French co-chair confirms illegal settlement of Armenians in Lachin

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Feb 16 2005

Baku, February 15, AssA-Irada

The OSCE fact-finding mission, which recently conducted monitoring
in the occupied Azerbaijani territories, has confirmed the illegal
settlement of Armenians in the Lachin district, according to the OSCE
Minsk Group French co-chair Bernard Fassier. He said that the mass
settlement of population in Lachin shows that financial assistance
is being provided for this purpose.

Fassier also mentioned the activities aimed at restoring the destroyed
infrastructure of the district.

“In other regions, most areas do not get electric power, the living
conditions are poor and electricity is supplied to some areas from
Armenian military units or Upper Garabagh”, said Fassier, emphasizing
the relatively good living conditions in Lachin as compared to other
Azerbaijani regions. The co-chair said that unlike Lachin, he did
not observe a purposeful settlement of population in regions around
Upper Garabagh, and that the current residents moved there on their
own or with the aid of the Armenian Diaspora.

Fassier divided the residents that moved to these areas into
three categories: refugees from Azerbaijan, those affected by the
earthquake which hit Armenia in 1988 and those who left Armenia due
to socio-economic hardship.*