Azernews.Az

Qabil Ashirov

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The impudence of the Armenian Government knows no bounds. The Government, which makes a fuss on all possible international platforms about the armed Armenian citizens arrested and imprisoned in Azerbaijan by calling them POWs, keeps its mouth shut about the Azerbaijani citizens who went missing 30 years ago during the first Garabagh War. The Government, which wails about the building constructed illegally in Garabagh during the invasion and demolished by Azerbaijan following its liberation, calling it Armenian heritage, turns a blind eye and deaf ear to the cries of the relatives and family members of missing Azerbaijanis.

Millions of wars have happened throughout history, but belligerent sides have tried to follow the ethics of war, despite all committed atrocities. Trying to keep children, the elderly, women, and the disabled out of the battles, not to insult and disfigure the corpses of the dead and all that are well-known among these ethics. However, the Armenian side trampled on all these ethical rules by killing civilians regardless of their ages and health. No disabled, pregnant, infant or child could escape from the Armenian killing machine.

However, all these atrocities were not sufficient to quench the deep-seated hatred that burned in the heart of the Armenian collective consciousness stemming from the Government's propaganda. As if, all the atrocities and war crimes are not enough, the Armenian government continues to take revenge on the corpses of fallen Azerbaijani soldiers and their loved ones.

Thus, the first Garabagh War, which took place in the 1990s, claimed the lives of 11,557 Azerbaijani citizens. In addition, 4,354 Azerbaijanis, 3,503 of whom were servicemen, went missing. Most of these people corresponded with their families through the ICRC while they were kept as POWs in Armenian prisons. However, all these POWs in Armenian prisons ended up disappearing.

For over 30 years, until the Second Garabagh War, the Armenian government kept its mouth shut and said nothing about these people, disregarding all attempts by Azerbaijan and their family members. Even after the Second Garabagh War, which took place in 2020 and resulted in the loss of territories occupied by Armenia, Yerevan has not shown any intention of clarifying the fate of the missing Azerbaijani people who were held in Armenian prisons.

After the Second Garabagh War, several mass graves were discovered, providing insight into the fate of the missing people. At last, Azerbaijan managed to identify 170 of its missing citizens, and three of them were laid to rest today. However, we do not have any information about the rest.

Unfortunately, Azerbaijan is alone in this process. The international organizations, which are making big ado about Armenian illegal armed groups being imprisoned and about demolished structures that were illegally built in the Azerbaijani territories during the invasion, turn a blind eye and a deaf ear. To what extent they will continue these imprudent actions is unknown.

The international community's silence and indifference to these grave injustices are deeply concerning. Despite the overwhelming evidence of war crimes and atrocities committed against Azerbaijani citizens, the failure to hold Armenia accountable only perpetuates the suffering of the victims' families. Azerbaijan's efforts to seek justice and bring closure to the pain of missing citizens have been met with unresponsiveness, both from the Armenian government and the international bodies that claim to protect human rights. This continued injustice undermines the values of humanity and fairness. As the families of the victims continue to wait for answers, the hope for true accountability grows more distant.