Of the 110 cattle grazing in a location called “Gogi Lerr” in the village of Sers in the Vayots Dzor Province of the Republic of Armenia, 80 approached the Azerbaijani position, of which 75 were seized by servicemen and not returned. Two affected villagers have alerted the Human Rights Defender about this.
“The incident took place on August 16, around 10:30.
They reported that from a distance of about 800-900 meters, they noticed how 3 Azerbaijani servicemen came out of their trench and approached the animals. During that time, they continued to watch from afar the actions of the Azerbaijani servicemen, one of whom advanced about 300 meters and drove the animals up from the ravine, rounded them up, after which all three took the animals away.
The Azerbaijani servicemen were armed, but due to the danger, they did not approach them and could not bring the animals back.
According to the citizens, they have appealed to the Vayots Dzor Provincial Administration of the Republic of Armenia, the head of the community, the border troops of the Republic of Armenia, and the army corps.
Officials from the provincial administration visited and documented what had happened, noting that it is necessary to present certificates from the bank (lender) and the community regarding the animals.
The affected citizens maintain that they acquired the cattle with agricultural loan funds, amounting to about 8 million Armenian drams, and they do not know by what means they will continue to pay off the loans.
Our state must initiate processes on international platforms that, using these facts, will make it possible to force the Azerbaijani authorities to compensate people for putting them in such situations.
We, of course, as prescribed by the established procedure, will address letters to the Government to understand the position regarding providing an immediate solution to these people’s problems before initiating such a process on international platforms. We are ready to work jointly on any issue.
P.S. To bring back the 80 cattle, the citizens have devised an interesting step: they brought newborn calves near the border, and as a result of the sounds they made, 5 cattle returned by instinct,” the Human Rights Defender stated.
