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[THREAD] The forgotten POW’s of the #Karabakh war (1988-1994). With all the talk about insurgents & POW’s today, the silence surrounding the inhumane circumstances that arose as a consequence of #Armenia & its forced occupation speaks volumes. Here’s a thread to remember it all.
![[THREAD] The forgotten POW’s of the #Karabakh war (1988-1994). With all the talk about insurgents & POW’s today, the silence surrounding the inhumane circumstances that arose as a consequence of #Armenia & its forced occupation speaks volumes. Here’s a thread to remember it all.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E0sRwC9XEAUw97E.jpg "[THREAD] The forgotten POW’s of the #Karabakh war (1988-1994). With all the talk about insurgents & POW’s today, the silence surrounding the inhumane circumstances that arose as a consequence of #Armenia & its forced occupation speaks volumes. Here’s a thread to remember it all.")
![[THREAD] The forgotten POW’s of the #Karabakh war (1988-1994). With all the talk about insurgents & POW’s today, the silence surrounding the inhumane circumstances that arose as a consequence of #Armenia & its forced occupation speaks volumes. Here’s a thread to remember it all.](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E0sRwC9WEAQEt_S.jpg "[THREAD] The forgotten POW’s of the #Karabakh war (1988-1994). With all the talk about insurgents & POW’s today, the silence surrounding the inhumane circumstances that arose as a consequence of #Armenia & its forced occupation speaks volumes. Here’s a thread to remember it all.")
According to a series of Western & Russian estimates, around 4,210 #Azerbaijani civilians are still missing to this day, unaccounted for after the occupation of #Karabakh by #Armenia. Their fates remain unknown, but rare testimonies relive the horror they were forced to endure.
In this CNN segment, forgotten scenes are revived. Thousands of Azerbaijani civilians, women and children, with zero military capability were held hostage as #POW’s for years. Raped, abused, degraded and ultimately killed in most cases. Reparations & condemnation never happened.
In a report by @hrw, testimonies of (a dismal sum of) returned POW’s/survivors are recorded, to which the reports would leave anyone scarred for life. Accounts of beatings, rape, verbal abuse, cultural degradation, medical neglect by Armenians are rampant. https://www.hrw.org/reports/AZER%20Conflict%20in%20N-K%20Dec94_0.pdf
Specifically regarding national and cultural degradation, (as was also seen in the 2020 war), there is this case. Captured Azerbaijani #POW’s forced to lick the uniform of an Armenian clean, followed by forced singing of Azerbaijani marches to their entertainment.
With that being said, majority of the families of these #POW’s continue to live a life of eternal mourning to this day, they will never see their relatives as most of them are no longer alive. They only remember them through gut wrenching testimonies and video/photo evidence.
I’m another footage, the occupying forces of #Armenia had taken an #Azerbaijani child as a #POW whilst her grandmother exclaims “Please don’t separate him from me for the love of God. He no longer has a father or a mother”. The fate of both the child & grandmother are unknown.
So today when a narrative of onesidedness regarding POW’s is pushed, it’s extremely degrading to say the least. #POW capture and killing has been observed on both sides, and it is not “bothsideism” to say so. Suggesting so is denying wrongdoing by #Armenia & denying POW presence.
To work towards a sustained & coexistence ushering narrative, this denial cannot continue. Holding POW’s hostage - especially civilians to which #Armenia has held thousands, many with no trace - is a crime against humanity no matter who does it. It’s as simple as that.
Update: Regarding the #POW child taken from his grandmother in #Kalbajar. The grandmother was shot on the spot shortly after the video and the boy was taken to #Shusha prison and subsequently tortured. Here’s his own account by @thecaspianpost:
