Ombusman: The truth is on our side, so we need to be active (video)
Intense ceasefire violations in the direction of Chinari village of Tavush marz in December 2016, as well as intense shelling of the Armenian village in January 2017 are gross and large-scale violations of human rights: the gunfire aimed to harm the civilian population of the village. This became known in the result of fact-finding activities carried out by a representative of the Human Rights Defender (Ombudsman) of Armenia in Chinari village. Armenian Ombudsman Arman Tatoyan today met journalists in Yerevan to present the report of the fact-finding mission and results of an on-site examination. The aim of the fact-finding mission is to record such violations. The Ombudsman's representative had private talks with the head of Chinari village, residents and representatives of the Council of Elders. Then, he visited the places where most violations of human rights had been reported. Arman Tatoyan said the shelling continued at around 6-7 p.m. on January 3 and after midnight on January 8. The village kindergarten, school and houses came under intense Azerbaijani fire. “The fact-finding activities showed that the enemy started its sabotage operations and subversive attack by killing three Armenian soldiers when, in fact, there was no real threat to the Azerbaijani side. The residents of the village, including children, went into hiding when the shelling started,” Mr Tatoyan said. The Armenian ombudsman said that they are exclusively concerned with the protection of human rights and ‘the report has no political connotation.’ “They [Azeris] had an obvious intention: the attack was directed against the civilian population [of the village].” Arman Tatoyan added that the report will be forwarded to international organizations in the coming days. He will visit Strasbourg next week to meet senior EU officials. In two weeks he is scheduled to meet with senior representatives of international organizations in Brussels. The Armenian ombudsman will present the report during these meetings. “I have expectations but I cannot say anything now: one should be quick and decisive in such issues. The truth is on our side, so we need to be active,” he stressed.
