Category: 2023

Stories of people from Nagorno-Karabakh

“I urge Baku to refrain from steps that nullify the historical possibility of establishing peace”, the Prime Minister of Armenia said on the blockade of the Lachin corridor in his latest statement. Calls to open the road are heard not only from Armenia, but also from international structures, in particular the UN.

European Union announced that they “took note of the readiness of the authorities of Azerbaijan to deliver goods through the city of Agdam. This should not be considered as an alternative to the opening of the Lachine Corridor.” But Aliyev’s position has not changed, and he urges Armenians to either accept Azerbaijani citizenship or look for another place to live.

What is happening in the unrecognized republic, which has been under blockade since December last year, how are people surviving after June 15, when Baku banned the import of all types of humanitarian goods into NK? How do locals represent their future in current circumstances?

The questions were answered by three women from Nagorno Karabakh.

• “Respect, not recognize territorial integrity”: a proposal to Pashinyan
• “Genocide is being committed in NK” – Former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court
• “Is there an unspoken agreement to leave us alone with Baku?” – President of the unrecognized NKR

“I have six minor children. The youngest was born during the blockade, on February 11th. It was a tough time. So much stood in crushes in queues that I did not know if I could give birth to a normal child. Fortunately, my baby was born healthy.

He is already six months old. He is artificially fed. I have two days of formula left, I don’t know what I will do next. The pharmacies are empty, there is no baby food or medicines.

Until mid-June at least some products arrived, now nothing. Most people don’t have sugar, salt, pasta or vegetable oil in their homes. I used the last drops today.

It is good that the harvest of vegetables has ripened. Cooking beans, potatoes, zucchini. We stand in line for hours for bread and vegetables. Moreover, you can stand for three, four, five hours and maybe products will run out.

Before the birth of the baby I worked in a state institution and in cosmetology, but I lost my job with the blockade. I was forced to work in a bakery in order to earn money.

• “The road from the moon to Nagorno-Karabakh is also open” – Pashinyan in an interview with Euronews
• “Arrest under the protection of the ICRC is a war crime” – the position of Armenia

Friends from Armenia transfer money, but everything is expensive. Money is running out, although you do not buy anything special.

My husband was in Armenia when the blockade began. In those days, I could go to him – for a family reunion, but I stayed, realizing what difficulties there could be.

The children at first blamed me for staying here. They asked: “Do you love your homeland more or us?” It took time for them to understand: in any situation you need to fight, not run. The strong don’t run.

The school year is about to start, but I won’t be sending the kids to school. How can a hungry child go to school and understand something?

Recently, cases of fainting on the streets have become more frequent – both adults and children.

There are many problems. But we are unanimous that not a single vehicle should enter Artsakh through Aghdam, neither under the guise of humanitarian cargo, nor under any other. There should be a road connecting with Armenia.

My hope is for the Armenians living in Armenia and abroad. I hope everyone will put aside personal interests and unite. If we lose this piece of our homeland, the next [loss] will be Armenia.

Our fathers and grandfathers defended our homeland for so many years not in vain. Thousands of young men died for Artsakh. They sacrificed their lives for us to leave our homeland and flee to other countries for a piece of bread, in search of a good life? Who will I be in a foreign land?

My youngest son is three years old, middle son is four, and oldest son is ten. The eldest, Karo, has several chronic diseases: epilepsy, diabetes, thyroid problems.

He periodically needs to undergo treatment, for which he is often forced to turn to doctors in Yerevan. There are no specialists here.

During the blockade, thanks to the Red Cross my son and I traveled to Armenia three times for treatment and returned. Knowing the situation, each time in Yerevan I bought a little more medicine for my child. I thought while we use it, the Lord will send something.

Many people say to me: “Knowing Karo’s problems, why did you come back and didn’t stay in Armenia?” It has always been difficult to get the medicines necessary for my son here, now they are simply not available.

When there are no drugs, epilepsy attacks become more frequent, the child becomes uncontrollable. And with sharp fluctuations in blood sugar, he loses consciousness and falls into a coma.

At that time, he himself noticed one of the medicines he needed on one of the back shelves of the pharmacy. He screamed with joy. “Mommy, I found my cure, my life will last another 10 days.”

It is difficult, but we try to survive like a tough nut.

