Over the last 20 years the problem of Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan has been a headache for independent Armenia’s authorities. The trouble is, however, that the problem has not so far been resolved. Now that the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process is intensifying and nearing completion, the negative consequences of the authorities’ short-sighted policy are becoming increasingly obvious.

In 1988-1990, when hundreds of thousands of Armenians flooded into Armenia from Azerbaijan (over 200,000 refugees came to Armenia from Baku alone), the country was busy with other things. The economy was collapsing, Armenia was blockaded and Azerbaijan launched an aggression against the country. The extensive Soviet housing facilities enabled Armenia to provide refugees with temporary lodgings at hostels, and only several thousands of Armenian refugees from Baku, Kirovabad and Sumgait received or purchased flats in Armenia.

Since the hostilities were over and economy recovery got under way, the refugees’ problems have been resolved at a snail’s pace. No integration program for refugees has so far been elaborated in Armenia. Specifically, nothing has been done to organize free Armenian language courses for refugees – knowing the language at a necessary level would play a serious role in their “settling” the language and mental differences with the native Armenian population.

Years have passed, power has changed in Armenia and natives of Nagorno-Karabakh are holding the reigns of government. North Avenue, as well as numerous high-rise buildings with thousands of empty flats, has been constructed in Yerevan. Yet, after Robert Kocharyan came to power in Armenia, the authorities did not launch a policy of settling the liberated territories, particularly, the ancient town of Shushi. The opposite tendencies could be observed: thousands of families from Nagorno-Karabakh settled down in Armenia to become one of the major “supports” for the new authorities. They were joined by many refugees from Azerbaijan, who have made up their minds to settle down in Armenia, which had no necessary state policy of settling the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR). It is noteworthy that most of the refugees are natives of Nagorno-Karabakh.

All the above certainly affected the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process. The Azerbaijani side has for many years been “howling” about Azeri refugees, wildly exaggerating their real number, whereas the Armenian side has hardly opposed anything to that. The logic of the negotiations now is: Azeri refugees must return to their homes, but Armenians – may not. True, a few months ago Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian at last remembered the 400,000 Armenian refugees from Azerbaijan. His single statement, however, has not so far been followed by any practical steps.

It is obvious, with the return of hundreds of thousands of Armenian refugees to Baku and other Azerbaijani cities being impossible, the Armenian side has the right to raise the issue of compensation. Quite a good option is settling the Armenian refugees in Shuhsi, while the Shushi “ex-residents” will demand housing from their fellow countrymen, who seized the flats of tens of thousands of Armenians.

In short, the Armenian authorities should realize the necessity for revising their policy as long as the situation can be improved.