On November 30, Artsakh organizations convened a rally against the sharp reduction of the financial assistance program for the people of Artsakh. Let us recall that from April 2025, only minors, the disabled and people of retirement age will receive this assistance, and at a reduced rate.
But, as the main organizer of the rally, public figure Lianna Petrosyan says, it is not about 50 thousand drams, but about the future of our families, for which we ourselves are solely responsible.
“Let us stand up for our rights. The agenda of the rally will include: 1. Continuity of social assistance for everyone until they are provided with their own roof. 2. Review of the housing program based on numerous proposals submitted. 3. Implementation of realistic employment programs. 4. Recognition of our rights by the international community,” wrote Lianna Petrosyan, calling on the people of Artsakh to participate in the rally.
The legal and social rights of Artsakh people are so vague and confused that even lawyers cannot understand what principles the government follows and on what basis decisions are made regarding Artsakh people.
The paradox is that Artsakh residents were forcibly displaced from their homeland and deprived of private and collective property as a single community. In Armenia, they also received temporary protection on a collective basis – refugee status. But in all other matters, the Armenian government refuses to perceive the people of Artsakh as a community.
This is expressed, first of all, in the fact that the Armenian leadership categorically does not recognize the elected bodies of Artsakh, which are called upon to implement collective governance. The powers of the heads of local self-government bodies are also not recognized, although through the community system it would be easy to inventory both the lost property, the demographic situation, and the needs of Artsakh residents. This will allow targeted organization of social and legal support.
However, social assistance for Artsakh people is not linked to the community, but to the families. The Armenian government arbitrarily “divided” the them into families, forced these families to register in other people’s homes, and made the housing assistance program conditional on the legal status of separate families. For example, as it turned out, out of more than 2,000 Artsakh residents who applied for the housing assistance program, only 24 families received a certificate. The rest were rejected because “at least one family member does not meet the program’s requirements.”
It turns out that Artsakh people were collectively deported, they were given refugee status as a community due to the fact that they cannot return to their homeland, and social assistance, work, and legal status are linked to separate families, ignoring their collectivity, the community. Many are now asking why the government did not decide to recognize the 070 passports of all Artsakh residents or grant full citizenship, but called for individual applications for citizenship.
The political goals of this stance are obvious: to prevent the people of Artsakh from self-organizing as a community, to prevent them from collectively defending their political and social rights, which would give the Armenian authorities the opportunity to act freely.
But the process of self-organization among the people of Artsakh has already begun. So far, this process is being hindered by creating discord in the Artsakh society, pitting each other against each other, and by leaks about the mythological sums taken out from Artsakh. Go and demand money from your leadership, say pro-government trolls in Armenia, without mentioning why the Armenian law enforcement agencies do not investigate such facts; after all, they know better how much money went to Artsakh and how much came back.
The Armenian government also does not comment on why “mythological sums” were sent to Artsakh for construction, although the political issues were vague and the prospects were dark as a cloud. Who and how “cut” this amount will be decided by the future court, and the people of Artsakh are now trying to look to the future, and for this they need to self-organize as a community and protect collective rights.
Whether this will be done through early elections to the Artsakh parliament (the current deadline is until May 2025) or through the creation of a Coordinating Council is not important. The main thing is that there is an understanding of the need for collective action. The roots of the thousands-years-old continuous traditions of statehood in Artsakh will give new sprouts.
Naira Hayrumyan