Artak Beglaryan: The eight military and political leaders are hostages, political prisoners and prisoners of war
There has been no diplomacy going on with regard to the
return of the captives for a while. Former State Minister Artak Beglaryan said
this to ABC Media.
“The eight military and political leaders are hostages,
political prisoners and prisoners of war. But first and foremost, they are
hostages, as hereby Azerbaijan wants to influence the authorities of Artsakh
and Armenia, and the Armenian people psychologically, through bargain and
political pressure. The issue is rather delicate, and I think that a lot should
be done quietly and without public attention. In my opinion, not all
international instruments have been used, and they should be used. I mean not
only applying to the U.N. International Court of Justice for an interim measure
— Armenia has done this — or applying to the ECHR. The U.N. and EU have torture
prevention mechanisms that, I think, have not been used. Maybe work is being
done toward this, but I cannot see any tangible results,” the former official
said.
Various fact-finding missions visit the region, including
Baku. Armenia should insist that they visit the Armenian captives, in view of
the fact that their lives are always at stake in Baku. The risk of them being
tortured is also high.
“The thing is, we cannot achieve results through the use of
legal mechanisms; the situation requires a political solution. Thus, clear
political pressure must be exerted. The first stage should be devoted to the protection
of their rights and health issues. In the second stage, pressure must be
exerted, raising the price for the actions of the Azerbaijani authorities
through the imposition of individual or state sanctions, criminal prosecutions
and a number of other legal and political mechanisms that Armenia can use,”
Artak Beglaryan said.
Referring to the document meant to dissolve the Republic of
Artsakh, the former state minister said: “Not only is that document
illegitimate, but it is also illegal. The president of the Republic of Artsakh
has stated that it was signed under the threat of force.”
No one, including the President of Artsakh, can dissolve a
republic that was created by the people.
