Thursday, May 13 2021 10:41

ArmInfo. The illegal presence of  the Azerbaijani military in the territory of the Black Lake and within it grossly violates rights of the RA border residents and confirms the absolute need for a security zone. This is stated in the statement of the Ombudsman of Armenia Arman Tatoyan.

As Tatoyan noted:

According to the alarms, the Azerbaijani military servicemen were  noticed by a shepherd from Verishen village of Goris community from  his place where small and large cattle are kept. It was mentioned in  the alarms that the shepherd's place is located in the area of the  pasture, which is constantly used by the residents, at a depth from  the lake to Verishen civilian community, and the lake itself is  located in the territory of the Republic of Armenia.

According to the alarms, the Azerbaijani military threatened the  shepherd of Verishen by showing their weapons.

Besides, both border residents and community bodies have assured the  RA Human Rights Defender that the Black lake has always been in the  territory of Armenia with the pastures adjacent to it since the  Soviet years. According to residents and community bodies, the  Azerbaijani military even emerged from the Black lakw a few  kilometers in the direction of civilian communities and deployed in  those areas.

Immediately after the alarms, the Defender's Office also conducted a  study of media and social media posts. The heads of the communities  of the RA Armed Forces were immediately contacted.

Today's research by the Human Rights Defender confirms that the areas  adjacent to Black lake are of irreplaceable importance for the vital  needs of the residents of the border areas. These areas are used as  pastures, as are the drinking water and irrigation resources of the  surrounding communities. The water is also used for small and large  cattle in the communities. Pastures are also used for livestock,  which serves as a source of income for the people; Tegh, Sisian,  Goris communities, Khnatsagh, Vaghatur, Khoznavar, Verishen and other  villages of those communities.

The RA Human Rights Defender resolutely states that these actions of  the Azerbaijani Armed Forces grossly violate rights of Armenia's  border residents, with the aim of intimidating them. The presence of  the Azerbaijani military servicemen deprives Armenian citizens of the  opportunity to raise livestock and use pastures, the only source of  income for their families, and poses a real threat to the access of  irrigation and drinking water to the communities, their lives and  safety.

In addition, according to confirmation, the Azerbaijani military is  stationed in the area from the Black lake to civilian communities.

The actions described by the Azerbaijani military are an obvious  provocations to the population of Armenia. Due to their illegal  actions, great tension has arisen in the Armenian society throughout  the day, people's mental immunity and peace have been disturbed.

The Human Rights Defender states that this illegal advance should be  considered in the context of incidents on the road between  communities of Syunik province, throwing stones at an Armenian  civilian car oby Azerbaijani armed servicemen, dragging and beating  an Armenian shepherd near the village of Aravus, not returning small  and large cattle, etc.; these actions should also be viewed in the  context of the ongoing policy of hatred and Armenophobia by the  Azerbaijani authorities. It undermines the peace process in the  region.

The RA Human Rights Defender will send this statement to the  international bodies, stating that the described incident once again  confirms that a security zone must be established around the Syunik  province as a matter of urgency.

The Azerbaijani armed servicemen, their flags and signs should be  removed near the villages of the RA Syunik region and on the roads  connecting the communities of the province.

The security zone is an absolute necessity to guarantee rights and  peaceful life of border residents of the Republic of Armenia, their  physical and mental immunity.>

Meanwhile, the Armenian Defense Ministry assured that the information  spread in the press "about the battles in the direction of  Ishkhanasar" does not correspond to reality. At the same time, they  confirmed that the armed forces of Azerbaijan, on May 12, under the  pretext of "clarifying the borders" tried to carry out certain  actions in one of the border regions of Syunik. "After the measures  taken by the Armenian units, the Azerbaijani military stopped these  actions. At the moment, negotiations are underway to resolve the  situation," the RA Defense Ministry stressed. And the National  Security Service of the Republic of Armenia warned against the spread  of misinformation spreading panic among the population and promised  tough preventive measures using all the available right tools. At  night, the Syunik authorities reported that the Azerbaijani Armed  Forces are still on the territory of the Republic of Armenia.  Only  late at night, acting Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the Security  Council meeting confirmed that the enemy penetrated 3.5 km deep into  the territory of Armenia in the Syunik region and is trying to gain a  foothold.