Author: Emma Jilavian

President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan on Tuesday threatened to take Zangezur by force, “whether Armenia wants it or not,” adding to his latest threats against Armenia proper since the signing of the November 9 agreement that ended military actions in Karabakh.

“The creation of the Zangezur corridor fully meets our national, historical and future interests. We will be implementing the Zangezur Corridor, whether Armenia wants it or not. If Armenia wants to, we will solve this issue more easily, if it does not, we will solve it by force, ”Aliyev said during a nationally televised interview with the state-run AZTV on Tuesday.

“Just as before and during the war, I said that they must free themselves from our lands, or we will expel them by force. And so it happened. The same will be the fate of the Zangezur corridor,” added Aliyev.

“Our main rival is time, because the construction of a railway and a highway takes time. Therefore, all forces have been mobilized to implement this project. Thus, the Azerbaijani people will return to Zangezur, which was taken away from us 101 years ago,” stressed Aliyev.

Armenia’s Foreign Ministry was quick to condemn Aliyev’s “zeal to use force.”

“Such statements do serious harm to regional peace and stability. They reveal the false nature of Azerbaijan’s recent peace statements,” Armenia’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anna Naghdalyan said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Armenia will take all necessary measures to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Naghdalyan vowed. “We are in permanent contacts with our strategic ally [Russia] and with all of our partners who are interested in peace in the South Caucasus,” she stressed.

Naghdalyan emphasized that Aliyev’s latest threat was voices ahead of the anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Armenia’s Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan said Aliyev’s remarks in Tuesday point to Azerbaijan’s continued advancement of its “genocidal policy,” adding that the statement “contains intimidation of the entire population of Armenia, which is absolutely prohibited under international law. All this is done by openly distorting historical facts, presenting Zangezur as an Azerbaijani historical territory.”

Tatoyan cited further belligerent statements by Aliyev, who last week, on few occasions, said that all Armenians suffer from “psychological disorders, they are full of poison, are incomprehensible, are savages, are arrogant, have no morals.” while saying that the people Azerbaijan are “more superior.”

Tatoyan called Aliyev’s remarks a reflection of his “fascist policy,” calling on international organizations, especially those with human rights mandates, to take action.

“International organizations must take into account that it was their silence that contributed to more of the Azerbaijani atrocities during the war, and the incredible gross violations of human rights. This is the reason why the President of Azerbaijan makes such absolutely aggressive statements that undermine the foundations of international law,” said Tatoyan.

Female members of Armenia’s VETO movement were protesting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and his government’s lack of response to plight of women whose husbands, sons and brothers still remain in captivity in Azerbaijan.

“About five months have passed since the signing of the disgraceful capitulation agreement, and it is already obvious that most of the burden of the consequences of the [recent Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh)] war has been borne by Armenian women. (…). The mothers and wives of the missing and captives are in a particularly difficult situation. And the mothers of those in [Azerbaijan’s] captivity are living a nightmare for months, waiting for their children to return,” excerpts from the movement’s statement said.

The protest started at Yerevan’s Charles Aznavour Square, from where demonstrators made their way to the government where there was heavy police presence.

According to News.am, police attempted to apprehend Varduhi Ishkhanyan, the wife of the opposition Homeland Salvation Movement’s candidate for prime minister, Vazgen Manukyan. In a vide published by News.am, police are seen pulling from her hands and neck, but they let her go after being reproached and shamed by the other demonstrators.

“The police not only prohibited us from holding our demonstration, but also apprehended several dozens of girls and women through use of force,” said organizer Anna Hakopyan, not to be confused with Pashinyan’s spouse.

“Among those arrested were sisters of deceased servicemen, mothers whose sons fell in the war, as well as wives and daughters of heroes. We witnessed how the treacherous authorities are simply horrified by women holding a demonstration,” Hakobyan said, adding that she and the other women will continue their fight until they achieve their ultimate goal—“getting rid of the ‘Turks’ from Armenia.”

She informed that all those who were apprehended during the demonstration have been released and that they have decided to hold more demonstrations in the coming days.

Alexandra Harutyunyan, another protest organizer, told reporters that almost all of the women who were arrested had bruises when they were released from detention.