Ombudsman: Azerbaijani troops, flags must be removed from areas close to Armenian settlements
Armenia’s Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) Arman Tatoyan again insisted on the creation of a demilitarized security zone along the border with Azerbaijan and the withdrawal of Azerbaijani forces from the areas close to Armenian settlements as he presented a special report on Wednesday.
"We have pointed to the criminal and terrorist actions of Azerbaijan, providing exclusively factual data, as well as showed the connection between the policy pursued by the Azerbaijani authorities and the ongoing violations," he told a news conference.
The voluminous document based on collected evidence will be submitted to the Armenian state bodies and international organizations.
"We have substantiated the need for the creation of a demilitarized security zone, as well as the removal of the Azerbaijani troops, flags, various devices and cameras from the immediate vicinity of our villages and roads linking our communities,” Tatoyan said, adding otherwise it would be impossible to restore the rights of the residents of Syunik and Gegharkunik border communities to a normal life.
In the meantime, he said, it should not be carried out at the expense of Armenian territories, because there are no results of professionally conducted analytical work that prove the legality of their stay on Armenian territory.
“Moreover, in the absence of demarcation and delimitation, international criteria were not taken as a basis, whereas cadastral documents and land allocation issues should have been taken into consideration. There are cases when Azerbaijanis are stationed on the lands owned by Armenian citizens since the Soviet period," Arman Tatoyan said.
The Armenian ombudsman reminded of the international requirement, according to which the delimitation and demarcation of borders cannot be considered legitimate if they do not ensure the protection of human rights, do not comply with the norms of democracy and law supremacy, and do not ensure normal life of people.