“We have come to ask you to urgently intervene to put an end to the ongoing humanitarian disaster,” said Martin Lawrence, the legal advisor of Armenia, during the oral hearing in the case of Armenia vs.
Azerbaijan at the UN International Court of Justice (ICJ). He stated that the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh is almost completely cut off from the outside world and warned: “If the court does not take quick steps, their lives will be in danger.”
Martin Lawrence listed the facts underlying RA’s application for interim relief: “Tens of thousands of ethnic Armenians were forcibly displaced from the territories that Azerbaijan conquered during the 44-day war. Not even one person was able to return to his home. After the end of the war, the Russian Federation sent a peacekeeping mission to the region to prevent the mass death of the civilian population of Nagorno-Karabakh. Even in that case, Azerbaijan has done everything within its power to make the life of the remaining ethnic Armenians there intolerable.”
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Recalling the words of Ilham Aliyev, RA’s legal advisor said: “Aliyev says that our main duty is to evict Armenians from our lands; moreover, this is a man who likes to call Armenians dogs, vandals, savages, barbarians.” He also showed a stamp issued by Azerbaijan, in which a person in a uniform intended for toxic substances disinfects Nagorno-Karabakh. He commented that thus Azerbaijan considers Armenians to be exterminated and considers it necessary.
Referring to the blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the actions of the so-called environmental activists, he said: “It was a poorly made-up story from the beginning. No one believed that the protesters were concerned about the environment in Nagorno-Karabakh. On the same day, an Azerbaijani environmentalist wrote on Facebook that it is clear from the sky that the protest of environmental activists in Karabakh is a fabricated story and that until now; they have not seen a single person who would care about ecological issues.
They are role players in the adapted theater. According to that person, few are representatives of environmental structures. Most of them are representatives of such NGOs, which are either financed by the government of Azerbaijan or by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. He also mentioned that they are demonstrators in military uniforms. Martin Lawrence stated that it is evident that Azerbaijan is trying to achieve what Aliyev considered his primary duty, to evict Armenians from these lands. President Aliyev said it himself. He reminded everyone that the so-called protesters spread anti-Armenian and hate speech using the symbols of Grey Wolves. In the second part of his speech, Martin Lawrence spoke about the humanitarian consequences.
He drew a parallel and said: “The population of Nagorno-Karabakh is the size of the student city of Leiden. What would happen there if it was cut off from the outside world for fifty days, and the gas supply and electricity were interrupted? It doesn’t take much imagination to answer that question.” He stated that the entire international community has called on Azerbaijan to stop the blockade of the Lachin Corridor. At the same time, it continues to block the only road connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia.
Martin Lawrence, stating that the Lachin Corridor has been under the control of Russian peacekeepers since November 2020, noted that none of their daily publications mentioned the transfer of weapons, land mines, or minerals. According to Martin Laurence, one thing unites those blocking the Lachin Corridor: “They are government-funded citizens, civil servants, and soldiers, all of whom are united by their deep hatred for Armenians. They are there with the government’s support and to advance the government’s agenda to make life unbearable for Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh. If the government of Azerbaijan wanted to, it would remove the blockade. Therefore, the decision of the Court is an urgent necessity.”
Tatev HARUTYUNYAN
