Epress.am News from Armenia
The issue of granting asylum in Armenia to Yazidi refugees who have been forced to flee their homes in Northern Iraq to escape a jihadist onslaught by the Islamic State “is not even on the agenda,” Armenian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Manasyan said at the RA National Assembly on Wednesday, May 27, in response to a question by Epress.am correspondent.
Note, 4 Yazidi organizations had called on the Armenian Foreign Ministry to raise the issue of the Iraqi Yazidi's genocide in the UN, as well as provide humanitarian assistance and asylum to the representatives of the religious minority.
“What rights do the Yazidi organizations have to make such a request? Have they been authorized by the Yazidi community to appeal to us on their behalf?” Manasyan countered.
Touching upon the statement [ARM] by Davit Babayan, press secretary of the office of the president of the Nagorno-Karabakh, about the readiness of NKR to grant asylum to Iraqi Yazidis, Manasyan said, “That's nonsense. There can be no such thing.”
In an interview with Epress.am Sinjar Yazidi National Union President Boris Murazi said that the Foreign Ministry had officially rejected their appeal.
Today, Manasyan also denied Armenia's intention to taken in representatives of the Armenian community in Syria. According to the official, the visa regime with Syria has been simplified, and Armenians in Syria are free to come to Armenia, however “it's not for us to decide the fate of the community.”
“Until now, no anti-Armenian actions have been taken; it's all been against Christians, against religious minorities," Manasyan added.