Europeans for Artsakh platform sends letter to EU leadership with   request to support resolve housing issue of Artsakh refugees

ArmInfo. Prior to the joint meeting of the Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, the  President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, scheduled on 5 April in Brussels, the Europeans for Artsakh platform has addressed a LETTER to the EU  leadership, emphasizing the dire need of housing of the forcibly displaced indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh.

According to the source,  the  letter reads as follows:

"As EU citizens, we are appealing to the EU to earmark financial  means to enable dignified housing in the Republic of Armenia for the  forcibly displaced indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno  Karabakh/Artsakh, until international protection mechanisms are put  in place so that they can collectively return to their homeland,  namely Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh." 

Drawing parallels with the international projects, following the 1988  earthquake in Armenia, the Europeans for Artsakh platform suggests  that similar initiatives could provide a mid-term solution to prevent  the annihilation of a millennia-old culture.

The Europeans for Artsakh platform underlines EU's role as a  principal mediator of the negotiations on the Nagorno Karabakh  conflict, headed by President Charles Michel, since 2021. The letter  states that while the EU leadership continuously acknowledged the  necessity of protecting the human rights of the indigenous Armenian  population of Nagorno Karabakh, they often stressed the importance of  the "integration" of the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh in  Azerbaijan and advocated for it, also when Azerbaijan imposed a  blockade, starvation and carried our military aggression. The  platform makes a reference to the European Parliament (EP) resolution  of 5 October 2023 which expresses "deep dissatisfaction at the fact  that regular alerts by the EP regarding the situation in  Nagorno-Karabakh and the risks of a catastrophic outcome have been  disregarded by the Commission and the Council.  The letter emphasizes  that impunity emboldened Azerbaijan's destructive policies and sums  up "whereas the inaction of the Russian peacekeepers allowed  Azerbaijan to carry out its heinous agenda, the EU also bears its  share of responsibility for the reasons elaborated above. This does  not refer to the European Parliament which honored its role as the  House of democracy and continuously took an objective stance on the  situation".

In the aftermath of the ethnic cleansing, tens of thousands of  forcibly displaced Armenians have sought refuge in the Republic of  Armenia. While the Armenian Government has made efforts to address  their short-term needs, these are insufficient to provide a dignified  life for them.  The Europeans for Artsakh platform acknowledges with  gratitude EU's allocation of humanitarian aid to support the  indigenous Armenians forcibly displaced from  Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh. Nevertheless, humanitarian aid only  addresses short-term needs. As a matter of fact, already several  thousand Armenians from Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh have already left  the Republic of Armenia and have not returned. This is a real  disaster.  If the situation continues, with the time the unique  culture, dialects of the millennia-old indigenous Armenian population  of Nagorno Karabakh/Artsakh will disappear. 

The appeal  of the European for Artsakh is addressed to the President  of the European Council Charles Michel, the President of the European  Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commissioner for  Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliv r V rhelyi,  High Representative of  the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the  European Commission Josep Borrell, EU Special Representative for the  South Caucasus and the Crisis in Georgia Toivo Klaar and EP President  Roberta Metsola. The letter will also be addressed to the governments  of the EU member states, namely to the governments of the countries  where the Europeans for Artsakh platform has a representative body.