Armen Petrosyan: There is no point in getting Armenian citizenship since we are also citizens of Armenia

The current Armenian authorities put the displaced Artsakh residents to the test in every possible way, Armen Petrosyan, co-founder of the Justice and Return NGO, told Alpha News.

“I don’t see the point in obtaining Armenian citizenship since we are also citizens of Armenia. This is indicated in our passports. Unfortunately, the current authorities are putting the displaced Artsakh people to tests in every way. For example, when applying for a job or when resolving other issues, they are forced to accept Armenian citizenship. Here I see a hidden danger regarding people’s rights to property in the future, even though there are not that many applicants. Most people don’t find it necessary. Those Artsakh residents who are forced to apply for citizenship have one reason: they cannot get hired with their passports,” Petrosyan said.

In his opinion, such decisions by the Armenian authorities are aimed at ensuring that the people of Artsakh leave their homeland and thus close the last page of Artsakh.

“It would be very good if Armenia decided to make passports with code 070 valid and equal to passports with other codes. Such a solution would help people in many ways. By creating such obstacles, the current government is doing everything to ensure that the forcibly displaced Artsakh people leave their homeland, and thus the page of Artsakh is closed. After the surrender of the territory of Artsakh, its issue was not resolved because there are still people of Artsakh. The current authorities are doing everything to ensure that the Artsakh people scatter around the world and lose their dialect, customs, cuisine, and everything related to Artsakh,” Petrosyan concluded.