Beyond their differences, eleven parliamentarians and political leaders from different sides, including Eric Ciotti, Olivier Faure and Fabien Roussel, in a forum in the “World”, urge Emmanuel Macron to intervene to “prevent the irreparable” and ensure the safety of Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians.
Since December 12, Azerbaijan has occupied the Lachin corridor , the only access route to the outside of the Armenian population of Artsakh/ Nagorno-Karabakh [Artsakh is the Armenian name of this territory], posing the threat of a major humanitarian disaster. About 120,000 people, including 30,000 children, are deprived of resources, including food and medical supplies. For three days, Azerbaijan also cut off the gas, and therefore the heating, exposing the population to freezing cold.
This event marks a further escalation in the aggressions perpetrated since September 2020 by Azerbaijan against Armenians, whether they are citizens of Nagorno-Karabakh or the Republic of Armenia, in total violation of international law, the Geneva conventions and negotiations within the framework of the Minsk Group of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which provide for a peaceful settlement of the question of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Ethnic cleansing
Everything suggests that Azerbaijan will not stop there and will exploit the slightest opportunity to continue its maneuvers of destabilization and harassment of the Armenian populations of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Republic of Armenia with the stated objective of ethnic cleansing.
Attested war crimes, promotion of ethnic hatred, destruction of Armenian cultural heritage, attack on Armenia in September 2022 and illegal occupation since of part of its sovereign territory, repeated abuses against civilian populations: the actions of the Azerbaijan are inadmissible, which would lead France to intervene anywhere and in all circumstances. It is also a threat weighing on a friendly people, “Armenia, our valiant little ally” , in the words of Georges Clemenceau (1841-1929).
Between the Armenians and France, there are multisecular, cultural, political, economic links. The Armenians and France are the trade routes to Asia and the Middle East with Jacques Coeur (1400-1456), Richelieu (1585-1642) then Colbert (1619-1683), the development of our textile industry , the first café in Paris, the Suez Canal, the culture of madder and apricot, the accordion of our popular balls.
The Armenians and France, it is the Armenian legion which fought under our flag during the Great War, and the sacrifice of Missak Manouchian (1906-1944), hero of the Resistance, refusing that barbarism is repeated. Finally, it is the memory of our greatest men of letters, from Corneille to Nerval, Sand and Lamartine, from Victor Hugo, Charles Péguy, from Romain Rolland to Max Jacob or Aragon.
The full article in French language is available here.
