YEREVAN. – It is obvious that Azerbaijan is politicizing the issue of captives. The Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia, Arman Tatoyan, told this to reporters in the National Assembly Friday

"It is obvious that the bodies of Azerbaijani authorities—and this is a favorable direction for them—are trying to keep the legal instances away from this issue; this may apply to various UN bodies, the ECHR, etc. We [Armenia] should not allow it because it has no political significance.

They [Azerbaijanis] also state that as if Armenia has violated some things by using the issue of captives. It is obvious here that this issue has no political significance. Even if there were nothing about the captives in the tripartite statement, would it mean that they may not ensure the return of the captives? So, we must not let them to even link it to any point of the statement. This is a process of human rights protection, this must be ensured; period! "Tatoyan said.

He noted that Azerbaijanis were launching criminal cases against Armenian POWs, and this is also a gross violation of international humanitarian law.

And referring to his recent visit to Syunik Province, Tatoyan said: "The border demarcation process is marred by gross human rights violations; this process cannot go this fast; there are specific international requirements. It is true that we do not have delimitation, demarcation process as such in the international classical sense, but we need commissions, professional research, on-site work, proper legal bases; we cannot decide our borders by mechanical approaches. This is directly related to the rights of the residents of our border settlements. It refers to the right to life, the physical, mental inviolability, the right to property, which are guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia.”