"Hraparak" daily writes:
Yesterday, the Artsakh parliament issued a statement regarding the "illegal and fake" trial of 16 Armenian hostages, which will start today in Azerbaijan.
The statement also calls on the RA authorities to consistently and decisively raise the issue of captives in all instances, because "the protection of the rights of all hostages of the Armenian nation and their return to their homeland are part of the legal and moral obligations of the RA state bodies."
Hours after the announcement, "Myasnakan Hayrenik" led by Samvel Babayan, the former commander of Artsakh Armed Forces, issued a statement that they did not agree to the text regarding the prisoners and did not reserve the right to speak on their behalf to anyone.
"The "United Motherland" faction refrains from false attempts to demonstrate unity, therefore it demands to remove its name from the list of participants who signed the statement," the statement said.
We were assured by the Council of Artsakh that two of Babayan's party members, Baghunts, who fulfills the duties of the Speaker of the National Assembly, and the leader of the faction participated in the work of drafting the text of the statement, and even made suggestions that were included in the statement. "Unlike the other factions, which were present at the discussions of the text, one person each, two from "United Motherland" were present," opposition MP Davit Galstyan told us, expressing his opinion that they probably relented under the pressure of the RA authorities.
The trial will start tomorrow, the people of Artsakh and the "Together" movement have planned protests in front of the government and the Foreign Ministry on this occasion.
