Azerbaijan arrests several top Karabakh separatist leaders

Authorities in Azerbaijan have arrested several former separatist leaders of Karabakh after reclaiming control of the Armenian-occupied region in a lightning military operation last month, a top Azerbaijani news agency said.

Arayik Harutyunyan, who led the region before stepping down at the beginning of September, was arrested and was being brought to the Azerbaijani capital, the APA news agency said on Tuesday.

Arkadi Gukasian, who served as the separatist 'president' from 1997 until 2007, and Bako Sahakyan, who held the job from 2007 until 2020, also were arrested along with the 'speaker' of the separatist legislature, Davit Ishkhanyan, APA said.

The wave of arrests comes as Azerbaijani authorities move swiftly to establish their control over the region after a military operation that put an end to the illegal Armenian occupation in the region.

While Azerbaijan has pledged to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians, most of them have rushed to flee the region.

In a 24-hour anti-terrorist operation that began Sept. 19, the Azerbaijani army routed the region’s occupying Armenian forces, forcing them to capitulate.

The separatist government then agreed to disband itself by the end of the year, but Azerbaijani authorities are already in charge of the region.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Armenia have been tense since 1991 when the Armenian military occupied Karabakh, a territory internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

'Reintegration' plan

After six years of separatist fighting ended in 1994 following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Karabakh came under illegal Armenian forces, backed by Armenia, turning about 1 million of its Azerbaijani residents into refugees.

After a six-week war in 2020, Azerbaijan took back parts of the region in the South Caucasus Mountains, along with surrounding territory that Armenian forces had occupied earlier.

Azerbaijan’s presidential office said the country has presented a plan for the “reintegration” of ethnic Armenians in the region, noting that “the equality of rights and freedoms, including security, is guaranteed to everyone regardless of their ethnic, religious or linguistic affiliation.”

It said the plan envisages improving infrastructure to bring it in line with the rest of the country and offers tax exemptions, subsidies, low-interest loans and other incentives. The statement added that Azerbaijani authorities have held three rounds of talks with representatives of the region’s ethnic Armenian population and will continue those discussions.