Foreign Ministry slams Azeri 'eco-activists' for harassment of Armenian children

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Vahan Hunanyan has denounced Azerbaijan for the harassment of Armenian children returning to Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) late on Tuesday.

“We are shocked by the inadmissible attitude of the Azerbaijani side towards the children returning to Nagorno-Karabakh on January 17, who were deprived of their parental care and separated from their families for about 40 days as a result of the blockade of the Lachin Corridor,” he said in comments on Thursday.

“As can be clearly seen in the videos published by the Azerbaijani side, the "eco-activists" conducting themselves as terrorists, halted the vehicle transporting the children home to Nagorno-Karabakh through the Lachin Corridor, shouted demonstratively, broke into the vehicle wearing masks, illegally filmed the children and subjected them to psychological violence:  as a result of all this, the children were subjected to psychological terror, leading to one of them fainting.

“These actions of the Azerbaijani side are vivid examples of the state-level policy of hatred and hostility towards Armenians and the displacement of Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh - even at the level of targeting children. Such behavior has no justification in both international legal and human-moral dimensions.

“International organizations and institutions responsible for protecting children's rights, representatives of civilized humanity should provide a clear assessment of this reprehensible behavior of the Azerbaijani side in order to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future,” the spokesman noted.