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ARMENIA/AZERBAIJAN: REPATRIATIONS TAKE PLACE UNDER ICRC AUSPICES
ICRC: International Committee of the Red Cross
http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/armenia-azerbaijan-news-2010-11-04?OpenDocument
Nov 4 2010
Geneva / Baku / Yerevan (ICRC) - The body of an Armenian citizen who
died in Baku, Azerbaijan, in October 2010, was today repatriated to
Armenia under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC).
On the same day, the ICRC also repatriated an Azerbaijani citizen
who had been interned in Armenia.
The operation took place on the road between the Azerbaijani town of
Gazakh and the Armenian town of Ijevan.
"We keep in close contact with families on all sides whose relatives
are detained, missing or have died, and we share their anxiety and
sorrow. It is always very sad to have to bring bad news or repatriate
a body," said Melany Vonrospach, an ICRC delegate in Yerevan who
participated in the repatriation.
On receiving formal notification from the Azerbaijani authorities that
the Armenian citizen had died while in detention, the ICRC immediately
informed his family.
In accordance with its mandate, the ICRC visits prisoners of war
and civilian internees detained in relation to the Nagorny Karabakh
conflict. Acting as a neutral intermediary, it also facilitates their
repatriation and the repatriation of bodies, with the agreement of
the parties concerned. Last April, the ICRC repatriated an Azerbaijani
soldier and the remains of two Azerbaijani citizens. The organization
is currently involved in discussions on repatriating other internees
and human remains in both directions, including the remains of two
Azerbaijani soldiers recently killed in the area along the Line
of Contact.
"We welcome the declaration adopted at the latest round of talks
between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Astrakhan in
October 2010, which mentions an exchange of prisoners of war and human
remains, and the assistance the ICRC could provide in this regard,"
said the ICRC's head of operations for Eastern Europe and Central Asia,
Pascale Meige Wagner. Ms Meige Wagner visited Armenia and Azerbaijan
in September and discussed the subject with the defence ministers
and deputy foreign ministers of both countries. "We would like to
reiterate that in our capacity as a neutral intermediary, we stand
ready to facilitate repatriations. However, we must stress that the
ICRC only repatriates a released detainee after it has confirmed that
the person is returning to their home country of their own free will."
Working under the Geneva Conventions, the ICRC has been operating
in Azerbaijan and Armenia since 1992, in connection with the Nagorny
Karabakh conflict.
For further information, please contact: Ilaha Huseynova, ICRC Baku,
tel: + 994 12 465 63 35 Ashot Astabatsyan, ICRC Yerevan, tel: +374
10 297 415 Vassily Fadeev, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 34 53
From: A. Papazian
ICRC: International Committee of the Red Cross
http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/armenia-azerbaijan-news-2010-11-04?OpenDocument
Nov 4 2010
Geneva / Baku / Yerevan (ICRC) - The body of an Armenian citizen who
died in Baku, Azerbaijan, in October 2010, was today repatriated to
Armenia under the auspices of the International Committee of the Red
Cross (ICRC).
On the same day, the ICRC also repatriated an Azerbaijani citizen
who had been interned in Armenia.
The operation took place on the road between the Azerbaijani town of
Gazakh and the Armenian town of Ijevan.
"We keep in close contact with families on all sides whose relatives
are detained, missing or have died, and we share their anxiety and
sorrow. It is always very sad to have to bring bad news or repatriate
a body," said Melany Vonrospach, an ICRC delegate in Yerevan who
participated in the repatriation.
On receiving formal notification from the Azerbaijani authorities that
the Armenian citizen had died while in detention, the ICRC immediately
informed his family.
In accordance with its mandate, the ICRC visits prisoners of war
and civilian internees detained in relation to the Nagorny Karabakh
conflict. Acting as a neutral intermediary, it also facilitates their
repatriation and the repatriation of bodies, with the agreement of
the parties concerned. Last April, the ICRC repatriated an Azerbaijani
soldier and the remains of two Azerbaijani citizens. The organization
is currently involved in discussions on repatriating other internees
and human remains in both directions, including the remains of two
Azerbaijani soldiers recently killed in the area along the Line
of Contact.
"We welcome the declaration adopted at the latest round of talks
between the Armenian and Azerbaijani presidents in Astrakhan in
October 2010, which mentions an exchange of prisoners of war and human
remains, and the assistance the ICRC could provide in this regard,"
said the ICRC's head of operations for Eastern Europe and Central Asia,
Pascale Meige Wagner. Ms Meige Wagner visited Armenia and Azerbaijan
in September and discussed the subject with the defence ministers
and deputy foreign ministers of both countries. "We would like to
reiterate that in our capacity as a neutral intermediary, we stand
ready to facilitate repatriations. However, we must stress that the
ICRC only repatriates a released detainee after it has confirmed that
the person is returning to their home country of their own free will."
Working under the Geneva Conventions, the ICRC has been operating
in Azerbaijan and Armenia since 1992, in connection with the Nagorny
Karabakh conflict.
For further information, please contact: Ilaha Huseynova, ICRC Baku,
tel: + 994 12 465 63 35 Ashot Astabatsyan, ICRC Yerevan, tel: +374
10 297 415 Vassily Fadeev, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 34 53
From: A. Papazian