Ombudsman: Issues in border villages of Syunik are diverse, ranging from social to security

The Human Rights Defender, Arman Tatoyan, has visited the border communities in the Syunik region to understand their issues on the ground, reports tert.am referring to an interview given by him to journalists in Syunik.

According to the Armenian Ombudsman, the goal is to hold meetings in the border villages to comprehend their problems and how to contribute to their solutions. “We make many visits to border villages, but this is the first visit to border Syunik region after the war, to our villages that have now become border villages. Tomorrow, we will continue our visits to Novruz, Aravus, Teg and other villages,” said Tatoyan.

When asked what issues have been raised by community leaders and residents, Tatoyan responded, “The issues are diverse, ranging from the social problems of the villagers to security. All these issues are related to the Human Rights Defender's office, and we will be able to elaborate on the details after the visit concludes.”

In response to the observation that the residents of these villages are indeed under enemy target, the Ombudsman stated that the villages have become border territories, and they have specifically come to familiarize themselves with all the problems. “As this is the beginning of the visit, I find it difficult to provide any specifics. It is a fact that work related to border demarcation needs to take place; it is important that the issues of its implementation are clear and predictable for the public as well. Various residents express concerns related to pastures, individual houses, and private land plots, and all this needs to be understood because these are also issues tied to human rights,” said the Ombudsman.

Arman Tatoyan also informed that they had a meeting with military personnel. “The problems of servicemen are also one of our main focuses. We have specialists with us who specialize in servicemen’s rights, and we must understand what problems they have. There, we should undertake work with the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff to also contribute to the resolution of their issues,” said Arman Tatoyan.