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REFUGEES MUST BE GRANTED NKR CITIZENSHIP
[05:04 pm] 30 November, 2006

Over 25 – 30 thousand Armenian refugees, forcibly
displaced by Azerbaijan, don’t want to return to their
former dwelling places reports `Refugees and
International Right’ Civil network.

In 6000 questionnaires the refugees claim that `they
will continue to protect their rights refusing any
material and moral compensation’.

The polling was held among the Armenian refugees
living in the NKR, USA and Russia.

Today the network introduced a bill referring to the
refugees’ citizenship.

The network intends `to increase the number of the NKR
citizens by 500 – 550 thousand people within 3 – 4
years’.

The Refugees and International Right Civil network
turned to Robert Kocharyan, Minsk group Co-Chairs,
Ilham Aliev with this request.

Today there was a heated argument on the bill. The
participants of the debate wondered who will be
granted the NKR citizenship by law, on which criteria
they will be chosen and which territories the refugees
will return.

Arman Melikyan, advisor to the NKR President, claims
that taking into account the principle of dual
citizenship, all the NKR citizens born in the
territory of the NKR (both Armenians and Azeris) will
be granted citizenship.