We only have a lot of watermelons. Dairy products are virtually non-existent. There is only one place and there are terrible queues. First you need to go and sign up, and the next day stand in line to buy.

Only expensive whiskeys and spices remained in the shops. And what should I cook with spices?

Today in Nagorno-Karabakh there is a struggle for survival. The world does not believe that there is famine, but there is. Today there are still tomatoes, but in a month they will be gone.

We are all Armenians, residents of both Armenia and Karabakh. The Armenian people must stand up, we must try together to find a way out of the current situation.

• What is happening in Nagorno-Karabakh? Personal Stories
• Two video stories about the life of people in NK after the blockade of the Lachin corridor

I was born and live in the Republic of Artsakh. I am 25 years old, I am married, I have a daughter of one and a half years, we will soon have twins.

From the first day of the blockade, there were queues everywhere. As a pregnant woman, they mostly give way to me. But others have to stand for hours. Fainting often happens in lines. People are malnourished, can’t stand in line in the heat.

All pregnant women have beriberi, because until recently there were no fruits and vegetables. I’m lucky with my relatives who grow things.

No gasoline to go to the hospital. Fortunately, there is an electric car owner who helps pregnant and sick people get there.

Pharmacies are completely empty, there is no baby food, many babies need formula. My daughters are due in a few days. I don’t even want to imagine what would happen if I faced this problem as a mother.

• “The territorial integrity of Azerbaijan includes Nagorno-Karabakh,” and other statements by Pashinyan
• “No power has the right to change the status of the NKR”: reaction to Pashinyan’s statement

At the beginning of the blockade, it was possible to leave and spend the pregnancy in a more relaxed atmosphere. But I didn’t want to.

Even now, when the situation has become worse, I do not intend to leave her homeland. Here we are at home, we are happy despite the difficulties. Everything can be overcome, if only there is peace.

Residents of NK were left alone with their worries and problems. But we want to appeal to everyone who has the opportunity to somehow influence this situation. Help us. Today we need everyone’s support.

We are all waiting for the world to recognize our right to self-determination, for the international community to force the opening of the Lachin corridor so that ties with mother Armenia can be restored.

All residents of NK are against the movement of goods and people along the Aghdam road. We do not need a humanitarian corridor, but a full-fledged road along which we can move freely. The use of the Aghdam road is the path to integration, we are against it.

I really hope that all this will end one day and we will remember these times as a very bad dream.

https://jam-news.net/stories-of-people-from-nagorno-karabakh/

Armenia appeals to UN Security Council

The Armenian government appealed to the UN Security Council with a demand to convene an emergency meeting, connected “with the deterioration of the humanitarian situation due to the forced complete blockade of the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh.”

“Under the current circumstances, the Government of Armenia requests the intervention of the UN Security Council as the main body for ensuring global security and preventing mass crimes, including war crimes, ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity and genocide,” a letter from Armenia’s permanent representative to the UN says.

This step by official Yerevan was welcomed by the authorities of the unrecognized NKR. Representatives of the civil society of Armenia also made a statement. They called on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution condemning the blockade and demanding the immediate unblocking of the Lachin corridor.

Although the message of the Armenian Foreign Ministry about the appeal to the UN does not mention the possibility of the adoption of a resolution by the Security Council, Armenian political scientists believe that this is the main goal. Some experts consider this likely, while others do not exclude that a permanent member of the Security Council will use the right of veto and the adoption of the resolution will fail. The permanent members of the Security Council are the USA, France, Great Britain, Russia and China. When the meeting of the Security Council will take place is still unknown.

• “Respect, not recognize territorial integrity”: a proposal to Pashinyan

• “Is there an unspoken agreement to leave us alone with Baku?” – President of the unrecognized NKR

• “The road from the moon to Nagorno-Karabakh is also open” – Pashinyan in an interview with Euronews

This is stated in a letter to the Chairman of the UN Security Council from the Permanent Representative of Armenia Mher Margaryan. He described in detail the situation in NK as a result of the blockade. He stressed that all types of humanitarian supplies have been stopped for a long time, which is why there is an acute shortage of food, medicines and fuel.

“Due to lack of basic food and vitamins, about 2,000 pregnant women, about 30,000 children, 20,000 elderly people and 9,000 people with disabilities are struggling to survive in conditions of malnutrition. People with chronic diseases, including 4,687 people with diabetes and 8,450 people with diseases of the circulatory system, were left virtually without medicines.

