Nagorno-Karabakh Ombudsperson point to absence of access for Tagavard residents to community cemetery

The Office of the Ombudsperson of Nagorno-Karabakh has appealed to government bodies, Russian peacemakers and international human rights organizations with a request to pay attention to the problem of Tagavard residents, who have no access to the communal cemetery, which came under Azerbaijan's control after the 2020 war.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that the Tagavard community of the Martuni District of Nagorno-Karabakh was divided into two parts as a result of the war in the fall of 2020: one part came under Azerbaijan's control, and the other part remained under Armenia and was guarded by the armed forces of Karabakh. The villagers complained that they are now deprived of a source of drinking water and the opportunity to get engaged in agriculture and animal husbandry. "In September, they demanded to set up posts of Russian peacemakers in the village and arm the male villagers in order to ensure people's safe living.

Residents of the Tagavard village complain that Azerbaijan does not allow them to visit the community cemetery, which is now under Azerbaijan's control after the 2020 war, the Nagorno-Karabakh Ombudsperson, Gegam Stepanyan, wrote said on his Facebook.

Anait Airapetyan, a Tagavard villager, has expressed her concern for the state of the cemetery.

Gagik Sarkisyan, who lives in the part of the village that is now under Azerbaijan's control, said that his parents and many other relatives had been buried into his community cemetery. "I've never left the graves of my parents unattended. And now a whole year has passed, and my heart is breaking when I imagine the state of the graves," said the man.