Armenia's Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan has wanted some officials and public figures against dangerous statements about the borders of the Republic of Armenia in recent days, The Ombudsman has specifically voiced conversation about mechanical approaches, referring only to some maps or simply using the words "delimitation" and "demarcation".
"Your mechanical statements directly contradict rights and legal interests of the entire population of the Republic of Armenia and, first and foremost, it’s border residents.These irresponsible statements numb the vigilance of our people, endanger rights of our children and the peaceful future in the long perspective.
Proper delimitation is a strong guarantee of human rights, but delimitation issues cannot be approached mechanically," Ombudsman wrote on Facebook.
In his words, delimitation has a direct impact on the rights of people living in our border villages and towns (property, farming and animal husbandry, dignified, safe and peaceful living, etc).
"We should not forget that at the highest level of power in Azerbaijan, Armenia, RA citizens of and the Armenian people, are considered enemies, and the hatred towards Armenians is state supported.
We should not forget that the Azerbaijani armed forces were torturing and beheading our compatriots only a few months ago, and for that they were not only not held accountable, but rather, they were only encouraged. We should not forget about the human rights violations by the Azerbaijani armed soldiers in Syunik and Gegharkunik after the cessation of the military attacks, as well as the fact that the Azerbaijani authorities still refuse to return our captives in gross violation of international human rights requirements," the Ombudsman said, adding: "The exact opposite should be done: delimitation must be carried out only after creation of a security zone, or at the very least, in parallel with it."
In the words of Tatoyan, in the current conditions, the delimitation with Azerbaijan without a security zone will not only not guarantee rights of the citizens of Armenia, especially rights of border residents, but will cause new human rights violations and new tensions, and will not ensure peace in the region.
