ArmInfo.On December 10, on the occasion of the referendum on independence of the Republic of Artsakh and the International Day of Commemoration and Dignity of the Victims of the Crime of Genocide and of the Prevention of this Crime, Artsakh MPs visited Yerablur to pay tribute to the memory of the Armenians that sacrificed their lives for Artsakh's freedom.
On this occasion, the NKR Parliament also issued a statement stating that in the history of the national liberation struggle of Artsakh, the 1991 independence referendum became the key to the formation of the republic on the basis of self-determination and democratic principles.
"The 1991 independence referendum was the cornerstone on which the Republic of Artsakh was built and became the pride and beacon of victory for all Armenians.
On the same day in 2006, the people of Artsakh, through a referendum on the adoption of the Constitution, once again expressed their desire to have an independent state and continue the path of struggle for freedom.
On September 19, 2023, as a result of the military aggression of Azerbaijan, hundreds of our compatriots were killed, including children and women, Artsakh, the thousand-year-old homeland of the Armenian people, was de-Armenized. Due to the inability to ensure security and respect for rights, the population of Artsakh decided to take the extreme step of leaving their homeland. The international community also gave its assessment to all this.
The Foreign Ministries of France and Cyprus, the German Bundestag, the parliaments of Austria and the Netherlands, the European Parliament, the Lemkin Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and other authoritative international organizations called what happened in Nagorno-Karabakh ethnic cleansing.
After committing genocide against the Armenian people, Azerbaijan forced the President of the Republic of Artsakh to sign a document as a precondition for the cessation of hostilities in order to throw dust in the eyes of international players and justify their actions.
Initially realizing the unconstitutionality of the document imposed by Azerbaijan, assessing the possible threats of genocide of the civilian population, obstruction of their free movement and arbitrary arrests, the President adopted a decree according to which the state institutions of Artsakh were to be liquidated before January 1, 2024, and the population had to decide to leave their homeland or integrate into Azerbaijan.
Considering the intensity of the steps taken and being taken by the parties interested in the final closure of the Artsakh issue, and the aggressive behavior of the parties interested in this, the National Assembly reaffirms its commitment to upholding the rights of the people of Artsakh and expresses its readiness to discuss all problematic issues with the interested parties.
The Parliament of Artsakh, faithful to the mandate received as a result of the free will of the Artsakh people, is determined to defend the rights and freedoms realized by the blood and sweat of thousands of sons of the Armenian people," the statement reads.