“A genocidal act is taking place against the Armenians of Artsakh, which Azerbaijan planned. Artsakh was kept under siege for about nine months, and people were subjected to starvation, then Aliyev said that the road will be opened and it will be opened one-way,” said Grigori Ayvazyan, the Chairman of the Assembly of Azerbaijani Armenians and Azerbaijani expert, in a conversation with “Aravot,” referring to the forced displacement of Artsakh Armenians.
“This was not done only by Azerbaijan; we have seen the toothless statements of all power centers during this period. They only called the parties and did not take any steps; they did not impose sanctions against the tyrant of Azerbaijan. And so, it turns out that a new Armenian genocide has taken place and is taking place in front of the civilized world.
On the other hand, we have not seen enough endurance, so the Armenian government would not submit to the Aliyev plan either. The depopulation of Artsakh is a great tragedy,” says Ayvazyan.
Regarding the material damage the forcibly displaced Artsakh Armenians suffer, Grigory Ayvazyan said: “First of all, here there is a risk of losing an essential part of the homeland, and this is not subject to monetary calculation. What compensation should we demand instead of Dadivank and Amaras? None, only the right of return. It is necessary to fight, organize oneself, and not be discouraged. Now, the most significant danger can be the despair of people to lay down their weapons; we should not allow that. Each of us should do everything to keep the fire in those people. I am not saying they should return to Artsakh under the Azerbaijani Nazi rule, but they should protect their rights by all possible means, together with us.”
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Grigori Ayvazyan also referred to the decree of the President of the Republic of Artsakh, Samvel Shahramanyan, which states that by January 1, 2024, all state institutions and their subordinate organizations must be dissolved, and the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh) ceases to exist. “There are legal proceedings. When the Republic of Artsakh was declared, it was declared as a result of a referendum. Even if the King of Britain signs the dissolution decree of the Republic of Artsakh, it has neither legal nor political force. If the state was formed by the will of the people, it cannot be dissolved by decree. That decree was signed under the threat of force, so it is doubly illegal. It is not a threat of force; it is a genocidal act.
We saw that former Minister of State of Artsakh Ruben Vardanyan and other persons were kidnapped. Azerbaijanis present some lists and threaten, saying leave until we block the road and massacre all of you. We should not put down our weapons; the actions of the diplomatic corps and the Diaspora factor are significant here, who today see with their own eyes a new genocide, which their grandfathers and grandmothers told about. We have to fight. First, we have to see what will happen to Artsakh. Will it completely depopulate, or will some people stay there,” he said.
According to our interlocutor, such events happened that should not have happened. “We should not have paid tribute to the pressure of Azerbaijan, and people should not have been expelled from there. Now Azerbaijan is trying to present that they are not evicting anyone from Artsakh, and people are leaving of their own free will. But it is not true, and everyone sees it. Both the civilized world and Armenia should make accurate assessments; work should be done in the humanitarian, political, and legal spheres,” added Ayvazyan.
Rosa HOVHANNISYAN
