ARMENIAN REFUGEES RULE OUT POSSIBILITY OF RETURN TO AZERBAIJAN

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
July 27, 2006

A network of a civil society "Refugees and International Law" sent an
open letter to the RA President Robert Kocharyan. The letter runs,
in part: "To His Excellency President of the Republic of Armenia
Mr. Robert Kocharyan, Your Excellency, A network of a civil society
"Refugees and International Law", dealing with the protection of rights
and interests of the Armenian refugees, which have been expelled
from the Azerbaijani SSR and Nakhijevan manu military, address the
open letter to you with a proposal to inscribe an item referring to
500 000 Armenian refugees to the agenda of the Karabakh talks you
hold. Any option of the problem’s resolution, which rules out the
restoration and full-fledged protection of the rights of hundreds of
thousands of our compatriots, cannot be satisfactory and acceptable.

The problems of the Armenian refugees divide in three principal groups:
1. Finding Motherland, 2. Compensation of the direct material and moral
damage suffered as a result of the deportation from the Azerbaijani
SSR and Nakhijevan, 3. Compensation of the oblique damage suffered
as a result of the deportation from the Azerbaijani SSR and Nakhijevan.

Basing on the outcomes of the polls conducted among the Armenian
refugees, it is safe to say that the Armenian refugees will not return
to their former residences under the jurisdiction of the Azerbaijani
Republic. We have already had the opportunity to state that, taking
into consideration Azerbaijani Republic’s refuse from its succession
in respect of the Azerbaijani SSR, the only legal cessionary of the
latter is the Nagorno Karabakh Republic. If the Armenian refugees from
the Azerbaijani SSR and Nakhijevan are granted the citizenship of the
Nagorno Karabakh Republic and are transferred the territories out of
the borders, within the limits of which the NKR has been declared,
however, over which its jurisdiction is extended at present, on
property rights, it may partly solve their problems.

A network of a civil society "Refugees and International Law" has
also appealed to the U. S. Embassy in RA with a proposal to initiate
a meeting with the U. S. Co-Chair of the Minsk group Matthew Bryza.

In the course of the expected meeting it is planned to deliver a
message addressed to the Minsk group Co-Chairs to Matthew Bryza and
discuss the issues referring to the Armenian refugees".

Non-governmental benevolent union of the Armenian refugees "Aghazang",
children’s benevolent NGO "Yerjanik", non-governmental benevolent
union "Caravan – 88", NGO "Women and Democracy", Union of the
Refugees-Intellectuals "Potential", the Armenian branch of the
St. Petersburg Restoration Centre "Swallow", benevolent NGO "Azat
Hayk", NGO "Promoting General Management of Quality" endorsed the
open letter.

To remind, earlier a network of a civil society "Refuges and
International Law" addressed a similar message to AR President Ilham
Aliyev, REGNUM reports.