Documents Reveal That Unresolved Border Issues Will Lead to Disputes and Clashes

Archival documents clearly confirm that the more uncertain border issues are, or if they are resolved with today’s unacceptable mechanical approaches, the more the rights of villagers will be violated, leading to disputes and clashes. This was stated by Armenia's Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan. Below is the full text of his statement:

“In 1923 [after I. Stalin's initiative in 1921], the artificially created region of 'Red Kurdistan' was established to separate Armenia from Artsakh. This division was made in such a way that it encompassed the area from Karvachar to the Iranian border and from Mrqav to the Araks River. Furthermore, these territories were incorporated with parts of Soviet Armenia's borders to Azerbaijan (this issue requires separate focus). The archival documents related to the determination of borders during that time hold fundamental importance for the protection of the rights of border residents in Armenia today.

For instance, in order to resolve the border disputes between Red Kurdistan and the Zangezur region of the Armenian SSR, a commission was formed in October 1923 by the decision of the Central Committee of the Soviet Republic (C.C.). During that time, the demarcation works with Azerbaijan were facing serious difficulties. Notably, various bandit groups were attacking and robbing Armenian villages in Syunik from the territory of Kurdistan, leading to continuous clashes, theft of livestock from Armenian farmers, instigated arrests, and so on. Documents from March 1924 of the Soviet Republic's Central Committee testify to these violations of borders, which were prepared based on reports from the Zangezur region's executive committee.

At that time, there were serious disputes concerning the demarcation of agricultural lands, pastures, forests, and even mountain peaks. In 1926, a local commission was established, which included Axel Bakunts, a land builder by profession, who kept these issues under special attention. His reports reveal that Armenian farmers were primarily the disadvantaged side and their rights were not taken into account. The reports of A. Bakunts from October 18, 1926 state that when determining the borders of Zangezur, it was necessary to consider the connections between villages, the difficulties for people, and the importance of economic connections (for example, the connection with Kapan, where at that time about 50% of farmers worked in Kapan's copper mines, etc.) given the already scant land.

For example, with the border issue between Meghri and Zangezlan, the C.C. of the Soviet Republic specifically recorded on October 9, 1925, the importance of winter pastures to the west for Armenian farmers, who at that time were essentially utilized by the residents of villages in the Meghri and Kapan regions who had no pastures. Moreover, it was specifically noted that without these pastures, the livestock farming of surrounding villages would be paralyzed (this situation has arisen similarly now). These historical facts indicate that currently, the issues of border determination are fundamentally important for the rights of border residents in the enlarged and other communities of Syunik, such as Tegh, Goris, and Kapan, both in terms of their right to life and security, as well as their socio-economic rights. They are vital not only for farmers to secure their daily livelihoods but also from an economic rights perspective.

Archival documents clearly confirm that the more uncertain border issues are, or if they are resolved with today’s unacceptable mechanical approaches, the more the rights of villagers will be violated, leading to disputes and clashes. Moreover, it is important to consider that now, right next to the peaceful settlements of Armenia, there are Azerbaijani soldiers and armed individuals literally [within meters]. We must take into account all past mistakes, learn the necessary lessons from them, and prevent any violation of the rights of the residents of the Republic of Armenia.”