Statement on "The aggression of Azerbaijan against Artsakh and Armenia with the direct involvement of Turkey and foreign terrorist fighters" as delivered by the Delegation of Armenia at the 1312th meeting of the Permanent Council

06 May, 2021

Madam Chairperson,

Almost half a year after the signing of the trilateral ceasefire statement which put an end to the war of aggression unleashed by Azerbaijan with the direct support of Turkey and Turkish-backed foreign terrorist fighters, Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages continue to remain in Azerbaijani detention in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and paragraph 8 of the aforementioned trilateral statement. On 3 May the lawyers representing the interests of Armenian prisoners of war and other detainees before the European Court of Human rights disclosed the names of 19 Armenian prisoners of war and civilians tortured and arbitrarily killed in captivity by the Azerbaijani military. Of the 19 Armenians killed, 12 were civilians, including four women. The evidence obtained proves beyond doubt that Eduard Shahgeldyan, Arsen Gharakhanyan, Genadi Petrosyan, Yurik Asryan, Misha Melkumyan, Nina Davtyan and the couples Benik and Elena Hakobyan, Serzhik and Ella Vardanyan and Misha and Anahit Movsisyan were severely tortured and killed after being captured by Azerbaijani forces.

The remaining seven captives killed were the military servicemen Erik Mkhitaryan, Gagik Mkrtchyan, Arayik Poghosyan, Vardges Ghazaryan, Yuri Adamyan, Arthur Manvelyan and Narek Babayan.

These barbaric arbitrary killings of prisoners of war and civilians by an OSCE participating State must receive a proper response from the OSCE and the relevant executive structures. The silence and indifference towards this uncivilized and barbaric policy on the part of Azerbaijan in fact further encourages Azerbaijan to continue to dehumanize, torture and kill Armenian prisoners of war without any consequence and with impunity, as do the continued attempts of international partners to invent or endorse a narrative which may somehow justify that muted reaction. Today’s Azerbaijani policy, both internal and external, is the result of long years policy of appeasement and attempts to accommodate the country at the expense of OSCE values.

Distinguished colleagues,

Given the Azerbaijani authorities’ policy of non-disclosure of the real number of detainees, the continued incommunicado detention of Armenian prisoners of war and civilians bears within it the threat of their potential enforced disappearance. We call on the OSCE Swedish Chairmanship, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair countries and other OSCE participating States to exert pressure on Azerbaijan to immediately and unconditionally release all Armenian prisoners of war and civilian hostages currently held in Azerbaijan. It should be clear that in a country where Armenophobia and anti-Armenian hatred have been elevated to the level of State policy and have penetrated all areas of daily life – from politics to culture, from science to education – and where inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees is systemic and endemic, the threat to the lives of the Armenian prisoners of war and civilians increases exponentially with each passing day they remain in Azerbaijani captivity.

Madam Chairperson,

This delegation continually raises the issue of State-promoted anti-Armenian hate propaganda in Azerbaijan as a source of serious concern. The notorious recently inaugurated “Trophy Park” in Baku is an illustrative example that has been recognized as the embodiment and epitome of that policy.

It is worth recalling the letter of the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Dunja Mijatović, to the President of Azerbaijan, in which she expressed regret over the “Trophy Park” and described the “dehumanising scenes, including wax mannequins depicting dead and dying Armenians soldiers” as “highly disturbing and humiliating”. “This kind of display,” she continued, “can only further intensify and strengthen long‑standing hostile sentiments and hate speech, and multiply and promote manifestations of intolerance.” We regret the absence of a similar reaction from the OSCE and its bodies.

These latest developments reveal the gradually increasing gap and discrepancy between the words and the deeds of the Azerbaijani authorities, in particular the words voiced at the highest level. Against the backdrop of the recent open threats to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia, which are unprecedented in the OSCE area, the hereditary President of Azerbaijan has continued his aggressive and preposterous rhetoric, this time during a meeting of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, where he spoke about the sovereign territory of Armenia in a derogatory manner as if he had the right to make decisions on behalf of the Republic of Armenia thus making territorial claims against Armenia. The medieval mindset revealed by such behaviour and rhetoric is absolutely unacceptable, seriously undermines regional peace and stability, and goes against the logic of modern international relations. We therefore call on the OSCE participating States to condemn such manifestations of aggressive rhetoric and flagrant violation of OSCE principles and commitments.

