The Ministry of Defense of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic has issued a statement over the reaction of Azerbaijani mass media to the surrender of Azeri soldier Novruz oghlu Huseynov to the Armenian side.
"Commenting on the act of Azerbaijani junior sergeant Roman Novruz oghlu Huseynov, who gave himself up to Armenian sentries in the northern section of the contact line between the NKR and Azeri armed forces, Baku mass media made a number of contradictory reports," the NKR Ministry of Defense wrote in a statement.
Contrary to a statement by the Armenian sources that Huseynov surrendered to the NKR forces, the Azerbaijani sources, namely the so-called ‘military experts,' said that Huseynov did not surrender but was captured by the NKR forces and held in captivity.
"We know for sure that Huseynov was taken prisoner," wrote Azeri military expert Uzeir Jafarov. Taking the traditional attitude to prisoners and hostages in his own country Jafarov does not rule out that ‘using violence, Armenians will make Huseynov confess to the Armenian TV channels that he has allegedly surrendered to the Armenian forces and speak about the ‘lack of discipline and neglected conditions' in the Azerbaijani army.
By circulating the version of captivity, in fact, Baku's propaganda machine lays the grounds not only to question systematically entwined dithyramb about the fighting capability of their own army, but also to suppose that the frontline of the Azerbaijani army is undefended. Otherwise, how was it possible to overcome the defenses of the Azeri army and take commander of the detachment on duty [Roman Huseynov] captive without any shot or losses?
As to the Azerbaijani claims that the Armenian side will make junior sergeant discredit his own army, we would like to remind the Azeri propagandists that this method has always been applied by Baku.
Be sure that any Azerbaijani soldier, including Roman Huseynov, who will surrender to the Karabakhi army, will be more protected in Armenia and Artsakh than in the military unit he served, and will enjoy all rights stipulated by the international laws, including the right to free and public expression.
To add,
On August 28, 2010, a bloody incident in the artillery division of the aforesaid Azerbaijani division claimed six lives, leaving two soldiers injured. Servicemen Elhan Azizov and Sadygh Mammedov opened fire. "This is the unit where contract junior sergeant Roman Novruz oghlu Huseynov served. He preferred leaving his post and giving himself up to the NKR Defense Army," reads the statement.
