A bill on “occupied territories by Azerbaijan,” jointly authored by all five factions represented in Artsakh National Assembly, has been placed on the legislature’s agenda and will be read and discussed on February 16.
The draft bill, which was announced on Sunday, seeks to affirm that Azerbaijan has occupied territories in Artsakh and alerts international players that they cannot take any action on the occupied territories of Artsakh without the implicit knowledge and approval by the Armenian side. The bill identifies the territories occupied as a result of the 2020 War, as well as the Shahumian region and the cities of Martuni and Martakert, which came under Azerbaijani control after the first Artsakh War.
“This law is necessary and even belated,” said Artur Mosiyan, the head of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation faction of the Artsakh parliament.
“With the help of Turkey and international terrorist organizations Azerbaijan started a war and occupied a large part of the Artsakh Republic. We need to talk about the legal status of those territories, the rights of our compatriots, be it their right to life or their right to property,” explained Mosiyan.
“The law shall establish a legal basis for us. The specifics of the activity the state administration, local self-government bodies, organizations, the specifics on protection of human rights, protection of the rights and interests of legal entities in those areas will be defined,” Arthur Harutyunyan, leader of the Free Homeland, CDU faction said.
According to Metakse Hakobyan, member of the Justice faction, the law will also assess the processes that take place in the occupied parts of Artsakh.
“For more than a year, we have been constantly hearing calls inviting international organizations to make investments, to carry out certain functions there. By this legal act, we shall confirm that if someone does not coordinate actions with the Armenian side, those actions are considered illegal,” Hakopyan explained.
The bill is expected to be adopted on February 18, on the eve of the 34th anniversary of the Artsakh Liberation Movement.