Families of missing Azerbaijanis call for support from European institutions

Azerbaijani families of missing persons demanded support from EU institutions in Brussels during their demonstrations this week in front of the European Parliament and European Commission headquarters, as they continue to seek the truth about the fate of over 4,000 loved ones still missing since the first Karabakh war.

Organised by the Garabagh Missing Families Public Union, the families asked for help in their quest to establish the fate of their relatives, which include children, women and elderly people, who remain missing since the first war that ended in 1994, urging the EU institutions to pressure Armenia into disclosing archive information and the locations of mass graves.

With 32 mass graves recently discovered in Karabakh, the families have emphasised that their right to know the truth after 30 years requires international attention. They said the group had not received international recognition or aid to help find their relatives.

The families said that Armenia has not disclosed any information about the missing persons, but they hoped that the peace process between Armenia and Azerbaijan can now shed light on the fate of their loved ones and achieve closure.

The rally participants wore white jackets, each with a picture of their loved one, their date of birth and a question mark, symbolising their unknown fate.

"My husband Azad Jabbarovwent missing in Khojaly and for 34 years we know nothing about him," said Farida Jabbarova, a participant at the rally.

"And here, I represent him and more than 4,000 people who went missing and require justice for them and to receive information."

The demonstration displayed personal items of those missing, including passports, photos and clothes.

According to Konul Behbudova, head of the Garabagh Missing Families Public Union, 328 missing persons were identified with DNA examinations and the remains of 273 victims were handed over to their families, but the fate of thousands is still unknown.

"These territories are contaminated with mines and unexploded ordinance, that's why it's difficult to find them," Behbudova said.

"Our goal is to find the places were these people were buried and find any information about their fate, to get their remains and be able to burry them and to have a place in the cemetery to visit them," Jabbarova said.

The plight of the Azerbaijani families is now part of the wider peace process and reconciliation between Armenia and Azerbaijan after decades of tragic wars over Karabakh which brought immense suffering to both nations, with thousands of casualties and refugees on both sides.

Armenia said that hundreds of Armenians are also missing following the Karabakh wars and has also sought answers about their fate as well.