Artsakh Republic President Arayik Harutyunyan sent letters
to the heads of all UN Security Council member countries, the UN Secretary General,
the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, the President of the European Council, the
Secretary General of the Council of Europe, as well as the Prime Minister of
the Republic of Armenia, urging them to fulfill their international obligations
and promptly implement effective measures to stop the illegal and complete
blockade of Artsakh imposed by Azerbaijan and put an end to mass crimes and
acts of terrorism against the people of Artsakh. The letters specifically read:
“As the President of the Republic of Artsakh
(Nagorno-Karabakh), I urgently appeal to the international community on behalf
of the government and people of Nagorno-Karabakh, drawing your attention to the
deepening security and humanitarian crisis in Artsakh, which is rapidly
escalating into a large-scale disaster. This dire situation is a direct result
of the following criminal actions committed by Azerbaijan:
On December 12, 2022, as a result of Azerbaijan’s illegal
blockade of the Lachin (Kashatagh) Corridor, which connects Nagorno-Karabakh
with Armenia and the outside world, approximately 120,000 residents of
Nagorno-Karabakh found themselves under siege. Furthermore, about 30,000
citizens of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh were deprived of the opportunity
to exercise their right to return to their homeland.
Since then, humanitarian movement of people and cargo
through the Lachin Corridor has been exclusively carried out by the
International Committee of the Red Cross and Russian peacekeeping forces, with
very limited capacity and certain periodic disruptions, while the movement of
vehicles belonging to the residents of Nagorno-Karabakh has been completely
prohibited.
Since January 9, 2023, Azerbaijan has disrupted the supply
of electricity through the sole high-voltage line between Armenia and
Nagorno-Karabakh, which has caused significant energy and humanitarian problems
in Nagorno-Karabakh over the past 185 days. There have been daily six-hour
power outages, a 48% decrease in electricity consumption, and depletion of
local electricity production and supply systems. Starting from December 13,
2023, Azerbaijan periodically, and since March 21, almost continuously, has been
interrupting the only gas supply from Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh (for a total
of 148 days), thereby deepening the energy and humanitarian crisis.
On April 23, Azerbaijan established an illegal checkpoint in
the Lachin Corridor at the border between Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia,
officially and openly imposing strict and arbitrary military control over all
movements.
Since June 15, Azerbaijan has imposed a complete blockade on
the Lachin Corridor, prohibiting the transportation of any individuals or goods
(including food, medicine, hygiene items, and fuel) in both directions even by
the Red Cross and Russian peacekeepers.
From June 25 to July 10, the transportation of patients with
urgent medical needs to medical centers in Armenia, along with the import of
some medicines into Nagorno-Karabakh, were resumed in a very limited capacity
only through the Red Cross. However, starting from July 10, the movement of the
Red Cross has been blocked again.
Throughout this entire period, Azerbaijan has been using
force and the threat of force against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, with
clear manifestations of ethnic hatred and terrorism, and with the undisguised
purpose of ethnic cleansing.
The suspension of all humanitarian supplies since June 15 in
particular, coupled with the utilization of limited domestic stocks, has
resulted in a worsening humanitarian situation.”