Madam Chairperson,

Since the war of aggression was launched by Azerbaijan against Artsakh and its people, this delegation has repeatedly raised the issue of Armenian cultural heritage and religious sites being targeted, from the very first day of the war, by the Azerbaijani forces. We have also presented ample evidence of destruction of the rich Armenian cultural heritage in the recently occupied territories of Artsakh. Unfortunately, the destruction and identity theft and alteration of Armenian cultural heritage in Artsakh intensifies with each passing day. Recently, under the pretext of reconstruction, the Azerbaijani authorities removed the domes from Ghazanchetsots Cathedral of the Holy Saviour in Shushi. Delegations may recall that this is the same Armenian cathedral which on 8 October 2020 was twice targeted by Azerbaijan with high-precision weapons while there were journalists and civilians inside. This was the second attempt by Azerbaijan in a hundred years to alienate this Armenian cathedral by altering and distorting its original appearance. Ironically, the domes of the cathedral were first destroyed by Azerbaijanis (then Caucasian Tatars) back in 1920.

We express concern over the present construction works at Ghazanchetsots Cathedral of the Holy Saviour, which are aimed to deprive the cathedral of its Armenian identity and change its historical-architectural integrity and condemn these actions on the part of Azerbaijan in the strongest terms.

The policy of destruction of cultural heritage and places of worship in Artsakh once again proves that the vandalism carried out by Azerbaijan is driven by hatred towards Armenians. Yet another demonstration of this policy is provided by the deliberate and complete demolition of the Armenian church of the Holy Mother of God (Zoravor Surb Astvatsatsin) in Mekhakavan, as documented by the BBC and confirmed by Azerbaijani authorities without the slightest remorse.

Recently there have also been reports about vandalism and desecration of the Armenian cemeteries in the villages of Taghavard (Martuni region) and Mets Tagher (Hadrut region), which are currently under Azerbaijani occupation.

Madam Chairperson,

The 9 November trilateral ceasefire statement put an end to military hostilities. However, the conflict is far from being resolved, despite Azerbaijani statements to the contrary, since the fundamental issue of the conflict – the status of Artsakh – is yet to be addressed. This is an understanding that is shared by our international partners.

At the same time, we have repeatedly drawn the attention of the OSCE participating States to Azerbaijan’s violations of provisions of the trilateral statement. Azerbaijan continues to violate not only its commitment on returning prisoners of war and hostage civilians but also the paragraph of the statement stipulating that the parties shall stop at the positions held at the moment of signing of the statement.

This delegation raised this issue back in December 2020, when the Azerbaijani armed forces advanced their positions in the direction of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher villages in the Hadrut region and captured 64 Armenian military servicemen.

This time, the Azerbaijani armed forces are making attempts to advance their positions in the direction of the village of Nor Ghazanchi in the north-east of Artsakh.

Furthermore, Azerbaijani military forces are engaging in acts of intimidation towards civilian settlements of the Syunik province of Armenia. Recently, in Syunik province, they seized a shepherd with the intention of abducting him; later the shepherd was rescued by Armenian servicemen.

We believe that these acts, when considered in the context of statements by the Azerbaijani leader containing claims on sovereign territory of the Republic of Armenia, represent a policy pattern which should not only be unequivocally condemned by the international community but also countered at this stage.

Madam Chairperson,

The anti-Armenian and extremely hostile actions are proof of Azerbaijan’s systemic, hate‑induced State policy of intolerance towards all Armenians. This being the case, the people of Artsakh are clearly living under serious existential risks.

The current situation in Nagorno-Karabakh is the result of the flagrant violation by Azerbaijan of several core principles of the Helsinki Final Act, namely, refraining from the threat or use of force; peaceful settlement of disputes; equal rights and self-determination of peoples; and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. No one should be under any illusion that the results of the use of force, accompanied by war crimes and violations of international humanitarian law, can ever become the basis for a lasting and sustainable peace. Such a peace can only be achieved in the region through a comprehensive settlement of the Nagorno‑Karabakh conflict, which must include the determination of the status of Artsakh on the basis of the realization by the people of Artsakh of its inalienable right to self‑determination, the ensuring of the safe and dignified return of the recently displaced population to their homes, and the preservation of the region’s Armenian cultural and religious heritage.

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