Former Artsakh resident brings accusations against Armenian authorities

ArmInfo. Member of the Artsakh  parliament of the first convocation, refugee from Stepanakert Hrant  Hayriyan accused the current Armenian authorities of contributing to  the de-Armenization of Nagorno-Karabakh and leaving the people of  Artsakh to their fate.

The former MP in an open letter to the Prime Minister of Armenia  Nikol Pashinyan, as well as the UN office in Yerevan, the Ombudsman  of Armenia and human rights organizations drew attention to the fact  that after the genocide committed by the Azerbaijani-Turkish tandem  against the Armenian population of Artsakh and the forced deportation  to Armenia, the people of Artsakh found themselves in a hopeless  situation. According to him, the people of Artsakh were only  nominally granted temporary refugee status and nothing more. 

"In particular, we are paid 50 thousand drams per person, which  should be enough to cover rent, utilities, food, clothing, etc. Some  refugees are not given even this," the ex-MP noted. As an example, he  cited the situation in which he and his father, a first-group  disabled person, found themselves. According to the refugee, his  father, a disabled person of the Artsakh war, is not being paid the  above-mentioned payment, and he is deprived of his legal pension,  which he had been receiving in Artsakh for the past 22 years.

Even the charitable assistance in the form of financial resources  provided by various countries does not reach the refugees themselves,  not to mention other shortcomings. Personally, I am not even paid my  pension, which I received in the NKR for 22 years. I gave these  specific examples in order to show the facts of the criminal attitude  of the current government towards its own people," Hayriyan  complained. 

At the same time, he accused the Pashinyan government of criminal  attitude towards its own people, which, according to him, was clearly  manifested already during the 44-day war of 2020, when the  Azerbaijani- Turkish tandem committed aggression against Artsakh. "At  that fateful time, the Armenian government, headed by the Prime  Minister, together with its proteges in Artsakh, betrayed the people  of Artsakh, not sparing an entire generation of heroic Armenian  youth. After which Pashinyan not only signed a trilateral  capitulation agreement with Russia and Azerbaijan, but, moreover,  handed over Akna, Kashatagh, Karvachar and other regions to  Azerbaijan without a fight, which the enemy could not capture and  which should have remained with us," the ex-MP expressed confidence.

He also accused the Armenian authorities of aiding Azerbaijan in the  encirclement of Artsakh with its subsequent de-Armenianization, as  well as of lying and corruption. "Nikol Pashinyan announced to the  whole world that he allegedly accepted and placed 120 thousand new  refugees in Armenia and provided them with everything they needed,  when at that time even the refugees of the 44-day war had not yet  been provided for. The roots of this lie go too deep, since  everything is happening with impunity. Both President Aliyev and  Prime Minister Pashinyan cynically announce to the whole world about  the alleged eradication of corruption in their countries and the  ideal democratic society they have already built, which is an  absolute lie. The current authorities have put this very corruption  on state rails: if earlier it was expressed in bribery and other  illegal actions, now they are directly robbing the budget, not shying  away from other actions, up to and including an attempt on the  people's funds," Ayriyan said.

The former MP also touched upon the Alma-Ata Declaration of 1991 and  noted that no one except Pashinyan implements its provisions. "The  Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, created in strict accordance with the laws  of the then USSR and having defended its independence in the fight  against the aggressor, should have been recognized by all civilized  countries of the world, although, according to Article 3 of the  Montevideo Convention of 1933, the political existence of the state  does not depend on recognition by other states. 

Even before recognition, the state has the right to protect its  integrity and independence to ensure its preservation and prosperity,  and, therefore, to shape itself in the way it sees fit, legislate in  accordance with its interests, manage its services, and determine the  jurisdiction and competence of its courts," he noted. In conclusion,  he called for his open letter to be perceived as an appeal to the  Hague Criminal Court and the International European Court of Human  Rights, as a statement for discussion of the above and, if possible,  the adoption of necessary measures in the name of humanity and the  prevention of the repetition of acts of genocide against peoples who,  by the will of fate or politics, find themselves under foreign rule.