Western Azerbaijan Community: We call upon the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to ensure safe travel between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic
14 August 2023, 21:55

We, the Western Azerbaijan Community, representing Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia, would like to once again draw the attention of the world to the grave consequences of Armenia's policy based on the radical ideology of mono-ethnicity and territorial expansion.

Armenia’s policy resulted in the expulsion of all Azerbaijanis from Armenia between 1987 and 1991, the occupation of 20% of Azerbaijan's territories between 1991 and 1994, the expulsion of all Azerbaijanis from the occupied lands, the destruction of all occupied Azerbaijani settlements, and the rendering of those lands uninhabitable by extensively laying of landmines. One of the most serious manifestations of this hateful policy is the ongoing blockade against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan. In 1991, Armenia blocked highways, railways, gas pipelines, and power lines connecting the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic to the main part of Azerbaijan. This inhumane blockade, which is still ongoing, is causing immeasurable difficulties and suffering to the population of the Autonomous Republic, whose number is close to half a million.

Armenia's goal in imposing this blockade was to capture the Autonomous Republic of Nakhchivan. Realizing that it could not occupy the Autonomous Republic militarily in the face of the determined policy of National Leader Heydar Aliyev and his worthy successor President Ilham Aliyev, and the heroic resistance of the residents of Nakhchivan, Armenia implemented this nefarious blockade to force the population to leave Nakhchivan by subjecting them to immense deprivation.

Until Azerbaijan completed the arrangement of alternative lines of communication through Turkey and Iran in 2005, the people of Nakhchivan, a region with a harsh continental climate, suffered from severe cold and faced shortages of food and medical supplies. Although the aforementioned transit alternatives are operational now, the route through Armenia remains the shortest, most effective, and cost-effective option due to geographical and other reasons.

Armenia refuses to fulfill its specific obligation to ensure unimpeded transit between the main part of Azerbaijan and its Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, as stipulated by international law, including the Trilateral Statement of November 10, 2020. By persistently maintaining this inhumane blockade, Armenia shows clear disregard for the suffering of the population and effectively continues its territorial claim, further aggravating the situation in the region.

It is very disappointing that some international circles, which have been silent for thirty years about the sufferings of the residents of Nakhchivan due to the blockade by Armenia, are now suddenly voicing their concerns about the nonexistent "humanitarian situation" in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Such discrimination and prejudice undermine the credibility of those who claim to defend human rights and expose their hypocrisy.

We demand that Armenia, in accordance with international law and its commitment stipulated in the Trilateral Statement of November 10, 2020, ensure the operation of the Zangezur corridor and lift the inhumane blockade it continues against the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan.

Additionally, we call on the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to ensure safe travel between the main part of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic via Armenia.