Zohrabyan: government treats displaced Artsakh people inhumanely

PanARMENIAN.Net - Opposition politician Naira Zohrabyan has voiced deep concern over the government’s decision to stop the 50,000-dram monthly housing support program for displaced people from Artsakh. In a Facebook post, she stated that for many, this aid was the only way to pay rent and avoid homelessness.

According to Zohrabyan, so far only 3% of the displaced have received housing assistance certificates, and just 0.2% have managed to acquire homes.

“What does this mean? It means we will soon see Artsakh families with children on the streets in large numbers. And we won’t even have the right to blame landlords for not housing them for free—because it’s solely the state’s responsibility. But the state—or rather, Nikol—is doing everything possible to humiliate the very people who became refugees because of him. Apparently, he’s taking revenge for the fact that they didn’t stay behind to be slaughtered in Artsakh, to offer him his ideal scenario: ‘no people, no problem,’” she wrote.

She added that what is currently being done to Artsakh’s displaced population is inhumane.

“The situation is a dead end... People will literally end up on the streets. Canada’s Foreign Minister says the Artsakh issue is not closed and negotiations should continue, including the right of self-determination. Yesterday, the European Parliament condemned the ethnic cleansing in Artsakh and drew parallels to the Armenian Genocide. Meanwhile, Nikol says: ‘whether you go up or down, the page of the Karabakh movement is closed,’” Zohrabyan wrote.

Representatives of the Council for the Protection of Artsakh Refugee Rights, during an April 3 meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Tigran Khachatryan, were informed that the government does not plan to reinstate the “40+10” support program. After the meeting, council members reaffirmed their commitment to continue the struggle, declaring that the “40+10” program has no alternative.