ArmInfo.An attempt is being made to remove the issue of returning Artsakh people to their homes from the agenda. This opinion is shared by the citizens of Artsakh - participants in the civil initiative. Having gathered at the UN building in Yerevan, they ask the international structure to guarantee the protection of public and private property of the spiritual and cultural heritage in Artsakh from Azerbaijani occupation attacks by putting pressure on Baku and in compliance with the decisions of the International Criminal Court of December 7, 2021 and November 17, 2023.
"If we left our homes because there was an existential threat to us due to the genocidal policies (of Baku), this does not mean that we are ready to give up our homes, our history and our cultural heritage," one said in an interview with journalists of the protest participants Armina Avakimyan. When returning to Artsakh, they believe, international protection measures should be applied, including through the deployment of peacekeeping forces.
According to the participants of the action, more than 6 thousand objects of the historical and cultural heritage of Artsakh are today under threat of destruction. Baku has been implementing a similar policy for a long time, but today, after carrying out ethnic cleansing, they are also erasing the trace of Armenians in Artsakh, they say.
The exodus of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh (Republic of Artsakh) began on September 24, 2023. This was preceded by a months-long blockade of Artsakh by Azerbaijan (since December 12, 2022), which caused an acute humanitarian crisis in the region, and hostilities started by Azerbaijan on September 19, 2023. On September 20, the NKR authorities agreed to the disarmament of the NKR Defense Army and to negotiations. On September 28, NKR President Samvel Shahramanyan signed a decree on the termination of the existence of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) from January 1, 2024 and on the dissolution of all state institutions. The population of Nagorno-Karabakh, including those outside the republic, after the entry into force of this Decree, was ordered to familiarize itself with the conditions of reintegration presented by the Republic of Azerbaijan, in order to make an independent and individual decision in the future on the possibility of staying (returning) to Nagorno-Karabakh.