Artsakh Armenians protest outside Foreign Ministry, outline demands

Members of the Council for the Protection of the Rights of Artsakh Armenians staged a protest outside the Armenian Foreign Ministry on Monday, outlining a list of demands and condemning the government’s inaction. Council member Tatevik Khachatryan criticized officials for ignoring demonstrators and failing to respond directly to their concerns.

The protesters publicly burned the ruling Civil Contract party’s pre-election manifesto, accusing the authorities of betrayal and broken promises, particularly regarding its pledges to reclaim Shushi and Hadrut. Protester Nare Simonyan stated that the current Armenian leadership misled the public about its role in the 2020 Artsakh war outcome.

The protesters called on the Foreign Ministry to:

• Appeal to the UN, Council of Europe and OSCE to create international mechanisms ensuring the safe and dignified return of Artsakh Armenians to their homeland.
• Demand international monitoring of fabricated trials against Armenians in Baku.
• Urge neutral states like Switzerland to offer consular support for Armenian detainees.
• Activate the OSCE’s Moscow mechanism to protect Armenian hostages enduring torture in Azerbaijan.
• Make the unconditional release of Armenian prisoners a precondition for any treaty with Azerbaijan.
• Expand legal action at the ECHR and UN courts with new evidence of war crimes and cultural destruction.
• Request UNESCO and Council of Europe missions to document Azerbaijani crimes against Armenian heritage.
• Call for international sanctions against Azerbaijan for crimes against humanity.
• Support referrals to the International Criminal Court to investigate forced displacement and other war crimes.
• Urge foreign states to prosecute Azerbaijani officials under universal jurisdiction.

The protest later moved to the Prosecutor General’s Office.