ARMENIAN
SERVICEMAN REPATRIATED UNDER ICRC AUSPICES
Geneva (ICRC)
– On 18 January one Armenian prisoner of war previously detained
in Azerbaijan was repatriated under the auspices of the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The operation took place on the
road between the Azerbaijani town of Gazakh and the Armenian town
of Ijevan.
The ICRC, participating as a neutral intermediary and in accordance
with its mandate, facilitated the repatriation of the released prisoner
at the request of the Azerbaijani and Armenian authorities.
ICRC delegates visited the serviceman before the operation to ensure
he was returning home of his own free will.
Since the start of its activities in connection with the Nagorny Karabakh
conflict in 1992, the ICRC has helped repatriate or transfer 655 people,
and the organization will support any similar operation in the future
should the need arise.
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PACE
appointed rapporteur on POW and hostages in the zone of Nagorno Karabakh
conflict
MP from Netherlands Leo Platvoet has been
appointed as a rapporteur on POW and hostages in the zone of Nagorno
Karabakh of the PACE Committee on migration, refugees and population.
As
a REGNUM correspondent was informed in press office of the Azerbaijani
Foreign Ministry, the candidature of Platvoet has been approved by
PACE. During his trip to the region, the rapporteur will conduct investigation
according to the list of Azerbaijani and Armenian POW, hostages and
missing, and then report to PACE. The date of Platvoet’s voyage
will be specified at a winter session of PACE.
Permanent
news address: www.regnum.ru/english/569311.html
17:05 01/06/2006
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Anjey
Kasprchik
“Unfortunately, the number of killed
and injured is increasing”
In
the Karabakh conflict area, representative of the OSCE chairman Anjey
Kasprchik expressed his regret for the increase of killed and injured
in the conflict.
According
to him facts of cease-fire breach were connected with the “fear”
of the soldiers, and because of their mistakes the cease-fire was
breached at the contact line of Armenian and Azerbaijani Armed Forces.
“During
the current year the number of killed and injured from both sides
increased. And it is a pity. But it is a fact.”- according to
“Trend” Kasprchik announced in Baku mentioning that “the
data about the situation of the conflict zone are received directly
from the field commanders.”
Kasprchik
also stated that the monitoring at the contact line of Armenia and
Azerbaijan will be carried out in January 2006. “At present
I am busy with the visit of OSCE Minsk group co-chairs to the region.
Then I will come back to Brussels as next year the chair of the OSCE
will be Belgium and I will have several meetings with OSCE representatives”-
mentioned personal representative of the OSCE chairman and added that
according to the agreement the monitoring would be carried out once
in two months.
From
www.armenialiberty.org
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ARMENIAN
WOMAN REPATRIATED FROM AZERBAIJAN
The
Armenian woman, who early this months crossed the border with Azerbaijan,
was repatriated yesterday with the assistance of the International
Committee of the Red Cross. It took place on the road between the
towns of Kazakh of Azerbaijan and Ijevan of Armenia.
By
suggestion of the Armenian and Azeri authorities the ICRC performed
the mediating role and assisted the repatriation after the delegates
made sure she returns on her own will.
To
note, since the beginning of the activities in 1992 the ICRC has assisted
in repatriation and re-settlement of 654 people.
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Armenian
Resident Applied to Azeri Mothers
Source:
www.regnum.ru/news/559030.html
13.12.2005
Armenian
resident Larisa Chakhoyan who lost her son some years ago, applied
to Azeri mothers who also lost their sons in the Karabakh war.
Chakhoyan
says that it is already 6 years she lost her son. “I know that
in Azerbaijan there are hundreds of unhappy mothers like me. Our sons
did not do anything bad; they just did their duty and appeared in
such a situation because of cruel irony of the destiny. I express
my solidarity with all the Azeri mothers of missing persons”-
it is said in the announcement.
Larisa
Chakhoyan calls all the mothers to unite and reach the thing that
there won’t be close doors and borders for all those who lost
their sons in the result of the conflict and that they can visit each
other freely and support in searching their sons.
Larisa
Chakhoyan’s son Hayk Galstyan missed on June 4, 1999 on the
border with Kazakh region. Avaz Hasanov, coordinator of the international
working group on searching missing persons informed “Turan”
that such appeals of mothers for the search of their sons were very
often. According to him the working group dealt with the search of
Hayk Galstyan but with no result. We must mention that according to
Armenia sources they have about 800 missing persons in the consequence
of the conflict. The Azeri side speaks about more than 4000 missing
persons.
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Arminfo
news agency
Armenia needs to create a professional working group in the structure
of state commission on missing persons
Yerevan
23.09.2005, Arminfo. Armenia needs to create a professional working
group in the structure of state commission on missing persons which
could exclusively deal with its work. Such an opinion was expressed
in the interview with Arminfo correspondent by Karine Minasyan, Armenian
coordinator of the International working group on searching missing
persons, hostages and prisoners of war of the Karabakh conflict, head
of NGO “Center of protecting the rights of missing persons,
hostages and prisoners of war”.
