The other day, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, gave a “confessed testimony” that the action to close the Lachin Corridor is aimed at depopulating Artsakh. He said. “Those who do not want to be our citizens, the road is not closed; it is open. They can leave. They can do it either on their own; we won’t stop them or with the Russian peacekeepers’ cars and buses. The way is open.”
Artsakh human rights defender Gegham Stepanyan told “Aravot” that, taking this fact into account, he turned to international partners.
– Mr. Stepanyan, what did you conclude from Aliyev’s statement?
– This is an alarm of genocide and ethnic cleansing, something we have discussed for a long time. I say it at every meeting with international partners. It is the confession of the leader of Azerbaijan, genocidal ambitions, and ethnic cleansing towards the people of Artsakh. If we do not see clear steps and reactions from the international community even after all this, then the solid conventions written after the Second World War will not have any meaning and value.
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– By the way, referring to those “international conventions,” Aliyev insisted that they should return to their “historical homeland” because Armenia is the historical “western Azerbaijan.”
– It is the dictator’s raving. It is the consequence that the war crimes committed by Azerbaijan during the 2020 war were not punished, responded to, and evaluated as they should have been. Therefore, the international community needs to improve in this matter. It all starts when Aliyev is considered a reliable partner in Europe when there is no courage to call the person who despises human rights by his name. That is why we have such a situation.
– “The second stage of the big return.” The entire state information resource of Azerbaijan has been devoted to the program under this title, and it implies the resettlement of Azerbaijanis in RA. To what extent is the reaction of the Armenian side equivalent to this, and what needs to be done? Not so long ago, Azerbaijan was talking about “returning to Karabakh,” and after several decades, it “returned” militarily.
– It is an essential question because today’s impulses coming from Azerbaijan should not be ignored. Right now, RA must use all the informational, diplomatic, and security tools so that Aliyev’s words do not become a reality in any way. We have the resources for this in the diplomatic and legal platforms, taking into account the help of the Diaspora as well.
Luiza SUKIASYAN
“Aravot” daily, 14.01.2023
