Karabakh authorities grant status to refugees from Azerbaijan

Arminfo, Yerevan
25 Nov 04

Stepanakert , 25 November: The Nagornyy Karabakh authorities are carrying out
consistent work to grant a status to refugees living on the territory of the
republic.

At present, registration of people who were deported from Azerbaijan in
1988-92 is being carried out in order to grant them refugee status, the chief of
the NKR department for refugees, migration and resettlement, Serzh Amirkhanyan,
has told an Arminfo special correspondent in Stepanakert. About 900 families
have already undergone registration in the republic.

Talking about the importance of the law “On refugees” adopted at the end of
2003, the chairman of the standing commission on social issues of the NKR
National Assembly, Vasiliy Atadzhanyan, noted in particular that in line with the
law, refugees in the NKR are to receive a status which will allow them to have
the privileges, services and assistance envisaged in the world practice.

Moreover, in accordance with their status, legally they will have the same
rights as refugees in Azerbaijan and Armenia, which will allow them to lay
claims for compensation for damages and losses to the state from where they
emigrated forcibly, in their case to Azerbaijan, Amirkhanyan noted.