No Residents from Shirak Province Among the 15 Returned Prisoners: Edgar Ghazaryan

Former head of the Constitutional Court staff Edgar Ghazaryan has provided details about the recently returned prisoners in Armenia.

In a post on his Facebook page, he stated, "Another victory of Azerbaijani diplomacy and state treachery by the authorities of Armenia. On June 12, 2021, the candidate from the Civil Contract party, who presented himself as 'Nikol' to voters, made illegal claims to the office of Prime Minister, resembling the second president of Azerbaijan, Abulfaz Elchibey. During one of his campaign speeches, he announced, and subsequently published on his Facebook account, that 15 prisoners were returning from Azerbaijan to Armenia, sharing their personal information and photos.

Subsequent information revealed the following facts:
1. Among the 15 prisoners, there are no residents of Shirak province, who were captured by Azerbaijan after the capitulation statement on November 9, and whom they refer to not as 'prisoners' but as 'criminals,' stating that they have no intention of handing them over to the Armenian side and plan to prosecute them at the Baku Serious Crimes Court (in several cases, this is already underway).
2. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan personally emphasizes the positive role and participation of the USA, the European Union, and Georgia in the matter of prisoners' handover, notably circumventing Russia, the party to the trilateral agreements and the peacekeeping mission in Artsakh, an act that coincidentally occurred on Russia's National Day, which is highly symbolic.
3. It has become apparent that some of the prisoners returned to the Armenian side were not handed over as part of Nikol Pashinyan's negotiations with Azerbaijan (as stated in another campaign speech by Nikol Pashinyan, to which his son Ashot Pashinyan expressed his willingness), but as a result of transferring state secrets to Azerbaijan, specifically the maps of minefields in the Aghdam region. This constitutes a clear alleged crime as described in Article 299 of the Criminal Code of Armenia (state treason).
4. While transferring state secrets to the enemy, the Armenian authorities continue to keep secret the real number of Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan from their own citizens (i.e., their actual adversaries).
5. The 15 prisoners returned precisely during the pre-election phase when it became clear that the ratings of Robert Kocharian's pro-Russian 'Armenia' alliance evidently surpassed those of the pro-Turkish and pro-Azerbaijani 'Civil Contract' party.

It is noteworthy that the provision for prisoner exchange is explicitly outlined in point 8 of the trilateral statement from November 9, 2020, which states: '8. The exchange of military prisoners, hostages, and other detained persons, as well as the bodies of the deceased, takes place.' In other words, our prisoners, not just the 15 individuals but all of them, should have long been back in Armenia, as mandated in the capitulation statement, which the Armenian authorities have failed to ensure due to their incompetence and lack of diplomatic ability.

All actors monitoring diplomatic exchanges have long known that lack of access to minefield maps is one of post-war Azerbaijan's most pressing issues, as their absence effectively deprives them of the chance to exploit those areas and raises concerns about future control over these territories. Since the ceasefire, several dozen Azerbaijani soldiers and civilians have already been casualties of mine explosions. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued numerous statements on the necessity of acquiring those maps and has appealed to several countries and international organizations for assistance.

The ultimate conclusion and documentation of this situation is that Azerbaijani diplomacy celebrates yet another victory, mocking the essentially non-existent Armenian diplomacy in the post-war reality, resulting in Azerbaijan achieving its objectives not only without implementing the most acceptable provisions of the trilateral statement for the Armenian side but also imposing new, unmet demands on the Armenian authorities, compelling them to comply while continuing to hold several dozen, if not hundreds, of Armenian citizens captive, including soldiers ready to sacrifice their lives for their homeland.

The obvious disrespect towards Russia carries devastating consequences that we will still face in the near future, especially if there is no change of power in Armenia on June 20, 2021, and the new authorities do not urgently take necessary corrective measures to rectify the latest catastrophe presented by the current government to the Armenian people.

Armenia continues to be led by the greatest enemies and traitors of the Armenian people.