Yerevan miracle: It took three days for "traces of Azerbaijani torture" to appear on Armenian soldiers' bodies Ombudsman Grigoryan did a "good" job

A lot has been written and told about the ingratitude of the human race. There are relevant definitions, proverbs, and sayings in the folklore of every nation about the manifestation of ingratitude towards those who rendered a service and did kind deeds. A folk saying "no good deed ever goes unpunished" is applicable to our "long-suffering" neighbours. Let us now explain why.

On October 5, the day after Azerbaijan showed goodwill and returned to Yerevan 17 Armenian servicemen who were captured during repulsion of the September provocation of the Armenian armed forces, the press secretary of the Investigative Committee of Armenia Vardan Tadevosyan told journalists that "among the servicemen who returned there were not seriously wounded, some had light shrapnel wounds, they were not tortured in captivity".

Everything is logical. Azerbaijan is committed to the peace agenda with Armenia and humanism. Baku once again extended its hand of peace to Yerevan, although, in principle, it could not have done so, given that just these days a terrible find was discovered in the village of Edilli of the Khojavend district liberated from the Armenian occupation – the remains of 12 people tied with wire and rope, as well as signs of torture. Given that some 4,000 Azerbaijani civilians and prisoners of war are still listed as missing, it is frightening to imagine how many more such gruesome discoveries will be uncovered during the reconstruction of the liberated territories.

What about the Armenian side? In order to somehow minimise the extremely negative background surrounding its criminal actions in Edilli, in a vain attempt to clear itself of charges of committing massacres of Azerbaijanis during the First Karabakh War, Yerevan has come up with nothing better than to sing the old song. Thus, today, on October 7, all those Armenian websites which on October 5 quoted the statement of the representative of the Investigative Committee Tadevosyan that 17 Armenian soldiers were not tortured in Azerbaijan, thanks to ombudsman Kristine Grigoryan stated to the contrary. According to Grigoryan, "Armenian soldiers were tortured, ill-treated, and humiliated while in Azerbaijani captivity." According to her, "almost all former captives speak of mistreatment and torture at various stages of stay in Azerbaijan, including by doctors and medical personnel in the hospital".

In other words, as early as October 5, Armenian security officers and investigators did not find any traces of torture on the bodies and souls of soldiers, but Kristine's inquisitive eye, like an X-ray, found them! Bravo, madam! It turns out that military counter-intelligence officers of the National Security Service and all those lazy investigators of the Investigation Committee of Armenia should be fired for professional inaptitude and sent to peel potatoes on the conditional border with Azerbaijan. They have not found any facts about the inhuman treatment of Armenian soldiers in Azerbaijan! However, Kristine Grigoryan, a representative of the ruling "Civil Contract" party, did show conscientiousness and meticulousness and brought Azerbaijan to light. We are confident that on the plane between Prague and St Petersburg, her master will award her with a medal for "Labor Merit" and the Order of St. Mamikonyan. No less.

More seriously, the thesis that "the more horrific the lie, the more likely people will believe it" is broadly used by Armenian propaganda, one of the mechanisms of which has long been the office of the human rights defender. Of course, such notions as nobility and gratitude are completely alien to our "long-suffering" neighbours. And, somewhere in their hearts, I think the Azerbaijanis were sure that in the case of the return of Armenian prisoners they would not be able to avoid the trash cans of mud. The Armenian side is not in the least bit embarrassed by the fact that the ICRC actually had unimpeded access to Armenian prisoners in Azerbaijan. And during the transfer of prisoners to Armenia on October 4 no facts of torture were recorded towards them. And in general, what is the point of torturing ordinary Armenian soldiers? What kind of secret information can an 18-year-old Armenian conscript be privy to? Especially when our soldiers at their posts have full control deep into Armenian territory. So, the only ones who can believe in the stupidity of the Armenian ombudsman from Pashinyan's team are Armenian commoners who paint in their image "bloodthirsty Azerbaijanis".

However, Azerbaijan is not used to it. Baku has repeatedly made goodwill gestures towards Armenia, invariably stumbling over Armenia's reluctance to accept such deeds in return. But we have long ago cultivated in ourselves the conviction that the true good is gratuitous. Even in the case of a defeated opponent. And Grigoryan and Co., well, the snake changes its skin but does not change its nature - Armenia can swear all it wants on international platforms that it has a dream of peace with its neighbours, but the neighbours themselves know too well the price of such oaths.