Armenian rights defenders reproach authorities for passivity in exchange of POWs

Family members of captured military personnel reasonably demand from the Armenian authorities the security guarantees for their relatives and friends who were captured in the post-war period, notes human rights defender Arthur Sakunts. The possibilities of the Armenian authorities in the exchange of prisoners of war (POWs) are limited, his colleague Nina Karapetyants suggests.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on December 11-12, the first violation of the ceasefire regime since the end of the combat actions in Nagorno-Karabakh was registered in the Hadrut District. On December 15, the Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army lost contact with the personnel of several Karabakh combat posts located there. On the other day, residents of the Shirak Region of Armenia blocked the motorway from Gyumri to Yerevan, stating that dozens of their fellow countrymen were captured in the Hadrut District.

Human rights defender Arthur Sakunts, the chair of the Vanadzor Office of the Helsinki Civil Assembly, associates the protest actions held by the relatives of the prisoners of war with the lack of the security guarantees for the military personnel.

"They were captured after the end of the hostilities. And this fact suggests the state is to conduct information work on how to avoid capture. In particular, the relatives of the prisoners of war noted the above," Arthur Sakunts told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Human rights defender Nina Karapetyants, the chair of the Helsinki Association of Armenia, suggests that the protests of the relatives of the captured military personnel did not greatly affect the process of exchange of POWs.

"The possibilities of the Armenian authorities are limited. I believe that they face the conditions and they have to agree. Perhaps there are some behind-the-scenes agreements about which the society is not aware. And the prisoners of war will remain hostages of the situation until the above behind-the-scenes agreements are implemented," Nina Karapetyants told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on December 25, 2020 at 12:24 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.