NAGORNYY KARABAKH STATE COMMISSION ON WAR PRISONERS, LOST IN ACTION [LIA] AND HOSTAGES DISPROVES INFORMATION OF AZERBAIJANI STATE COMMISSION

ArmInfo
2009-01-15 14:44:00

ArmInfo. Nagornyy Karabakh State Commission on war prisoners, lost
in action [LIA] and hostages has commented on the final report of
the similar Azerbaijani State Commission about its activity in 2008,
which in particular says allegedly 39 Azerbaijanis are in prison at
the territory of Nagornyy Karabakh.

"The NKR State Commission on war prisoners, LIA and hostages considers
this information as a regular disinformation directed to discrediting
of the authorities of Nagornyy Karabakh Republic and an attempt
to mislead the world community. The NKR State Commission declares
with responsibility that there is no war prisoner or hostage at the
territory under the NKR jurisdiction of Nagornyy Karabakh Republic. The
NKR authorities which strictly follow the principles of the Geneva
Convention, repatriated all the captives to the Azerbaijani party
via intermediary of the ICRC after the military stage of the conflict
with Azerbaijan.

At present the relevant agencies in NKR timely inform ICRC and OSCE
offices in NKR of any fact of desertion to Karabakh by Azerbajani
servicemen and civilians, who are later repatriated to Azerbaijan
without any preliminary conditions. These international structures
have an open access to all the places of detention which rules out
existence of Azerbainjani POWs in the territory of the NKR. State
Commission of the country highlights the circumstance that official
Baku has not responded to the repeated proposals of the NKR authorities
to establish direct contact with a similar structure in Azerbaijan
to settle the problem of POWs, hostages and the missing.

In addition, Azerbaijani authorities keep on politicizing this
humanitarian and sensitive problem to gain doubtful propaganda
dividends and the last fact and open misinformation testifies to this,
the statement says.