According to her this issue was arisen at the beginning of 1990s,
since the establishment of the commission, but there hasn’t
been any progress. As Karine Minasyan mentioned the Armenian commission
at present includes people who are occupied with other work which
can’t always be delayed. They work in the working group on public
basis. In counterbalance to it in the Azeri working group professionals
are included who deal only with this work. At the same time K. Minasyan
stated that the search of missing persons could not be cancelled because
the more time passes after the person is missing the more difficult
it is to find a trace.
She says that in case if somebody is missing or taken hostage the
relatives must apply to the authorities. Unfortunately, our society
is not informed enough on the functions of the state commission, which
brings to the thing that very often trying to find their relatives
on their own, people fell into the hands of cheaters. At the same
time she mentioned that it was a very rare case. Only one such case
is known so far. Last year a citizen of Armenia was missed, perhaps
was taken hostage in the area of Azerbaijan. According to K. Minasyan
at the initial stage the mediators have been given some information,
even got a letter written by that person. At first there was a suspicion
that something had happened to him in our side. But when information
was given about his whereabouts it became more probable that he had
been taken hostage. K. Minasyan says that then the contact stopped
and now no information is given about the person.
In general, according to K. Minasyan, at present, the sides of the
Karabakh conflict maintain the agreement on hostage exchange in short
terms. The conditions of keeping the hostages have been improved,
so has the attitude towards them, and the keeping terms became shorter.
The coordinators of the International working groups have contacts
with the prisoners of war before and after their freedom, besides
co-chairs of International working groups visited the places where
the hostages are kept.
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REPRESENTATIVES
OF ICRC VISITED AN ARMENIAN DETAINEE IN AZERBAIJAN
YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 23. ARMINFO. The representatives of the International
Committee of Red Cross visited an Armenian detainee in Azerbaijan.
According to the ICRC report, the detainee is not a citizen of RA,
although the country of his citizenship isn't revealed yet.
According to Azerbaijani mass media, Albert P. Abramian, an Armenian,
65, was detained on September 20 in a forest near the village of Cilagir.
Admittedly, he entered Azerbaijan crossing the Russian- Azerbaijani
border. As the Azerbaijani Minister for Internal Affairs, Ramil Usubov
reported, Albert Abramian came to Azerbaijan to visit his brother.
Another Azerbaijani official, Emin Sekinski, suggested that Mr. Abramian
suffers from a mental disorder and added that he crossed the border
illegally.
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Nagorno-Karabakh: Viewing the Conflict from the Ground
Europe Report NB°166
14 September 2005
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The
conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh is the
most significant obstacle to peace and stability in the South Caucasus.
Eleven years into a ceasefire, the parties have been unable to sign
a single document bringing them closer to a settlement. Whatever is
being done at the internationally mediated negotiations, at ground
level resumed war appears a real possibility. There is need to counter
the hate propaganda and demonising engaged in by both sides and unlock
the potential for confidence building and dialogue between average
Azeris and Armenians before the memories of cohabitation fade and
the divide becomes virtually unbridgeable.
Nagorno-Karabakh has aspirations for independence and argues with
some reason that it has a democratically-elected government that is
meeting the preconditions of statehood. However, it is internationally
recognised as part of Azerbaijan and is still highly dependant on
Armenia for its military security and economic survival: over half
its army are believed to be Armenian citizens, while Yerevan covers
50 per cent of the budget through an "interstate loan" that
is virtually interest free and unlikely to be paid back. Azeris do
not participate in its political, economic, cultural and social institutions.
Nagono-Karabakh has mono-ethnic institutions and become one of the
world's most militarised societies.
Deprived of the basic right to return to their homes, over half a
million Azeris displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent
districts have become highly dependent on the Azerbaijani state, without
a clear sense of their future. For years Baku's policies toward the
displaced were designed to meet short-term needs, with the expectation
they could return home soon. There was more than a hint that efforts
to integrate them better were not pushed so as to use their plight
to score political points. The government's current strategy emphasises
more sustainable solutions but the displaced remain poorer and more
disadvantaged than their fellow citizens, struggling to increase participation
in political life not only to speed up prospects for return but also
to improve their immediate situation.
Armenian and Azerbaijani public opinion on how to resolve the conflict
is as divided as ever. Nothing has been done to prepare people in
either country for any agreement. Karabakh Armenians' expressions
of confidence about their independent future, and Karabakh Azeris'
frustration and anger about their plight as displaced persons are
deeply at odds. Neither community appears prepared to agree to the
kind of steps toward resolution of the conflict currently being considered
by the Armenian and Azerbaijani foreign ministers in the negotiations
sponsored by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE).
For many historical, demographical, geographical, and economic factors,
Azeris and Armenians living in and around the conflict zone are dependent
on each other. Yet they are deeply divided by mistrust. Demonisation
of the "other", rising military expenditures, and increasing
ceasefire violations are all ominous signs that time for a peaceful
settlement may be running out.
Parallel processes are needed for a stable settlement. This report
explores how the Armenian and Azeri communities from Nagorno-Karabakh
and the surrounding districts live today and view the potential resolution
of the conflict. A subsequent report will shortly assess the OSCE-sponsored
diplomacy and attempt to bridge the gap between it and the situation
on the ground, focusing with specific recommendations on both the
main issues that must be treated in a peace agreement and on what
needs to be done to further inter-communal reconciliation. (download
pdf)
Tbilisi/Brussels, 14 September 2005
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