We do not see proper steps being taken by state to organize resettlement of Artsakh Armenians – Gegham Stepanyan

Gegham Stepanyan, the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh, told Alpha News that Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan does not have the mandate to close the issue of Artsakh or the rights of Artsakh Armenians to return to their homeland.

“Pashinyan’s idea that the return of Artsakh Armenians poses a threat to regional peace is simply a political manipulation and a pitiful attempt to mislead people, which has nothing to do with reality. History has shown that an unjust peace cannot be lasting or stable. To establish real peace—not an illusion of it—all the issues that caused the conflict must be properly resolved. The rights of the people of Artsakh are a central and crucial part of this conflict, and leaving them unresolved guarantees the absence of a just peace,” Stepanyan said.

He emphasized that Artsakh Armenians should remain in Armenia, have the opportunity to live with dignity, and continue their struggle to realize their right of return. However, according to Stepanyan, the state is not taking proper steps to organize their resettlement.

“A clear confirmation of this is the many problems raised, for example, in the state housing assistance program,” Stepanyan added.

On August 18, Pashinyan delivered a statement in which he effectively confirmed that the peace agreement had definitively closed the Artsakh issue. According to him, the people of Artsakh, with the support of Armenia and the international community, should settle in the Republic of Armenia and live, create, and establish themselves as full-fledged citizens.