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REFUGEES FROM AZERBAIJAN WANT ARMENIA, INTERNATIONAL AGENCIES TO ADDRESS THEIR ISSUE
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow
21.06.11 | 10:48
Hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled ethnic violence in
Azerbaijan and settled in Armenia in the late 1980s and early 1990s
want their voice to be heard in Armenia and the world.
At a press conference in Yerevan on June 20, marked as World Refugee
Day, representatives of Azerbaijani-Armenians spoke out about their
problems, claiming that neither the Republic of Armenia nor relevant
international agencies, such as the United Nations or the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), have so far addressed
them properly.
Enlarge Photo Hranush KharatyanAn estimated 360,000 Armenians
from Azerbaijan became refugees because of the conflict around
Nagorno-Karabakh. Hranush Kharatyan, a leading ethnographer in Armenia,
says that 80,000 of them have been forced to acquire Republic of
Armenia citizenship and today there is no precise statistics as to how
many of them continue to live in Armenia and how many have gone abroad.
Members of the organizing committee of the Azerbaijani-Armenians'
Congress say that they are ready to return to their former homes, even
to Baku and Sumgait, if they are provided with corresponding security
guarantees. Meanwhile, Congress member Nikolay Babajanyan, who is
also a reporter writing for the local Russian-language newspaper
Novoye Vremya, in an interview with ArmeniaNow says that besides
integration they were not given another alternative in Armenia.
He also complains about the UN and OSCE policies.
"The United Nations objective is for refugees to return to their
original home countries, but the United Nations Armenia Office did
not attend to this matter, perhaps peace in the South Caucasus would
not suit the donors of the United Nations," says Babajanyan.
As for the OSCE, which mediates the Karabakh peace talks through its
Minsk Group, Babajanyan queries: "Why don't they consider us? They
say they don't deal with refugees. In that case, what right do they
have to deal with the Karabakh issue at all, as the issue of refugees
is one of the major issues?"
To the question as to why Azerbaijani Armenians themselves have been
passive in raising their own problems, Babajanyan says that they no
longer believe that the state will anyhow support them for something
to change.
Grigory Ayvazyan, who heads another organization of Armenian refugees
from Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani-Armenians' Assembly, also says that they
are ready to return to their former places of residence, but he also
questions Azerbaijan's readiness to ensure their security. In contrast
to members of the Azerbaijani-Armenians' Congress, Ayvazyan says that
the issue should not be shifted into the internal political domain
and that it is not the Republic of Armenia, but Azerbaijan that must
be criticized for its position.
Ethnographer Kharatyan, who has for years been raising issues related
to Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan, is also highly critical of the
activities of the United Nations and the Republic of Armenia.
According to her, it is strange that the problem of Armenian refugees
is in no way reflected in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement
process and is not included in Armenia's foreign-policy agenda. The
ethnographer has no expectations that the issue will be discussed
in any way during the upcoming meeting between the Russian, Armenian
and Azerbaijan presidents in the Russian city of Kazan.
Kharatyan is also concerned about the statement made by Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan during his meeting with United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres in May when he said that
from day one of receiving refugees Armenia has advocated the policy of
integrating refugees in society and has never politicized this issue.
"But refugees have this issue on their agenda and have repeatedly asked
Armenia's authorities to make this an issue for political discussion,"
says the ethnographer.
By Siranuysh Gevorgyan
ArmeniaNow
21.06.11 | 10:48
Hundreds of thousands of refugees who fled ethnic violence in
Azerbaijan and settled in Armenia in the late 1980s and early 1990s
want their voice to be heard in Armenia and the world.
At a press conference in Yerevan on June 20, marked as World Refugee
Day, representatives of Azerbaijani-Armenians spoke out about their
problems, claiming that neither the Republic of Armenia nor relevant
international agencies, such as the United Nations or the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), have so far addressed
them properly.
Enlarge Photo Hranush KharatyanAn estimated 360,000 Armenians
from Azerbaijan became refugees because of the conflict around
Nagorno-Karabakh. Hranush Kharatyan, a leading ethnographer in Armenia,
says that 80,000 of them have been forced to acquire Republic of
Armenia citizenship and today there is no precise statistics as to how
many of them continue to live in Armenia and how many have gone abroad.
Members of the organizing committee of the Azerbaijani-Armenians'
Congress say that they are ready to return to their former homes, even
to Baku and Sumgait, if they are provided with corresponding security
guarantees. Meanwhile, Congress member Nikolay Babajanyan, who is
also a reporter writing for the local Russian-language newspaper
Novoye Vremya, in an interview with ArmeniaNow says that besides
integration they were not given another alternative in Armenia.
He also complains about the UN and OSCE policies.
"The United Nations objective is for refugees to return to their
original home countries, but the United Nations Armenia Office did
not attend to this matter, perhaps peace in the South Caucasus would
not suit the donors of the United Nations," says Babajanyan.
As for the OSCE, which mediates the Karabakh peace talks through its
Minsk Group, Babajanyan queries: "Why don't they consider us? They
say they don't deal with refugees. In that case, what right do they
have to deal with the Karabakh issue at all, as the issue of refugees
is one of the major issues?"
To the question as to why Azerbaijani Armenians themselves have been
passive in raising their own problems, Babajanyan says that they no
longer believe that the state will anyhow support them for something
to change.
Grigory Ayvazyan, who heads another organization of Armenian refugees
from Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani-Armenians' Assembly, also says that they
are ready to return to their former places of residence, but he also
questions Azerbaijan's readiness to ensure their security. In contrast
to members of the Azerbaijani-Armenians' Congress, Ayvazyan says that
the issue should not be shifted into the internal political domain
and that it is not the Republic of Armenia, but Azerbaijan that must
be criticized for its position.
Ethnographer Kharatyan, who has for years been raising issues related
to Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan, is also highly critical of the
activities of the United Nations and the Republic of Armenia.
According to her, it is strange that the problem of Armenian refugees
is in no way reflected in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement
process and is not included in Armenia's foreign-policy agenda. The
ethnographer has no expectations that the issue will be discussed
in any way during the upcoming meeting between the Russian, Armenian
and Azerbaijan presidents in the Russian city of Kazan.
Kharatyan is also concerned about the statement made by Armenian
President Serzh Sargsyan during his meeting with United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres in May when he said that
from day one of receiving refugees Armenia has advocated the policy of
integrating refugees in society and has never politicized this issue.
"But refugees have this issue on their agenda and have repeatedly asked
Armenia's authorities to make this an issue for political discussion,"
says the ethnographer.