AMBITION IS THE FIRST STEP TOWARDS
Living in a new reality: Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh are still subject to the blockade
Sona Hovsepyan
Myth Detector Lab
23/06/2023
“I am sure that the life of Armenians who live in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan will be much better than during the times of occupation” president Ilham Aliyev announced during his speech at the opening of the 10th Global Baku Forum.
Minority rights in Azerbaijan are protected by the constitution, according to President Ilham Aliyev's speech. Azerbaijan, according to Ilham Aliyev, is also a country with a high level of religious and ethnic tolerance.
However, research from international organizations, such as the European Parliament and Minority Rights Group shows that Azerbaijan’s minority population faces discrimination and restrictions.
According to the European Parliament analysis. Azerbaijan has more than fifteen ethnic groups, together constituting 8.4 % of the population. Lezgins, Armenian, Russians and Talysh are the main minorities.
Historically, Armenians were Azerbaijan’s largest minority. As a result of the 1991-1994 Nagorno-Karabakh war, the entire Armenian population was forced to leave Azerbaijan, including The Nakhichevan Autonomous Republic.
Despite the fact that Azerbaijan's president has stated that the people of Nagorno-Karabakh will live peacefully in Azerbaijan, the reality is quite the opposite. As reported by the European Parliament the tiny Armenian community is in a difficult situation.
Azerbaijan's president also contradicts himself. Ilham Aliyev was delivering a speech on May 28 in the town of Lachin.
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“The border checkpoint established on the border on April 23 should be a lesson for the Armenians living in the Karabakh region today. Unfortunately, they are still relying on someone, thinking that someone will save them in the future, someone will fight a war with Azerbaijan in the future. This is all nonsense”.
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The President's speech, which was also addressed to Nagorno-Karabakh residents, said “We simply think that they will understand everything and will come to live under the flag of Azerbaijan. We are waiting for that. Therefore, we are not taking any other steps, and I think that the events of the last two and a half years should wake them up from this dream.”
The blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh
Before the 44-day war, Anush Hayriyan and his family moved from Nagorno-Karabakh Martuni City. As Anush says, they had decided to settle permanently in Armenia. However, Anush's uncle, aunt, other relatives and friends remained in Nagorno-Karabakh even after the war ended.
While she didn’t witness the 44-day war, she witnessed the April 2016 war.
Anush says “I witnessed the four-day war in April 2016 and know exactly what happened. Explosions, civilian casualties, including one of my friend's sister”
During the war Anush's grandparents were in Nagorno-Karabakh. Anush says she was worried about her relatives, but they were able to flee to Armenia.
“Eventually, they relocated to Stepanakert, from which people were transported to Armenia”.
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Anush's father, Vahe Hayriyan, was killed by a sniper shot in 2008 while living in Nagorno-Karabakh. Also Anush's uncle was murdered when he was only 19 years old in the 1990s.
“People always ask me what happened in 2008 when your father was killed, and I will tell you one thing: the war in Artsakh has never stopped, and there have always been victims”.
Anush Hayriya claims that, despite the tense situation, she has always felt safe in Nagorno-Karabakh, but she is now withholding something in order to move to Nagorno-Karabakh permanently.
“It's now deserted. I'm not sure if it's a lack of people or the spirit of war. Those people who used to have bright faces have now lost their sons. They don't want to talk”.
Anush Hayriyan last visited Nagorno-Karabakh in the summer of 2022.
On the 12th of December dozens of Azerbaijani “eco-activists” had blocked the Lachin corridor, which is the only road connecting Armenia to Nagorno-Karabakh. However, Azerbaijan stopped the “eco-protest” after establishing a checkpoint on the Lachin corridor. This causes humanitarian problems such as power, food, and internet access, as well as other humanitarian issues.
Aloyan Andranik, Anushi Hayriyan's uncle, lives in Martuni city with his two children and pregnant wife. According to Andranik, the issue of medicine and food is frequently raised in Nagorno-Karabakh.
"I feel pain seeing a two-year-old child want chocolate, but you can't buy it because there isn't any."
Aloyan Andranik’s children
According to official figures, as a result of the 2020 conflict in and around Nagorno-Karabakh, 91,000 people were displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. 88% of these people were women, children or the elderly.
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According to a report by the Nagorno-Karabakh human rights defender, as a result of the blockade a total of about 3.900 people, including 570 children have been separated from their families.
How residents of Nagorno-Karabakh travel through the Lachin Corridor
According to Karabakh officials, nineteen children were returning to Nagorno-Karabakh via the Lachin Corridor in January 2023 when their cars were stopped and boarded by Azerbaijani "eco-activists" who began filming the terrified children and one of them fainted as a result. In December, children travelled to Armenia to watch the Junior Eurovision competition.
According to Azerbaijani media such as Caliber News, Armenian teenagers are freely passing through the Lachin corridor on Russian peacekeeper vehicles. However, the Azerbaijani media had previously aired a video in which the teenagers were filmed.
However, teenagers eventually passed through the Lachin corridor after that.
Arkadi Khachatryan and his family were settlers in the Nagorno-Karabakh Hadrut region for 22 years. After a 44-day war, Azerbaijan took control of the Hadrut region. Arkadi worked as a contract soldier in the Ministry of Defense of Nagorno-Karabakh. They relocated to Armenia, Vedi City, following the second Nagorno-Karabakh war. Previously, when Arkadi was in Karabakh, it was under the control of “eco-activists”. He was unable to return home. He recently passed through an Azerbaijan checkpoint with the assistance of Russian peacekeepers.
“Staying in Artsakh and serving in the army will be a problem in the future. I even sold my car because I couldn't pass through the checkpoint with it”.
Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh, according to Arkadi Khachatryan, are unable to pass the checkpoint in their own vehicles. There were no other problems at the Azerbaijan checkpoint, he said.
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Tofik Babayev, AFP via Getty Images
However, the situation has recently changed. The Azerbaijani side has now prohibited humanitarian aid and patients from being transferred to Nagorno-Karabakh by Russian peacekeepers and the Red Cross.
According to the Minister of Health of the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) was unable to transport 102 medical patients on June 15.
Furthermore, medical supplies have been completely halted, according to the Nagorno-Karabakh human rights defender.
During the government session, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan recorded Azerbaijani actions.
“These actions once again substantiate our fear that Azerbaijan is conducting a policy of ethnic cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh. Although in this case it is not about fear, but about the start of actions. How else does the ethnic cleansing take place: the supply of food, gas, and electricity to the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh is blocked, citizens doing agricultural work are being shooted at, the possibility of movement is blocked even for patients in extremely critical condition”, announced Pashinyan.