Hundreds of displaced Artsakh Armenian rallied in Yerevan today to demand that Armenia’s government expand its support programs for them and seek international security guarantees for their return to their homeland.

The rally was organized by forty Artsakh civic organizations and public figures who are critical of the Pashinyan government’s policy that has effectively considered the Artsakh issue closed.

A statement adopted during the rally urges the Armenian government to increase housing funding levels, now pegged at 3 million drams ($7,400) per person and not demand any repayment.

The statement also calls on the government to take active and practical steps to attract appropriate funds from the international community and the diaspora to solve the intermediate humanitarian problems of the forcibly displaced people of Artsakh, before ensuring their collective return.

Rally organizers said any return of displaced individuals must be based on effective international protection mechanisms that ensure life in safe, dignified and sovereign conditions. 

What is meant by the term “sovereign” remains unclear.

The statement urged the Armenian government not to withdraw four “war crimes” lawsuits against Azerbaijan. PM Nikol Pashinyan, on Monday, floated the idea of Armenia and Azerbaijan dropping their lawsuits against the other if they finalize a peace deal.