Prime Minister Must Publicly Deny Any Such Actions by Armenian Forces

The response from the Prime Minister of the Republic of Armenia during the interview with well-known journalist Stefan Sakur is unclear, especially as he directly accused us of gross human rights violations and war crimes in Artsakh during the 1980s and 1990s, suggesting that the Prime Minister should apologize.

This was stated by the leader of the LHK, Edmon Marukyan, on his Facebook page. He specifically wrote: “Armenian forces have never committed war crimes in any operation. It is unclear why the Prime Minister provided such a fragmented response to Stefan Sakur, who directly accused us of gross human rights violations and war crimes in Artsakh during the 1980s and 1990s, suggesting an apology from the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister should not only have responded clearly and publicly ruled out such actions by Armenian forces but also reminded about the actions of Azerbaijani forces at the beginning and during the Artsakh war, as well as the beheadings and torture of bodies during the April war in 2016 before the eyes of the international community, the atrocities committed against the Armenian civilian population by members of globally recognized terrorist organizations, the murders of civilians and the elderly, as well as the beheading and heroization of Gurgen Margaryan.

We must continually raise these issues across all platforms, leaving no opportunity unaddressed and not becoming paralyzed when accused of any violations. Otherwise, when those who committed war crimes are portrayed as victims in high-viewership television programs around the world, it seems an attempt is being made to absolve them of responsibility by spreading it onto those fighting for their homeland.

We must be clear and respond unequivocally, equating the actions of the current Azerbaijani regime with that of a state that conducts wars in the style of the Islamic State terrorist organization.