Displaced Artsakh Armenians decry government response on exhuming war dead

Panorama

Armenians displaced from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) on Thursday staged a protest outside the Armenian government building, criticizing the government’s response to their requests to exhume and relocate relatives killed and hastily buried during the final days of fighting, saying official assurances amount to little more than words.

Families, who fled Artsakh after the 2023 military takeover by Azerbaijan, say their loved ones were buried where they fell amid shelling and chaos. After relocating to Armenia, they appealed to the government and Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to facilitate exhumations so the remains could be reburied in Armenia.

“These are people who stayed in Artsakh until the very end. Their sons, husbands and fathers fought Azerbaijani forces till their last breath,” Ruzan Stepanyan, a member of the All-Armenian Front movement, told reporters. “People buried their relatives with their own hands, hoping they would soon return.”

With prospects of return fading and Pashinyan publicly stating that people should abandon hopes of going back, families say their urgency has grown, particularly as videos circulating on Azerbaijani platforms purport to show vandalised Armenian graves.

“They want to bring the remains so they can at least have a place to mourn,” Stepanyan said, adding that earlier letters and appeals had gone unanswered.

One relative, Bella, wrote to Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. The ministry replied that it continues to “raise the issue” internationally. The response angered families.

“Raising it loudly is not enough,” Stepanyan said. “People know exactly where the graves are. Why can’t they be brought back?”

The families said they plan to submit a new letter to the government on Thursday, urging Pashinyan to meet them within days to address the issue urgently.