Armenian human rights defender dispatches mission to Syunik on fact-finding mission

YEREVAN, September 15. /ARKA/. Armenia’s human rights defender Arman Tatoyan has dispatched a working group to the south-eastern province of Syunik on a fact-finding mission. The group will collect and document facts about how Azerbaijani military and police, stationed on a section of the highway that connects Armenia with Iran are violating the human rights of the population.

According to reports from the area, Azerbaijani forces also stop and reportedly tax Iranian commercial trucks passing through the checkpoint. This was confirmed by Iranian truck drivers and the Armenian National Security Service.

The checkpoint is on a section of a strategic road that connects Armenia with Iran. Armenian forces had pulled out of that road section after the end of hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh last autumn. Now Azerbaijani forces control a 21-kilometer stretch of the highway. The other sections of the highway, which is Armenia’s sole transport link with Iran are patrolled by Russian soldiers and border guards.

While in Syunik, the working group will also visit a number of Armenian military units and interview the military personnel.

After the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan signed a statement on the cessation of all hostilities in Artsakh on November 9, 2020, more than 190 settlements of Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent seven regions came under the control of Azerbaijan. As a result, the borders of the Syunik region in the south of Armenia and the Gegharkunik region in the east appeared in close proximity to the Soviet-time border of Azerbaijan.

This has brought about serious security problems for the residents of both provinces. Reports from local communities say Azerbaijani troops steal Armenian farmers’ livestock and threaten their life and health. Human rights defender Arman Tatoyan has repeatedly called for creating a security zone along the border. -0-