Residents of NKR criticize ECtHR's decision on Azerbaijani refugees' complaint against Armenia

The decision of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) to recognize Armenia responsible for the human rights situation in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) is a political one; and all the claims in this regard should be addressed to the government of the unrecognized republic, believe the locals interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot".

In June, the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR satisfied the complaint of forced migrants from the Lachin District of Azerbaijan, now part of the territory of the NKR.

The decision of the ECtHR has been motivated by a desire to push the governments of Armenia and Azerbaijan to accelerate the negotiation process and reaching the agreement on principles of settling the conflict, which will also define the compensatory mechanisms, this is the opinion of Karen Oganjanyan, a rights defender, the coordinator of the Committee "Helsinki Initiative-92".

In their 2005 complaint, residents of the Lachin District of Azerbaijan, national Kurds, said that in May 1992, as a result of occupation of the region by Armenian armed forces, they were expelled from their homes and are still unable to return there. According to the claimants, the Armenian government would not pay them due compensations for their lost property.

The decision of the ECtHR bears a trace of double standards and will only exacerbates the conflict in the region, said Saro Saryan, the chairman of the public organization of NKR's refugees. "Armenia can't be held responsible for the events occurring outside its territory," he said.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.