Children from Artsakh Denied Visa Application

Children from Artsakh have been denied visas by the Lithuanian embassy, citing the Artsakh 070 code as the reason. Armen Petrosyan, president of the Return public organization, provided details to Armlur.am:

“A European Championship in Kyokushin Karate is scheduled for May 1-3. We have submitted preliminary applications. There are 7 children from Artsakh in the Armenian national team—5 boys and 2 girls. I should note that these children were included in the Armenian Federation's team only after achieving prize-winning positions in the Armenian championship. The children willingly joined the Armenian Federation's team, which gave them the opportunity to participate in the European Championship,” said coach Petrosyan.

According to him, based on the preliminary application, the Lithuanian embassy in Armenia denied the children from Artsakh, stating they could not grant permission. “The Lithuanian embassy has rejected us. They explained that they cannot approve it due to an agreement between Armenia and EU countries. Under this agreement, individuals holding passports with the 070 code cannot visit European countries. Based on this, I approached the Armenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They gave the same response. As they informed me, only France and Germany might allow it; other countries, especially the Baltic states, do not issue visas,” the coach stated.

Armen Petrosyan sees the issue differently: “Some of these children, who also have the 070 code, participated in the European Championship in Lisbon and secured various places in competitions. It turns out that everything is in the hands of the Armenian authorities. If they did not apply on the grounds that those with the 070 code should not be allowed, there would be no problem. Because I emphasize again, many of those same children with the 070 code have traveled back and forth to European cities.”

He added, “Our children have been broken in this way. I have called for more effort, to never break down, not to lose heart, and not to be psychologically defeated. On April 27, the Armenian Championship in Kyokushin Karate will take place, and my students will also participate, carrying their 070 codes to show everyone that, despite everything, we are not breaking down, we continue our training, and we hold on to the conviction that nothing can break us.”