On
January 21, the RA Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan met with the Ambassador
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to Armenia Jonathan Lacotte.
As a priority, Arman Tatoyan
raised the issues related to the rights of Armenian military servicemen and
civilians held captive in Azerbaijan and their immediate return. He stressed that the return or
release of captives should be considered exclusively in the context of human
rights or humanitarian process, as an international requirement which is to be
automatically applied
The Defender informed the Ambassador that the
Azerbaijani authorities were artificially protracting the return of the
Armenian captives, captured before, during and after the war.
The
Human Rights Defender also referred to the process of demarcation of Armenia's
borders with Azerbaijan, noting that it is accompanied by gross violations of
the rule of law and human rights.
One
of the main factors is that this process is being carried out by Azerbaijan
under open threats of war against the population of Armenia, as well as with genocide
rhetoric. Not only the Armenophobia and incitement of animosity have not been
stopped, but are encouraged even more.
Therefore,
it has no legitimacy and must be stopped or reviewed immediately. Moreover, he stressed that
the demarcation of the borders with the described approaches will not only not
contribute to the peaceful coexistence of peoples in the region, but will also
create fertile ground for the unceasing hatred and enmity of Armenians in
Azerbaijan and its continuing dangerous manifestations.
During
the meeting the parties also discussed other issues related to human rights.
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