Armenian human rights defender warns of heavy humanitarian crisis in Syunik

YEREVAN, November 12. /ARKA/. Armenian human rights defender Arman Tatoyan warned today that Azerbaijan’s decision to expand border control over a 21-km long section of the highway that connects Armenia with Iran has caused grave humanitarian problems for residents of the southern province of Syunik.
On September 12 Azerbaijani forces set up a checkpoint on that section and began taxing Iranian commercial trucks transporting cargo to and from Armenia causing the disagreement of Iran.
On November 10 it emerged that the passport and customs checks will apply also to Armenian nationals travelling from the town of Goris to Kapan. The news was announced by secretary of the Security Council Armen Grigoryan and confirmed by Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan.
Pashinyan said that Armenian travelers will have to use an alternative road connecting Syunik’s administrative center Kapan to Goris.
"The communication between the settlements of Goris, Vorotan, Shurnukh, Bardzravan and others is complicated due to the obstruction of traffic as a result of illegal actions of Azerbaijan. In these settlements, access to food and basic necessities, medical care and services is seriously limited, which creates a danger of humanitarian crisis," Tatoyan wrote in a Facebook post.
As an example, he said that in the villages of Vorotan, Shurnukh and Bardzravan, the delivery of bread was organized with great difficulty. It was delivered to the indicated villages after 16:00 with additional efforts by the Goris authorities.
He also noted the problems with the organization of teaching children in schools. Due to the current situation, teachers living in Goris, but teaching in Bardzravan and Kapan, had to shift to distance teaching as they could not get to schools.
"The above-mentioned facts prove that the so-called border customs control on the Goris-Kapan road in Armenia, announced yesterday by the Azerbaijani government, completely violates normal life, peace and safety of people, their right to physical and mental integrity and freedom of movement," Tatoyan said. -0-