Azerbaijani Soldiers Monitor Alternative Route from Kapan to Jakaraten: Arman Tatoyan

Azerbaijani armed forces are able to monitor the alternative route from Kapan to Jakaraten. The only solution for the restoration of residents' safety and rights is their removal. This was reported on the Facebook page of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan.

The alternative route leading from Kapan to six villages — Jakaraten, Shikahogh, Srashten, Nerk'in Hand, Tsav, and Shishkert — is also being monitored by Azerbaijani armed forces. Consequently, aside from being difficult to traverse, which leads to humanitarian issues, the violation of residents' rights and the guarantee of their right to life and safety remains unresolved.

Therefore, it is necessary to eliminate the source of the violations — the actual cause of the problems. Yesterday and today, we examined the sections of the alternative route that are currently in operation (not all areas under observation are included in the attached photographs). We conducted our examinations along the route with the head of the Kapan community, Gevorg Parsyan, and his staff.

Residents in the villages also testified that when the alternative route was forced into operation in the 1990s, due to monitoring by Azerbaijani armed forces, there were instances of their targeting civilian homes and people with firearms, including sniper fire.

The facts clearly confirm that the state sponsorship and encouragement of anti-Armenian sentiment by the Azerbaijani authorities have deepened over the years, obtaining new, extreme manifestations, amounting to fascism. During the recent war, this was expressed through brutalities and gross violations of human rights. Thus, the recurrence of such incidents cannot be ruled out.

Moreover, the particularity of this route is that many parts will become impassable, especially during the winter months. Residents of the villages have also noted that they faced the same problems when using the road in the 1990s. This, in turn, will further deepen the isolation of the villages.

I find it crucial to specifically mention that we have seen how community, regional administration bodies, the National Security Service border troops of Armenia, or simply residents of neighboring communities are making efforts and putting in energy to keep the road passable and help people.

The suffering of people is commendable, but as I have said before, the issue here is fundamentally different. The most important matter remains unresolved: the guaranteed right to life, security, and freedom of movement of the people, and other vital rights. The alternative route, therefore, objectively does not resolve the mass violations of rights that have arisen due to the illegal actions of Azerbaijani authorities and their armed forces (e.g., safety, restoration of normal life, etc.).

Thus, there is only one necessary outcome: Azerbaijani armed or other soldiers should not be present near our communities or on the roads between communities; a demilitarized security zone should be established. This is the way to restore the rights of the citizens of the Republic of Armenia. This fully aligns with international experience and standards.

No one has the right to ignore human rights and humanitarian issues in the process of determining boundaries. Furthermore, I will present special reports from the Human Rights Defender to relevant international institutions, as well as to the authorities and NGOs of the Republic of Armenia.