For the fourth day, Azerbaijan is obstructing the transfer of the bodies of servicemen Yervand Tadevosyan and Samvel Torosyan, martyred as a result of the June 27 provocation, from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Armenia. After the 44-day war, Yervand Tadevosyan's family lives in Vedi, Ararat province, Armenia. They were displaced from Kashatagh. The relatives of Samvel Torosyan living in Stepanakert also want to bury their son in Yerablur. And Azerbaijan speculates, claiming that the servicemen are from the Armenian armed forces.
Arayik Harutyunyan (President of Artsakh) - There is no citizen of the Republic of Armenia serving in the Artsakh Defense Army. The victim is not an Armenia’s citizen, you know who he is, his father worked in the rescue service, now he is displaced, they lived in Kashatagh region. Burial was requested in that area. No matter how much Azerbaijan shows that it is a citizen of Armenia, there is no such thing. They will try to politicize it on the international platform, but we are obliged to respect the wishes of that family.
The problem of transporting the dead soldiers' bodies is due to Azerbaijan's policy of ethnic cleansing in Artsakh. According to international law specialist Ara Ghazaryan, it has been mentioned many times that by blocking the Lachin Corridor and the actions leading to it, Azerbaijan is trying to make Armenians leave their homes in Artsakh, which is openly announced to the domestic audience. This is another speculation trying to create public opinion.
Ara Ghazaryan (specialist of international law) - Azerbaijan is trying to manipulate by saying: you see, I said that there are Armenian troops, here is the proof that there are Armenian troops. But Azerbaijan also knows that arguments can work in the domestic audience, because it does not receive complete information. And arguments on international platforms have not worked for a long time.
According to Ghazaryan, Baku's goal is also to get the most out of the ongoing negotiations. By obstructing the transfer of the bodies of servicemen and depriving the family of the right to bury a deceased relative, to visit the grave, Azerbaijan violates the convention. According to Ara Ghazaryan, within the framework of the right to respect for personal and family life, Armenia can apply to the European Court of Human Rights to complete the claims against Azerbaijan submitted so far.
Ara Ghazaryan - The blockade as a whole, from which many problems arise, one of which is the transportation of dead bodies. It all comes from the violation of movement, on which international courts have expressed a position. Azerbaijan openly confronted both the judicial and non-judicial bodies of the United Nations and the Council of Europe. The question is: how long will the resources of Azerbaijan be sufficient, because they do not have legal resources?
Ghazaryan emphasizes that if it is a violation of the right to freedom of movement with the human rights component, then it is an international crime with the humanitarian law component, a weapon of war. The expert of international law emphasizes the PACE resolution of June 22, which, according to him, was a message with strict diplomatic wording, which, according to Ara Ghazaryan, may be followed by the issue of freezing Azerbaijan's mandate.
Ara Ghazaryan - There have been such proposals related to falsification of elections, but here we are dealing with the blockade of 120 thousand people.
Did the relatives and the representatives of the Artsakh authorities turn to the International Committee of the Red Cross to mediate in the transfer of the bodies of the victims? The ICRC Yerevan office declined to comment.
