Artsakh has been under siege for 141 days.
On 1 May, Artsakh InfoCenters reported that Azerbaijan continues the siege of Artsakh and causes obstacles and threats to the uninterrupted movement of Artsakh citizens, vehicles and cargo. “The existence of the Azerbaijani check point and the closed road in the Shushi area are the biggest obstacles and dangers that violate the provisions of the Tripartite Declaration of November 9, 2020 and the decision of the UN International Court of Justice.”
As for the case manipulated by the Azerbaijani media, these people are residents of four communities of the Shushi region under bilateral blockade, who stayed in Goris due to the installation of a check point and were returning to their place of residence with the support of Russian peacekeepers, and were unexpectedly stopped by Azerbaijani officers.
All efforts of the Azerbaijani side to maintain the illegal check point and to control and obstruct the movement of Artsakh citizens, vehicles and cargo are unacceptable.
Therefore, we reaffirm that the two-way movement between Artsakh and Armenia is organized and accompanied exclusively by the Russian peacekeeping troops and the International Committee of the Red Cross to ensure the minimum safety of Artsakh citizens on that way.
People requiring movement in both directions should apply to the relevant state bodies,in order to solve the issue with the mentioned mechanisms.
Artsakh State Minister Gurgen Nersisyan issued a statement today, which states: “Since April 23, the humanitarian situation of the residents of Mets Shen, Hin Shen, Yegtsahogh and Lisagor communities of Shushi region has worsened day by day, an attempt was made to supply food and medicine to these communities through the Artsakh office of the Red Cross, but these efforts did not yield results. With the support of Russian peacekeepers, the three minor children left in the city of Goris were returned to their parents in the early days, while Azerbaijan forbade the return of the rest.
In order to solve the urgent humanitarian problems of the residents of the villages under complete and two-way blockade, a group of residents turned to the Russian peacekeepers on site, who allowed them to pass through the checkpoint near the Hakari bridge in private vehicles without inspection, assuring in advance that there would be no supervisory intervention by the Azerbaijanis. : Our citizens crossed the road unilaterally and without interruption with the support of peacekeepers, but due to the establishment of the checkpoint, they met Azerbaijanis at the checkpoint on the way back to their place of residence with their compatriots who remained in Goris. The latter, putting our citizens in a desperate situation, forced them to fulfill their demands, to film the process in order to show the next staging.
This is another proof that the illegal Azerbaijani checkpoint hinders the uninterrupted movement of Artsakh citizens, vehicles and cargo, violating the 2020 the provisions of the tripartite declaration of November 9 and the decision of the UN International Court of Justice. The people of the Republic of Artsakh are waiting for the restoration of the Lachin Corridor, the regime established by the Tripartite Declaration, a 5 km wide corridor exclusively under the control of the Russian peacekeeping forces.
In another statement, Nersisyan said that the meeting with the newly appointed commander at the location of the Russian peacekeeping troops ended at around 18:45. “On the Artsakh side, the President of the Artsakh Republic, the State Minister, the Ministers of Internal Affairs and Defense took part in the meeting. We reaffirmed the position of the Republic of Artsakh regarding the created situation.
And our position is as follows.
The settlement of the situation should be based on the tripartite statement of 9 November, 2020 and point 6 of that statement stipulates the following.
– Artsakh should be connected with Armenia through the 5-kilometer-wide Lachin Corridor.
– The Lachin Corridor should be under the control of the Russian peacekeeping troops.
After listening to us, the Commander of the Russian Peacekeeping Troops said that he will have meetings with the Azerbaijani side in the coming days and will be able to address the issue and provide information at the end of the week.
I appeal to the citizens of the Republic of Armenia, the authorities, to take all steps, all possible political and diplomatic measures to ensure the safety of the citizens of the Republic of Artsakh, to protect the right of self-determination of the people of Artsakh, and to ensure the fulfillment of the provisions of the Tripartite Declaration.
I appeal to the international community to ensure the fulfillment of Azerbaijan’s commitment to unblock the corridor connecting Artsakh to Armenia. The consequence of your inaction or passivity is the daily suffering of the residents of Artsakh.
I appeal to Armenians around the world: turn your face to Artsakh, see the people who are keeping Armenian Artsakh at the cost of suffering.”
In addition, the President of the Republic of Artsakh, Arayik Harutyunyan, called a meeting of the Security Council on May 1.
The installation of the Azerbaijani check point in the Lachin corridor connecting the Republic of Artsakh to the Republic of Armenia, the illegal actions by Azerbaijan hindering the free movement of citizens of the Republic of Artsakh, their further prevention and other issues were discussed during the meeting.
The operational situation in the territory of the corridor was presented, the need to strictly observe the provisions of the Tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020 was emphasized during the meeting.
President Harutyunyan gave some instructions to the leaders of the relevant structures, including to ensure the safety of the four villages of the Shushi region under double blockade and the supply of goods necessary for life-activity in cooperation with the Russian peacekeepers.
On 22 February, the court published the decision regarding the request submitted by Armenia and stated: “Since 12 December, the connection through the Lachin Corridor has been disrypted, the supply of food, medicine and other necessary goods to Nagorno Karabakh has been hindered, which can cause irreparable damage.
“The Court considers that it is necessary to apply a temporary measure and court records that Azerbaijan is obliged to take the measures that depend on it to ensure the uninterrupted movement of people and goods in both directions through the Lachin Corridor.”
It was noted that the court’s decision came into force from the moment of its publication.
However, the fact is that the road is still closed. The cases of violation of the ceasefire regime by Azerbaijan have increased; this is confirmed by the reports of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation.
Due to the lack of international pressure on Azerbaijan, the Armenians of Artsakh are facing a humanitarian disaster. The appeals of the international community have been ignored by the leadership of Azerbaijan until now.
Fundamental human rights have been violated for 139 days, and international organizations and states are silent.
Due to the terrorist behavior of the Azerbaijani side, the villages of Shushi region are completely cut off from the capital of Artsakh and other settlements.
It should be noted that the Governing Board of the CSO Anti-Corruption Coalition of Armenia also made a statement. “This blockade, under the guise of environmentalism, pursues the realization of the corrupt ambitions of the despotic leadership of Azerbaijan to seize the most important assets of Artsakh’s economy.”
