Author: Zhanna Nahapetian

Artsakh search and rescue squads found no bodies during their operations in the Azerbaijani-held territories on Tuesday, Artsakh’s State Service of Emergency Situations reported.

According to the source, at midday, remains of a serviceman was found by rescuers near one of the military bases in Martakert town.  The identity of the soldier is yet to be identified through a forensic DNA analysis. As the Service, said, the search operations will continue tomorrow. 

To note, since the start of the ceasefire, a total of 1,486 bodies of fallen troops and civilians have been retrieved from the former combat zones during the operations.

In a Facebook post on Saturday, Tatoyan condemned Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement calling Armenian prisoners “terrorists”.

“We carried out an anti-terror operation, as a result of which more than 60 terrorists were arrested. They are now referred to as prisoners of war. We believe this is a misrepresentation of the issue, because 20 days after the end of the war there can be no POWs. We returned all the prisoners of war before they [Armenia, ed.] had returned our prisoners to us. And those persons are not POWs, they are terrorists and saboteurs,” Aliyev said.

“The ombudsman of Armenia once again resolutely states that all Armenian servicemen and civilians held in Azerbaijan have the status of prisoners of war. All the servicemen were in Artsakh to fulfill their constitutional duties; they performed military service in Artsakh as prescribed by law.

“Credible evidence collected by the Human Rights Defender's Office confirms that the number of captured persons is actually higher than confirmed by the Azerbaijani authorities. It refers also to the period preceding the return of a group of 44 prisoners.

“The human rights defender has registered numerous cases when, despite the cases documented by videos and other evidence, the Azerbaijani authorities denied the capture of those persons or delayed the confirmation process.

“Initiating criminal proceedings against the Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan, arresting them and calling them "terrorists" or "saboteurs" are flagrant violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in general,” the ombudsman said, citing the Third Geneva Convention of 1949.

He underlined that in the post-war period, human rights or humanitarian issues, including the release of POWs, must be resolved immediately after the cessation of hostilities and must be kept away from the political processes.

“The statement of the Azerbaijani president that 20 days after the end of the war there can be no prisoners of war, thus calling the prisoners "saboteurs" or “terrorists” is absolutely unacceptable. It is inadmissible to interpret the November 9 tripartite statement as if it applies only to the situation before the signing of the statement,” Tatoyan said, stating the statement “didn’t put an end to the ongoing armed conflict”.

In addition, he said, the Azeri leader’s statements directly contradicts the intentions of the parties that signed the November 9 statement and the implementation of its clauses.

“In particular, pursuant to Clause 8 of the statement, the Republic of Armenia has already handed over to Azerbaijan two persons who were convicted for committing crimes in Artsakh, including murder of civilians. Following the same principle, Azerbaijan handed over to Armenia Armenians formally convicted in that country.

“Armenia and Azerbaijan also exchanged captives after the November 9 tripartite statement. Thus, this statement must be applied to all situations both before and after November 9 as long as there is an objective need for the protection of human rights and the humanitarian processes in the aftermath of hostilities,” the ombudsman noted.

Also, he said the urgency of the repatriation of Armenian prisoners should be considered in the context of the policy of Armenophobia in Azerbaijan, which has been repeatedly confirmed by the reports published by him on the basis of objective evidence.

“Therefore, it is absolutely reprehensible that the issue of the release and return of the Armenian POWs in Baku is clearly politicized, while the legal processes are distorted and abused.

“All this grossly violates the humanitarian processes and international human rights. Therefore, they must be released without any preconditions and returned safely to Armenia.

“I call the attention of the international community, particularly international organizations mandated to protect human rights, to the statement of Azerbaijan’s president to rule out any violations of the humanitarian processes and to ensure their strict compliance with international human rights law,” Tatoyan said. 

MP Edmon Marukyan from the opposition Bright Armenia Party accused the National Assembly speaker of inaction in the wake of political tensions in the country.

Speaking to reporters at the parliament on Friday, he said Ararat Mirzoyan fails to take action to ease tensions and restore political or civil solidarity in the country following the demand of the army’s top brass for Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan’s and his cabinet’s resignation.

His comments came after Mirzoyan failed to show up for a special sitting of a parliament council initiated by the two opposition factions – Bright Armenia and Prosperous Armenia – to discuss the ongoing developments and look for solutions.

“He fails to take any steps, and as far as I understand, he is unable to take any steps to de-escalate tensions at some extent. Opposition factions of the National Assembly initiated an extraordinary sitting to transfer political processes from the street to a political institution [National Assembly, ed.]. All statements from the authorities about the need for discussions are hypocrisy. Imagine, a person does not even bother coming and opening the sitting to announce there is no quorum,” Marukyan said.

The lawmaker described the speaker’s move as disrespect for the two opposition factions of the parliament.

“This is a constitutional institution and is the sole legitimate institution in the country at this point. Who would possibly benefit from making the institution dysfunctional?” he said.

Marukyan also unveiled plans to meet with Armenia’s president today to discuss what is going on in the country.

He expressed conviction that the situation cannot be resolved when officials or state institutions fail to properly fulfil their duties, also calling attention to the failure of the National Security Council chief to react to the latest developments. 

Turkey has hired a Washington-based law firm to lobby for its readmission to the U.S. F-35 fighter jet programme after it was suspended over its purchase of Russian air defences, a contract filed with the U.S. Department of Justice showed, according to Reuters. 

Ankara had ordered more than 100 stealth fighters and has been making parts for their production, but was removed from the programme in 2019 after it bought the Russian S-400 missile defence systems, which Washington says threaten the F-35s.

It has now hired law firm Arnold & Porter for “strategic advice and outreach” to U.S. authorities, in a six-month contract worth $750,000 which started this month.

Ankara has said its removal from the programme was unjust, and President Tayyip Erdogan has said he hopes for positive developments under U.S. President Joe Biden.

The contract was signed with Ankara-based SSTEK Defence Industry Technologies, owned by the Turkish Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), Ankara’s main defence industry authority.

Arnold & Porter will “advise on a strategy for the SSB and Turkish contractors to remain within the Joint Strike Fighter Program, taking into consideration and addressing the complex geopolitical and commercial factors at play,” the contract said.

Despite Turkey’s removal from the programme, and sanctions imposed on Turkey’s defence industry in December, the Pentagon has said it will continue to depend on Turkish contractors for key F-35 components.