Armenia must turn `Eichmann trial` initiated by Aliyev into `trial  against Eichmann` - Vahe Hovhannisyan

ArmInfo. Using the opportunities of the changing world, it is possible to succeed in releasing the Armenian hostages by increasing pressure on Azerbaijan and changing the content of the trial. This was stated by political scientist, co-founder of the Alternative Projects group Vahe Hovhannisyan.

As Hovhannisyan explained, the Armenian society has two possible  courses of action: either cry, demand and then go home, or put  feelings aside and move on to rational steps. Hovhannisyan emphasized  that in order to effectively release the Armenian captives, a clear  understanding of the demands that Armenia must put forward is  necessary. In this regard, he drew attention to the fact that  Armenia's current relations with the international community do not  allow one to expect that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev will  immediately respond to calls for the release of the Armenian  hostages.

"Aliyev, who is in the euphoria of victory, has his own ideas about  the situation. Of course, it is right to voice demands calling for  the release of Armenian hostages, but let's face it: in the current  reality, it is extremely difficult to achieve a quick result,"  Hovhannisyan noted.

The political scientist expressed his conviction that in this  situation it is necessary to demand an open trial and in this regard  recalled that on April 11, 1961, Israel began broadcasting the trial  of Adolf Eichmann, one of the main organizers of the Holocaust.  According to the political scientist, Israel set itself the task of  demonstrating to the world the reality of what was happening and  organized an open trial with the participation of the world's leading  media. "It was thanks to this step that Israel achieved the maximum  result. By the way, Hannah Arendt, representing the New York Journal,  wrote her famous article at this trial, calling it "Anti-Jewish," "  the expert added.

Hovhannisyan explained that this requirement should include a live  broadcast, the presence of the international press and human rights  activists, as well as representatives of the UN and the Council of  Europe. In addition, witnesses must be interviewed - more than  100,000 Artsakh residents, Russian peacekeeping forces, and the OSCE  Minsk Group co-chair countries must participate as witnesses or  observers.

Thus, Hovhannisyan noted the need for a comprehensive approach to  solving the problem of the release of Armenian hostages, which will  be based on rational actions and international support. "This way,  our demand will become more understandable to the whole world, and a  large field for work will open up. We must turn the "Eichmann trial"  initiated by Aliyev into, so to speak, a "trial against Eichmann".  Genocide, ethnic cleansing, mass displacement of civilians, bombing  of cities and villages, destruction of the material and spiritual  heritage of an unrecognized, but existing state. We can end this  trial in our favor if we can change its course," the expert  explained.

In this regard, Hovhannisyan recalled the message of former Artsakh  State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, in which he called for an open and  public trial, the readiness of Pakistani human rights activist Saida  Ghulam Fatima to go to Baku, and the speech of the UN High  Commissioner for Human Rights, which, according to him, provides a  good basis for proper work. "By changing the course of the trial, we  will be able to change Azerbaijan's plans regarding this trial.  Aliyev will simply not touch the trial, which works to his  detriment," Hovhannisyan said.

The political scientist also noted the importance of creating a  center to collect facts about the ethnic cleansing of Artsakh, the  protection of the rights of Artsakh Armenians, the distortion of  history, the destruction of the material and spiritual heritage of  Artsakh, identifying the perpetrators and returning to Artsakh,  following the example of the Jewish Simon Wiesenthal Center (a  non-governmental organization whose activities are aimed at  protecting human rights, combating terrorism, anti-Semitism and  studying the Holocaust - ed.). The creation of such a center, he  said, would create serious problems for Azerbaijan and would act as a  counterweight and deterrent.

"Monstrous crimes were committed in Artsakh with specific  perpetrators. Everything must be documented.  Currently, information  is being collected in Armenia from disparate groups, journalists and  human rights activists. All of this must have a "place where it can  be concentrated". We must change course to find solutions. We will  succeed by increasing pressure on Azerbaijan and changing the content  of the trial, using the opportunities of a changing world,"  Hovhannisyan explained. 

In conclusion, the political scientist called for taking advantage of  new opportunities, namely the Russian- American dialogue and the  opportunities of the OSCE Minsk Group. He also drew attention to the  fact that the two most influential leaders in the world - Russian  President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump - profess  religion and publicly speak about the importance of traditional  Christian values, recalling that Armenia occupies a significant  position in the Christian world. In addition, he recalled that the  forced displacement of Armenians from Artsakh took place in the  presence of Russian peacekeepers, and noted the importance of working  with the Russian side in the context of Aliyev's demonstrative  demarches on this issue.

The current and former military-political leadership of Artsakh was  taken hostage after the Azerbaijani aggression against the NKR on  September 19-20, 2023. For the second year in a row, in the context  of the inaction of the international community, dozens of Armenian  citizens are illegally detained in Azerbaijan, subjected to cruel and  degrading treatment, torture.

On January 17, the Baku Military Court began considering the  "indictment" against the former leaders of Nagorno-Karabakh on  fabricated criminal cases. Among the accused are three former  presidents of Nagorno-Karabakh: Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan and  Arayik Harutyunyan. Also appearing before the court are former  Foreign Minister David Babayan, Parliament Speaker David Ishkhanyan,  former Commander of the Defense Army General Levon Mnatsakanyan,  General David Manukyan and former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan.