ISSUE OF RETURNING SHAHUMIAN AND GETASHEN REGIONS OF KARABAKH DEMANDED TO BE INCLUDED IN NEGOTIATIONS
By Nana Petrosian

AZG Armenian Daily
14/06/2007

Head of the "Shahumian-Getashen" social organization Edik Baloyan
announced on a conference on June 12, "The Issue of Shahumian and
Getashen regions, occupied by Azerbaijan, shall be in any case included
in the agenda of peace negotiations on Nagorno-Karabakh". He added
that azerbaijan, making use of the Minsk Group not including in the
talks the question of those regions, is trying to represent itself
as a victim of Armenian aggression.

Baloyan also spoke of the problems of refugees and people expelled
from Getashen and Shahumian. He said that the question of their
housing can be solved by returning them their own lands. According
to information provided by "REGNUM" agency, the number of people fled
from Shahumian-Getashen equals 21 thousand, of which 17 thousand took
refuge in the Republic of Armenia

It is already 15 years that the regions of Shahumian and Getashen
have been occupied by the armed forces of Azerbaijan. In connection
with that anniversary the "Nicol Agbalian" youth wing of the
"Dashnaktsutiun" party organized a demonstration in Yerevan in order
to draw the attention of the embassies of USA, France and Russia to
the matter.