Stepanakert protesters demand to start talks on return of Gadrut

At their action in Stepanakert, refugees from the districts of Nagorno-Karabakh, which came under Azerbaijan's control after the war, demanded to start peaceful talks on the transfer of the lost territories to the Armenian party and refugees' return to their homes.

In the afternoon on March 4, activists of the "In the name of Gadrut" movement held rallies in front of the embassies in Yerevan, Levon Airiyan, the chairman of the initiative group, told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

According to his story, the "In the name of Gadrut" movement was founded in Armenia on January 18 by refugees from the Gadrut District. For the second month in a row, activists have been asking the international community to protect the rights of the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, who had been forced to leave their homes after the end of the 2020 autumn war, Mr Airiyan has explained, adding that activists of the movement are also asking to provide people from the Gadrut District with the international refugee status and political asylum in any civilized country in the world, he said.

"We demand to transfer the Gadrut District to Armenia so that its residents could return to their homes, ensure their safety, so that they can continue living in their homeland in accordance with their traditions and culture," Mr Airiyan has stated, noting that all the demands of the "In the name of Gadrut" movement are stated in a letter sent to the United Nations, the European Union and embassies of foreign countries in Yerevan.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on March 5, 2021 at 04:14 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.