And the relatives of the victims are demanding exhumation.
“We appealed to the governments of Artsakh and Armenia, but to no avail. We demand that our child be exhumed and brought to Armenia. My son died on September 19, and we buried him in Stepanakert’s brotherly cemetery. The last time we gathered here, no parents were received, but today we will wait until someone comes down and answers us. I am ready to go to Goris, ask the Russians or the Turks, even if I have to bring my child to Armenia with money,” said Borik Arzumanyan, the father of fallen soldier Artur Arzumanyan, to reporters.
Bella Galstyan, the sister of Sasun Avanesyan, who died in the September war, and Davit Avanesyan, who died due to the explosion of the fuel warehouse, mentioned that Artsakh officials had previously told them they had reached an agreement with the Azerbaijani side for exhumation and the transfer of the bodies to Armenia. “But in the end, they said the process was canceled. They did not specify a reason; they simply said the Azerbaijani side canceled it. We appeal to the government of Armenia to understand our situation. After the death of our relatives, the bodies remained prisoners. Our loss is very great. I lost two close brothers in September 2023. We can imagine what the Azerbaijanis might do—they could destroy or desecrate those graves. It is a great pain for us,” he said.
“We appealed to the government of Artsakh and the government of Armenia, but to no avail, we demand that our child be exhumed and brought to Armenia. My son died on September 19, we buried him in Stepanakert’s brotherly cemetery. Last time we came here to gather, no parents were accepted, but today we will wait until someone comes down and answers us. I am ready to go to Goris, ask the Russians or the Turks, even if I bring my child to Armenia with money,” Borik Arzumanyan, the father of the fallen soldier Artur Arzumanyan, told reporters.
Bella Galstyan, the sister of Sasun Avanesyan, who died in the September war, and Davit Avanesyan, who died as a result of the fuel warehouse explosion, mentioned that Artsakh officials had earlier told her that they had reached an agreement with the Azerbaijani side for the exhumation and transfer of the bodies to Armenia. “But at the end of the day, they said that the process was cancelled. They did not specify a reason, they simply said that the Azerbaijani side is canceling. We appeal to the government of Armenia to get into our situation. After the death of our relatives, the bodies remained prisoners, our loss is very great. Personally, I had two brothers, I lost both of them in September 2023. We imagine what the Azerbaijanis can do, they can destroy, touch those graves, it is a great pain for us,” she said.
Roza Hovhannisyan
