Azerbaijani Forces Must be Banned from Syunik Roads, Says Rights Defender

The presence of the Azerbaijani armed forces in the communities or on the roads connecting the municipalities in the Syunik Province, as well as any of their movement through those roads must be banned, said Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan on Thursday.

“They [Azerbaijani forces] are there despite their gross violations of the rights of peaceful civilians and servicemen of Armenia and Artsakh, ethnic cleansing and mass destruction of peaceful communities, constant institutional Armenophobia, torture and ill treatment, illegally holding prisoners of war, new war threats, the ‘determination’ of borders with mechanical approaches through gross violations of the international rules,” said Tatoyan.

“The presence of these Azerbaijani servicemen, first of all grossly violate the rights of the border residents of Armenia or are seriously endangering them,” added Tatoyan explaining the seizure of property and indiscriminate firing of weapons.

“Therefore, no matter what happens, their presence or movement is illegal, has no legal precedence and contradicts the foundations of the human rights system in the international law,” explained the human rights defender, who said that his office carries out its responsibilities based on this fundamental concepts on all fronts.