QARVATCHAR INHABITANTS: THEY LEFT HOMES AT THE OTHER SIDE OF MRAV MOUNTAIN
Azg/arm
13 Jan 05
Ashghen Safarian, 82, has left 7 decades of her life together with a
newly built house and an orchard at Getashen. If it were possible she
would go toher house this summer, she misses it very much.
“The Turks (Azeris) entered the village on May 6 of 1991 and forced
all of us out. Turks now live in my two-storied house. I left
everything and fled with a bag. I want to go to my home this
summer. What can a Turk do to me”, Mrs. Ashghen says.
The Soviet army and the Azeri militia scattered the population of the
Armenian village in few days. Yeghish Markosian, 67, led his fellow
villagers out through woods and hills at the risk of being killed. He
was wounded twice.
“People of Getashen scattered as the sheep scatter when a wolf appears
amid them. There is no other village like ours in Karabakh. I cannot
forget it a second”, uncle Yeghish says.
Now this man of hoarse voice is planting trees in Qarvatchar with his
sons and 40 other families from Getashen. He says that he came here to
guard the border.
“I came out Getashen with my three sons and settled in Karmir. But we
couldn’ t make living there. Samvel Babayan (former defense minister
of Karabakh) heard that 40 families from Getashen want to come to
Karabakh and sent a man to call us. We came and liked it here. I
brought 10 other families with me, they settled in one of the
neighboring villages of Qarvatchar and renamed it into Nor (new)
Getashen”, Yeghish says.
Inhabitants of Qarvatchar
Vasili Nalbandian is the head of Shahumian region administration in
Karabakh. He says that his ancestors and his home were from the other
side of Omar and Mrav mountains. There are more than hundred families
who left their homes in Azerbaijan or in the north of Karabakh.
“Former residents of Shahumian, Getashen, Gardman (Northern Artsakh),
Baku and Sumgait are those who live today in Shahumian region. The
region of Qarvatchar was renamed into Shahumian because its first
residents were those from Shahumian”, Nalbandian says.
Tigran Gevorgian lost his home in Buzlugh and now lives in Nor Brajur
village of Shahumian region with his family. “I left my native Buzlugh
at the age of 8. I don’t remember much of our village”, Tigran says.
Brajur was one of tens of Armenian villages Ghanlar region. Armenians
of the village were also forced out from their homes. Having settled
in Qarvatchar, they founded the village of Nor Brajur. “We were 5 in
our family on coming here. Now there are two more members; my brother
got married and his child was born here”, Tigran says.
Almost all villages of Qarvatchar bear the names of Armenian villages
of Shahumian, Ghanlar and Getashen regions that were cleared off
Armenian population. Despite all difficulties, people are slowly
getting used to the conditions. What unites 82-year-old Mrs. Ashghen,
uncle Yeghish and Tigran is the fact that they all left homes and
orchards on the other side of Mrav and Omar mountains.
Heydar Aliyev inhabited Azeris at the houses taken from the Armenians
The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) expressed concern over the
fact that “the Azeri refugees and inner resellers take over
possessions belonging to Armenians and other ethnic minorities”.
“The Council advises Azerbaijan to take appropriate measures and to
compensate or to provide the Armenians and other minorities, whose
possessions were illegally taken over, with alternative lodging”, the
November 26 UN ECOSOC report reads.
Azerbaijan implements state policy of inhabiting the occupied Armenian
villages. In September of 2002 the late Azeri president, Heydar
Aliyev, took part in a ceremony of inhabiting 1000 Azeri families in
Shahumian and Upper Shen Armenian villages. The villages were renamed
after the ceremony. Bakuâ=80=99s Ekho newspaper wrote about this event
on September 10 and 14 of 2002.
Azerbaijan’s State Oil Fund allocated $18 million for the inhabitation
expenses in 2001.
Nagorno Karabakh authorities control Qarvatchar
Qarvatchar is being populated spontaneously. The claims of official
Yerevan and Stepanakert that there is no state policy of inhabiting
the liberated territories unfortunately correspond to the reality. If
Azerbaijan has already inhabited 80 thousand houses with its citizens
then Armenia and Nagorno Karabakh do not hasten to inhabit Qarvatchar
and other regions.
If there were only few hundreds of families inhabited in Qarvatchar
during last 5 years, then Heydar Aliyev inhabited 1000 families in a
day.
To say that the authorities have formed a new region Shahumian by name
will mean to praise them. Karabakh authorities have only maintained
post factum supervision over Qarvatchar to avoid possible undesirable
situation.
to be continued
By Tatoul Hakobian