Artsakh information center responds to Armenia`s MFA

ArmInfo. The Artsakh Info Headquarters responded to the statements of the Armenian Foreign Ministry regarding the abolition of the Republic of Artsakh and the issue of protecting the universal rights of the Artsakh people.

"Regarding the statement of the Armenian Foreign Ministry of April 5  of this year that "after the forced deportation of the Armenians of  Nagorno-Karabakh and the publication of the decree on the abolition  of Nagorno-Karabakh, the issue was removed from the agenda of the  settlement of interstate relations between the Republic of Armenia  and the Republic of Azerbaijan", we consider it necessary to  emphasize that it has no legal basis and is an unsuccessful attempt  to distract public attention from real problems," the Artsakh Info  Headquarters said.

The structure noted that after the forced displacement, the Artsakh  authorities showed restraint, trying to avoid unnecessary speculation  and intra-national problems.

"However, the lack of response to provocative statements that  periodically appear in the information field causes justified public  discontent.

It turns out that the Armenian Foreign Ministry, referring to a  document that has never been in the legal field of Artsakh,  simultaneously ignores the Declaration of Independence of the  Republic of Artsakh, the Constitution and laws, acting in the same  way in the case of Armenia's obligations to Artsakh and its people,  including as a guarantor of security," the NKR Information  Headquarters further stated. The statement further emphasizes that  according to the Constitution of the Republic of Artsakh, no  official, including the head of state, has the right to dissolve the  republic.

"Therefore, no one can dissolve a state created by a nationwide  referendum. The legitimate owner of this power is the people of  Artsakh, and it is inseparable from them. The so-called decree on the  liquidation of the Republic of Artsakh was signed in a difficult  situation created by the large-scale offensive of Azerbaijan, when  Artsakh was left alone with the armed forces of the enemy, which were  tens of times superior, when the Azerbaijani assault units invaded  Stepanakert, regional centers and other settlements.  This happened  in conditions when all interstate roads were controlled by them, and  most of the Defense Army was under blockade, and there was a direct  threat of physical destruction of the military personnel and  civilians of Artsakh, and there was an urgent need to open the only  road connecting with the Republic of Armenia, blocked by Azerbaijan,  in order to ensure the safe evacuation of the people of Artsakh,"  Infoshtab emphasized.

The statement also states that this document, which was regularly  mentioned mainly by some Armenian circles, could not be called a  document, since it was unconstitutional and also contradicted the Law  of the Republic of Artsakh "On Normative Legal Acts", according to  which normative legal acts come into force within the timeframes  specified in them, but not earlier than the next day after their  official publication, except for cases when the law establishes that  this normative legal act comes into force immediately after its  publication.

"Article 28 of the above-mentioned law also establishes that the  publication of normative legal acts is carried out by posting them on  the single website for the publication of normative legal acts  (arlexsis.am).  The so-called decree, as a document, was not included  in the single website for the publication of normative legal acts and  was not officially published. On the contrary, at the request of the  Azerbaijani side, a press release on this matter was distributed on  the pages of the Artsakh Information Headquarters, which cannot be  considered an official publication of the document.

Taking into account possible further speculations, a few days after  moving to Yerevan, by the decree of President Samvel Shahramanyan on  the same platform, the decree of September 26, 2023 was declared  invalid, the non-publication of which was also due to a number of  circumstances.

Based on this simple reality, the Armenian Foreign Ministry has no  legal obstacles to include the issue of Artsakh and its displaced  indigenous population in the agenda of normalization of interstate  relations between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

To this end, we are ready to provide the Armenian government with all  supporting documents and, if necessary, publish them. Once again, we  urge you to refrain from speculating on a document that never existed  in the legal field of Artsakh," the NKR Infoshtab concluded.