Yesterday
the Human Rights Defender of Armenia Mr. Arman Tatoyan received the delegation
of the Reserve Officers’ Union of the NSS– the former director of the NSS Mr.
Mikayel Hambardzumyan, the former first deputy director of NSS r Mr. Hrant
Episkoposyan and former commander of the NSS border guard troops Mr. Armen
Abrahamyan.
During
the meeting, Mr. Arman Tatoyan presented to the high-level reserve officers of
the NSS the facts of violations of the rights of border residents of Armenia by
the actions of the Azerbaijani servicemen in the Syunik and in Gegharkunik
regions, as well as on the roads between a number communities of the Syunik
region, since November 9, 2020.
Based
on these evidences, the Defender presented the absolute necessity of creating a
security zone around the Syunik and Gegharkunik regions.
The
high-level NSS reserve officers noted that one of the goals of their activity
is to promote the protection of human rights in Armenia and Artsakh in the
post-war period. Then, they presented their observations on the state of border
security in Armenia, considering their experience of many years. Specific
situations were discussed during the meeting. The members of the Reserve
Officers’ Union noted that they also recorded provocations of Azerbaijani
servicemen on the border of Armenia, which should be prevented at all costs, while
the guarantee of which is their withdrawal from the territories and roads in
the immediate vicinity of the border villages of Armenia.
During
the meeting, the urgent issues of the release and return of Armenian captives
held in Azerbaijan were discussed, and information and opinions were exchanged.
The
Human Rights Defender emphasized that the analysis of the NSS reserve officers
on border security issues was especially useful during the meeting, considering
their experience of many years in this field.
The
parties agreed to continue cooperation, including taking into consideration
specific situations.