People of Artsakh consider it unacceptable to use Aghdam road as an alternative to Lachin corridor

Representatives of the civil society of the Republic of Artsakh have expressed their determined position on the proposals for the use of alternative transport routes to the Lachin corridor, in particular, for humanitarian access through Akna (Aghdam) to besieged Artsakh. According to Artsakhpress, representatives of the Artsakh civil society have noted in their statement that it is naive to believe that Azerbaijan, which has been keeping Artsakh in a total blockade for eight months, slowly condemning its people to death, suddenly has developed a sense of humanity and decided to provide humanitarian access through its territory.

“There is no doubt that this is another trick of the Azerbaijani authorities to justify their criminal actions, conceal genocidal intentions and trample the dignity of the Artsakh people with the aim of future enslaving. The Azerbaijani authorities are using pseudo-humanism, trying to shift the focus of the international community away from real ambitions of ethnic cleansing and genocide of Artsakh, depriving the people of Artsakh of the opportunity to live freely and safely on their land. Such actions are incompatible with the universal principles of justice and human rights. The people of Artsakh cannot and do not intend to accept such an offer from the country that three years ago unleashed an aggressive war and occupied cities and villages of Artsakh.

The country that continues destroying Armenian shrines, violates the fundamental rights of the Artsakh citizens, purposefully and systematically creates unbearable living conditions for 120,000 civilians, including 20,000 elderly people, 9,000 people with disabilities, 2,000 pregnant women and 30,000 children, and proceeds to terrorize and threaten the civilian population with a new war. We call on the international community to be vigilant, to take a more responsible approach while assessing any actions and proposals of Azerbaijan, and not to succumb to its criminal intentions. It is crucial to prevent the abuse of false humanism aimed at concealing aggression against the civilian population of Artsakh and trampling on their rights.

We also urge all participants of the peaceful settlement process of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, including the OSCE Minsk Group, to pay attention to the real needs and interests of the people of Artsakh and seek a fair solution based on their rights and dignity, as well as respect for human life.

We are convinced that only such an approach can lead to real peace, stability and prosperity for all the peoples of the region. We consider any proposal for a peaceful settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, which ignores the right of the people of Artsakh to self-determination, as encouragement of criminal plans for the forced subjection of the people of Artsakh to the authoritarian, dictatorial and Anti-Armenian regime of Azerbaijan,” the statement says.