Mane Tandilyan: Under Pashinyan`s rule, Armenian prisoners of war have no chance of returning

ArmInfo. Under Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's rule, Armenian prisoners of war held in Baku have no chance of returning. Mane Tandilyan, co-founder of the Country to Live party, stated this at the Yerablur military pantheon on the sixth anniversary of the end of the 44-day war of aggression against Artsakh in 2020.

According to her, the Armenian government's approach to this issue is generally unacceptable. "They've essentially removed this topic from the agenda, like many other issues. Watching how the current leadership repeatedly manages to reassert its power, I'm increasingly convinced that the country is approaching the loss of its statehood. However, this can still be avoided. "We must understand that these people's main goal is to retain power, for which they are prepared to stop at nothing. And this is extremely dangerous," Tandilyan emphasized in a conversation with journalists.

She called the sentencing of Armenian prisoners of war a way to punish the entire Armenian people. The politician is confident that Azerbaijan has no intention of exchanging them. "But if we are truly talking about peace, then the first symbol of the beginning of the peace process must be the return of our compatriots. Without peace between peoples, there will be no true peace. However, today it seems that Azerbaijan does not perceive Armenia as an equal partner. They view us more as a territory from which they can extract whatever they can, depending on the circumstances," the politician believes.

The detention of prisoners, according to her, is nothing more than an act of humiliation and debasement of the Armenian people. Tandilyan is confident that Armenian prisoners of war will be held in Baku as long as the current leadership remains in power. "Under Pashinyan, they have no chance of returning. For Azerbaijan, these people are a symbol of our struggle, Artsakh's right to self-determination, and the 30-year struggle of the Armenian people. This is also an act against the citizens of Armenia and the state itself. The charges against prisoners of war can actually be applied to any of us who have ever been to Artsakh," Tandilyan noted.

In connection with the sixth anniversary of the end of the 44-day enemy aggression against Artsakh, the party co-founder noted that she cannot perceive this date in isolation from the current authorities' statements that the war could have been stopped earlier than November 9, 2020, thereby avoiding numerous casualties. "The war could have ended as early as mid-October. Everything that has happened since then gives serious cause for reflection. No Armenian government has been immune from mistakes, but the actions of the current leadership in those days and the subsequent period are unparalleled. "We still had time then to at least preserve the remaining territory of Artsakh, reorganize our forces, overcome the grave psychological state, and take the necessary diplomatic steps. Over the past five years, it would have been possible to develop a policy that would have allowed us to preserve at least the remaining part of Artsakh," Tandilyan noted.

According to her, neither after November 9th nor today has Armenian society been able to fully reassess what happened. "Therefore, this date should become a reason for reflection and understanding what needs to be done to ensure the country never finds itself in a similar situation again. We must understand that the actions of the current government are consistently leading Armenia to further losses, and the steps they are taking pose threats to the preservation of Armenian statehood," the politician concluded.

It should be noted that the exact number of Armenian prisoners of war and hostages held in Azerbaijani prisons is still unknown. Experts estimate there are several hundred. Today, the Azerbaijani authorities confirm the presence of 19 Armenians in their captivity. Among those held in Azerbaijani captivity are 8 former and current representatives of the military-political leadership of Artsakh. These are the former presidents of Artsakh Arkady Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Arayik Harutyunyan, former Foreign Minister Davit Babayan, as well as the speaker of the parliament Davit Ishkhanyan, former commander of the Artsakh Defense Army, General Levon Mnatsakanyan, General David Manukyan and former State Minister Ruben Vardanyan. In February, the Baku puppet court sentenced Arayik Harutyunyan, David Babayan, David Ishkhanyan, David Manukyan, Levon Mnatsakanyan to life imprisonment on trumped-up charges, and Bako Sahakyan, Arkady Ghukasyan and Ruben Vardanyan to 20 years in prison. The so-called court sentenced the remaining Artsakh residents to up to 15 years in prison.