ARMENIAN NATIONAL SECURITY SERVICE: AZERBAIJANI STRUCTURES TRYING TO FUEL TENSION BETWEEN PARTIES TO KARABAKH CONFLICT

ArmInfo
2009-07-30 14:52:00

ArmInfo. Armenian National Security Service has disseminated a
statement on Azerbaijan’s attempts to politicize the issue of captives.

The NSS Press Center reported that Azerbaijani mass media have
raised another wave of anti-Armenian propaganda taking advantage of
the Armenian soldier’s falling prisoner on July 15 2009. A certain
Azerbaijani military expert says that "hunger and the prospects
to get over to Europe" allegedly led the Armenian soldier to that
step. The so-called "expert" even takes the liberty to advise Armenian
soldiers to cross over to the Azerbaijani party by entire battalions
and regiments to easily get to Europe from Azerbaijan.

Another statement addressed to the Armenian Armed Forces published
by 1news.az is above imagination. Thus, "prospering" Azerbaijan
makes advices to Armenian soldiers on how to cross over the mined
territories, yield themselves prisoners to further move to Europe
and Northern America for better life. "It is noteworthy that 8
Azerbaijani soldiers have yielded themselves prisoners crossing to
border to Armenia over the last years. Six of them were resettled
in third countries with the support of the ICRC and UNHCR and two
are still in Armenia refusing to repatriate. Armenia has never
made these facts a subject for speculations or politicization like
the Azerbaijani "experts" try to do. All this shows that certain
Azerbaijani structures try to fuel tension between the parties to the
Karabakh conflict, to create tense atmosphere directly threatening to
the efforts by international mediators in the Karabakh peace process,"
the NSS reports.