Politicization hampers search for the missing in Karabakh conflict zone

Members of the International Working Group to Search for the Missing, Hostages and Prisoners of War in the Karabakh Conflict Zone arrived in Stepanakert on May 31.

Russian co-chairperson of the Group Svetlana Gannushkina, who is a board member of the Human Rights Center Memorial and member of the Russian President's Human Rights Commission, pointed out at a press conference that the Azerbaijan State Commission to Search and Release Prisoners of War "has been mainly directed at propaganda" lately, since its chairman changed. The cooperation of the Group with Azerbaijan authorities becomes problematic because of it. As for Nagorny Karabakh and Armenia, participants in the press conference noted that their authorities took the work of the Working Group well, but their State Commissions had no special working groups which could solve specific tasks. The matter unfortunately concerns not so much the search for the missing as the clarification of their destiny, Ms Gannushkina said.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijan coordinator of the Group, Azav Gasanov, said that in spite of the appeal made by the president of his country to Azerbaijan non-governmental organizations not to cooperate with Armenian and Karabakh organizations, he was going to continue to fulfill his humanitarian mission having a mandate of the international organization. Asked by the Caucasian Knot correspondent to what extent warlike statements of the official Baku and Azerbaijan media reflected the public opinion in the republic, Mr Gasanov said a few people in Azerbaijan wanted war.

Editors note: See also the article "Azerbaijan politicizes humanitarian problems hampering search for missing, war prisoners".