Armenians left Artsakh because of Azerbaijan's threats and Armenianophobia: lawyer urges ICJ not to believe Azerbaijan
YEREVAN, October 12. /ARKA/. Armenians were right to leave Nagorno-Karabakh, Lawrence Martin, one of the lawyers representing Armenia's lawsuit against Azerbaijan, told the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Thursday.
Armenia has petitioned the ICJ to order Azerbaijan to "withdraw all military and law-enforcement personnel from all civilian establishments in Nagorno-Karabakh."
It also called on the court to ensure Azerbaijan "refrain from taking any actions... having the effect of displacing the remaining ethnic Armenians... or preventing the safe and expeditious return" of refugees.
"The Armenians' flight was chaotic. People were not able to take their belongings or property. The traffic jam (on the road to Armenia) stretched 75 kilometers. Many elderly people died in it. At the checkpoint Azerbaijani soldiers insulted Armenians by showing the sign of "Gray Wolves". On September 25, there was an explosion of a fuel tank. 170 people were killed and hundreds were injured. Part of the citizens received help from the Russian peacekeeping contingent. Another part was evacuated to Armenia. Many died because of the lack of medical assistance. Many Artsakh children began to suffer from mental problems as a result of what happened," Martin said.
He pointed out that the number of refugees from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) exceeds one hundred thousand and Armenia, which has a population of less than 3 million, is facing a grave challenge.
"Azerbaijan claims that Armenians left voluntarily. This is probably what we will hear in the afternoon (when Azerbaijani representative is scheduled to respond). However, in the case of Azerbaijan, every statement is a kind of recognition. 100,000 people left their homes out of the blue and went away? It is hard to believe! What sane person would decide to stay under a regime that spreads hatred against Armenians? In Azerbaijan, they like to refer to President Ilham Aliyev's statements about the protection of the rights of all citizens and the absence of problems with the Armenian people. However, this is the same person who called Armenians 'enemies', so the world can afford not to believe Aliyev," the lawyer emphasized.
On September 19, Azerbaijan launched what it called an "anti-terrorist" operation against ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh.
The assault lasted 24 hours and ended with Azerbaijani forces gaining full control of the region for the first time since the 1990s war.
This led to a vast refugee crisis, with more than 100,000 ethnic Armenians fleeing the region to the Republic of Armenia. -0-
