Armenia`s authorities helping Azerbaijan legitimize crimes against  Artsakh - ARF 

ArmInfo. The refusal of the Armenian authorities to submit claims to international courts means a refusal to condemn the actions of Azerbaijan and an indirect  justification of Azerbaijan's aggression. This was written on his  Facebook page by Ishkhan Saghatelyan, a member of the National  Assembly of the Republic of Armenia from the opposition faction  "Armenia", a representative of the ARF "Dashnaktsutyun" party.

"What does Armenia's withdrawal of international complaints against  Azerbaijan mean? Armenia has filed four interstate complaints against  Azerbaijan with the European Court of Human Rights. The first  concerns the 44-day war and the gross human rights violations  recorded immediately after it, stating that Azerbaijan violated the  rights of the population of Artsakh and Armenia to life, freedom from  torture and inhuman treatment, inviolability, private and family  life, education and a number of other rights. To abandon this  complaint would mean to refuse to condemn Azerbaijan's actions and  indirectly justify Azerbaijan's aggression.

The second complaint concerns the illegal trials and imprisonment of  Armenians captured in Azerbaijan.  To reject this complaint would  mean to substantiate Azerbaijan's accusation that the existence of  Artsakh is a crime, and even more so to recognize the captured  military-political leadership of Artsakh as accomplices to this  crime. The third complaint concerns the illegal presence of the  Azerbaijani armed forces on the sovereign territory of Armenia and  the related human rights violations. Rejecting this complaint would  mean legitimizing the illegal presence of the Azerbaijani armed  forces on the sovereign territory of Armenia," the MP wrote.

He recalled that currently about 200 square kilometers of the  territory of the Republic of Armenia are under the control of the  Azerbaijani military. In addition, there are territories in Armenia  that have been under the control of Azerbaijan since the 1990s.

Another complaint, continued Saghatelyan, concerns the events that  took place in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic after March 2022,  including the battles near the villages of Parukh and Karaglukh, the  blockade of the Lachin corridor, the blockade of Artsakh and the  stage of forced displacement of Artsakh Armenians in September 2023.  Refusal to satisfy this complaint would mean justifying Azerbaijan's  policy of ethnic cleansing in Artsakh and military aggression on the  territory of Armenia.

"It should be noted that another complaint against Azerbaijan, filed  on the basis of the Convention on the Elimination of Racial  Discrimination, is being considered in the International Court of  Justice. This complaint also concerns the property claims of the  people of Artsakh. The majority of the residents of Artsakh, who were  subjected to ethnic cleansing by Azerbaijan, did not file separate  claims to the International Court on property claims, expecting that  their interests would be represented on their behalf by the Armenian  government, and if this complaint is rejected, the property rights of  the Armenians of Artsakh will remain unprotected. It should also be  noted that the deadline for filing claims on the 2020 war has  expired, and if Armenia withdraws this complaint, then individuals  will be deprived of the opportunity to go to court. Thus, by  abandoning claims against Azerbaijan, the current Armenian  authorities are actually helping Azerbaijan legitimize the crimes  committed against Artsakh, the Republic of Armenia and the Armenian  people, and justify the image of a dictator who committed war crimes  and ethnic cleansing," the ARF representative emphasized.