As a result of the current situation, there has been an increase in mortality from a number of diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and malignant neoplasms. Between January and July, compared with the same period last year, the level of anemia among pregnant women under medical supervision reached about 90%, due to malnutrition and the absence or lack of appropriate medicines. In addition, hot weather conditions and the lack of disinfectants and medicines create the risk of epidemics in the region.”

The representative of Armenia points out that the actions of Azerbaijan are a gross violation of international humanitarian law. In addition, Baku does not comply with the decisions of the International Court of Justice. The letter states that Azerbaijan’s creation of conditions incompatible with life is a “mass crime against the indigenous people of NK”:

“The use of such collective punishment against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh poses an existential threat to them if people remain face to face with the aggressive policies of Azerbaijan.”

The Foreign Ministry of the unrecognized NKR welcomed Armenia’s decision to appeal to the UN Security Council:

“This can put an end to the massive gross violations of human rights by Azerbaijan in Artsakh and stop the policy of genocide consistently and systematically pursued by Azerbaijan.”

An appeal was also made to the Security Council to properly respond to the situation and decide on the implementation of “necessary, urgent and effective measures aimed at the immediate, complete and unconditional unblocking of the Lachin corridor.”

“We call and demand from all the main actors not to delay the decision-making and not to wait for more large-scale tragedies, to take practical and effective steps to stop the further course of this genocide. Delay costs human lives and suffering,” President of the unrecognized republic Arayik Harutyunyan said.

Armenian NGOs appealed to the member states of the UN Security Council with a call “to undertake the obligation to protect the Armenians from the genocide and ethnic cleansing organized by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh.” Representatives of civil society believe that the risks of these crimes are real:

“This is confirmed by international independent criminal law experts, genocide experts and specialized organizations.

In the event of a repetition of this tragedy with the Armenian people in the 21st century, the responsibility will fall on the members of the UN Security Council and the states that actually supported Azerbaijan, which is committing international crimes – genocide and ethnic cleansing.”

NGOs called on the UN Security Council to achieve the immediate unblocking of the Lachin corridor, the unhindered movement of people, vehicles and goods, in accordance with the decision of the UN Hague Court of February 22.

It is expected that urgent measures will be taken to bring an international peacekeeping mission into NK and the Lachin corridor. The UN Secretary General has proposed to send a fact-finding mission to the region, and to appoint his own special representative for the conflict in NK to ensure a long-term presence in the region.

Political scientist Tigran Grigoryan considers the adoption of a resolution on the Karabakh issue in the UN Security Council likely:

“It seems that none of the permanent members of the UN Security Council should use the right of veto, the majority of the members of the Security Council should vote for the resolution. I assume that the relevant work has been done with Russia.”

He recalled the discussion in the UN Security Council in December 2022, during which “several countries, including Russia”, failed to adopt the statement:

“Now the situation on earth has changed significantly, it has become even more complicated. We are dealing with a serious humanitarian crisis. There is also an interim decision of the International Court of Justice. In addition, it seems that Armenia has worked quite actively with the permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council.”

He thinks that Baku will still ignore the resolution, but if it is adopted, Azerbaijan will comment on it in a way that is desirable for itself. Therefore, according to Grigoryan, Armenia must ensure that the wording of the resolution cannot cause discrepancies. At the same time, he emphasizes that the adoption of the resolution itself can become “an important tool for Armenia and NK”.

Political observer Hakob Badalyan believes that Armenian society has formed a misconception about the UN Security Council as “a holy place where only our appeal is not enough to resolve issues important to us.”

“Can 5 permanent members of the Security Council have a practical influence on the policy of Azerbaijan, if

• for almost two years in active combat mode they have been busy redistributing the world,
• Baku’s policy enables each of them to resolve their issues.

They can, of course, if a more important mutual agreement is formed between them, even if it is temporary. And it will allow even if not completely restoring the previous normal mode of life, then at least it will solve the issue of the military and humanitarian security of Artsakh.”

In this case, according to the observer, there is a high probability that some time after the meeting of the UN Security Council there will be “another aggravation of the situation around Artsakh, this time, perhaps in the form of military operations.”

https://jam-news.net/armenia-appeals-to-un-security-council-on-nk-issue/