Brussels, 02 September 2024 – Thirty-three years ago, on September 2, 1991, the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh was proclaimed during a joint session of the Councils of People’s Deputies of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast and the Shahumyan region. This declaration followed a period of oppression and violence against the indigenous Armenian population by Azerbaijan.
In response to these dire circumstances, the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh exercised their right to self-determination, as enshrined in the Constitution and laws of the USSR. This act of self-determination was further reinforced by a nationwide referendum in 1991 and the Declaration of Independence in 1992.
In the meanwhile, Azerbaijan unleashed a war which lasted 3 years, and during which the indigenous Armenian population was forced to defend its right to continue living on its own homeland of millennia.
Nevertheless, in order to gain control of Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh by force, Azerbaijan started another full-scale war in 2020 which lasted 44-days. In blatant violation of the ceasefire statement signed in November 2020, Azerbaijan launched a military offensive in September 2023, after imposing 9 months of total blockade and starvation on the native Armenian population.
Thus, in September 2023 Azerbaijan carried out an ethnic cleansing, leaving Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh under Azerbaijani control and leading to the forced displacement of the entire indigenous Armenian population – 150.000 people.
The EAFJD reaffirms that an ethnic cleansing does not resolve conflicts, it aggravates them. The EU leadership must keep the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict on its agenda and protect the right of the Armenian population to collective return, under international protection.
Furthermore, we urge the EU to exert pressure on Azerbaijan to immediately release all Armenian hostages illegally held in Baku. The EAFJD also calls on the EU leadership and the relevant international organizations to prevent Azerbaijan from destroying or appropriating the rich Armenian cultural and religious heritage in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh.
On this occasion, the EAFJD President Kaspar Karampetian stated:
“Although Armenian Artsakh is currently occupied by Azerbaijan, we once again honor the resilience of the people of Artsakh on this historic day. The EAFJD remains firm in its support for the inalienable rights of the indigenous Armenian population of Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. Lasting and sustainable peace in the region can only be achieved through the protection of the right to collective return of the native Armenian population of Artsakh under international protection and the recognition of their free will.”
