One year ago Lachin corridor was blocked by Azerbaijan, which was followed by forced displacement of 120,000 Artsakh residents
YEREVAN, December 12. /ARKA/. Artak Beglaryan, former state minister and human rights defender of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), recalls in a social network post that exactly one year ago, on December 12, 2022, the genocidal and dictatorial regime of Ilham Aliyev in Azerbaijan initiated the blockade of Artsakh using various fairy tales and pretexts,.
This was followed by forced displacement of Artsakh people with absolute impunity and even with the complicity of some countries.
'All the perpetrators and supporters of this chain of international crimes must be held accountable and brought to justice and the displaced people of Nagorno-Karabakh must have the opportunity to return to the land of their ancestors and lead a safe and dignified life there," Beglaryan says.
During the blockade Azerbaijan would cut off gas and electricity supplies to Artsakh from Armenia, periodically disrupted telecommunications and Internet connections. The Artsakh government had to introduce ration coupons.
On February 22, 2023, the UN International Court of Justice satisfied Armenia's demand and obliged Azerbaijan not to impede the free movement of goods, people and transport through the Lachin corridor in both directions, but Baku ignored the decision.
On April 23, Azerbaijan set up a checkpoint in the Lachin corridor in the zone of responsibility of the Russian peacekeeping contingent and later banned all types of humanitarian transportation in both directions, including people and cargo.
After the large-scale Azerbaijani offensive on September 19, the authorities in Nagorno-Karabakh accepted the ceasefire proposal.
As a result of negotiations with the Azerbaijani side, the Karabakh president issued a decree on September 28 to dissolve all state institutions and disband the armed forces. From January 1, 2024 the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic will cease to exist.
Nagorno-Karabakh residents fearing persecution left their homes en masse, heading for Armenia. -0-
