Hayastan Fund Calls for Opening of Stepanakert Airport
Artsakh authorities called on the international community to take decisive steps to end the blockade of the Lachin Corridor, which enters it fifth week, with the government being forced to issue ration coupons for food and other basic necessities.
Artsakh Parliament speaker Arthur Tovmasyan said in a statement on Monday that while the topic of Artsakh is being discussed in various international platforms there are no visible practical steps by any of them to put an end to the blockade.
“The Parliament of the Republic of Artsakh has appealed to all humanitarian organizations, the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairing countries, the civilized world through its statements, but to this day our voice has not been heard,” Tovmasyan said.
“We don’t need pity or empathy, we need substantive and practical steps. We are a people of hope and faith. Let’s hope that our prayers to God will open the door to salvation,” added Tovmasyan.
He said that there were 270 Armenian children who have been separated from their families and are currently in Armenia, having been deprived of the right to spend the New Year holiday with their families and to attend school.
“Do the young children of Artsakh, who are separated from their families really pose a threat to neighboring Azerbaijan or Turkey,” said Tovamasyan.
The authorities also decided to shut down preschools, kindergarten and some elementary schools due to the food shortages gripping Artsakh as result of the blockade beginning on Monday. High schools will continue to remain open.
The Artsakh government is also planning of issuing ration coupons for food and other essential products.
The mechanisms for introducing the ration regime have already been developed, the government said following a meeting chaired by State Minister Ruben Vardanyan, who is heading the emergency command center during the blockade.
The coupons will initially be for several types of essential products. The system will be introduced within several days.
After holding town hall meetings across Artsakh, Vardanyan said they proved that “the hardships create by the blockade have not broken the people’s spirit.”
The emergency command meeting also discussed the possibility of transporting severely-ill patients through the International Committee of the Red Cross, as well as reuniting separated families with minors.
Meanwhile, the Hayastan All Armenian Fund’s board of trustees called for the immediate opening of the Stepanakert Airport to facilitate the transport of cargo to Artsakh.
“The protracted blockade of the Lachin corridor has led to a growing humanitarian crisis that can turn into a humanitarian catastrophe. The shortage of essential commodities, food, and medicines has become palpable. In effect, the whole population of Nagorno-Karabakh has been deprived of the right to freedom of movement; thousands of people, including children, are stranded during the cold winter months, and many families have been forced to split finding themselves on different sides of the blockade,” the Hayastan Fund said in a statement.
Calling on Azerbaijan to immediately the Lachin Corridor blockade and urged the international community to take steps to prevent a “potential new genocide and to defend all the fundamental rights of the Nagorno-Karabakh population.”
“We urge the United Nations Secretary General, other international organizations, and the concerned states to make immediate efforts for operating the Stepanakert Airport and putting in place guarantees for delivering emergency humanitarian aid to the Nagorno-Karabakh population by air,” said the Hayastan Fund.
