STATEMENT OF YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY ADDRESSED TO INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS REGARDING THE SITUATION CREATED AS A RESULT OF THE BLOCKADE IMPOSED ON THE LACHIN CORRIDOR
Since the morning of December 12th, a group of Azerbaijani civilians disguised as environmentalists have imposed a blockade on the Goris-Stepanakert highway (the Lachin Corridor) which is currently the only route linking Nagorno-Karabakh to the outside world. On top of that, during bitterly cold winter Azerbaijan had shut off natural gas supplies leaving the civilians in the territory without heating for 75 hours.
Considering that Aliyev’s authoritarian regime totally controls the Azerbaijani society and mass media, it is self-evident that the authorities of Azerbaijan stand behind these actions and this blockade has nothing to do with environmental issues. The statements made by Aliyev and the support shown to the “environmentalists” by the Azerbaijani Parliament bear witness to that.
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The so-called “environmental protests” are aimed at terrorizing Armenians living in Artsakh, committing ethnic cleansing and depopulating the territory. By holding around 120 thousand people captive, they seek to advance their interests in the negotiation process.
Due to this emergency, food and medical supplies have been disrupted. It has become impossible to aid those in need of urgent medical care. In addition, under these circumstances, people of Artsakh could not exercise their right to education.
Through its anti-humanitarian policy, Azerbaijan violates about 120 thousand people’s right to life, healthcare, an adequate standard of living, free movement, education and other fundamental human rights. It poses a threat to the existence of Armenians living in Artsakh which cannot but be construed as an intention to commit ethnic cleansing. Armenians in Artsakh are teetering on the brink of a humanitarian crisis.
Yerevan State University strongly condemns the blockade of the Lachin Corridor and calls upon its partners, friends and representatives of the academic community all over the world to speak up on various platforms and turn the spotlight on the atrocious actions perpetrated at the hands of the Azerbaijani government against the people of Artsakh to preclude the further worsening of the large-scale humanitarian disaster and its potentially tragic consequences.
ACADEMIC COUNCIL OF YEREVAN STATE UNIVERSITY
