Call for Karabakh

Click to read the article in Turkish

Numerous intellectuals, writers, politicians, and human rights advocates from Turkey have issued a call to the international community to take action for the lifting of the blockade imposed by Azerbaijan on Nagorno-Karabakh.

The joint statement released states, "Backed by the support of the Ankara regime, the Baku regime has been imposing a blockade on the Armenian people of Nagorno-Karabakh for months, raising the possibility of genocide."

"No essential supplies are entering Karabakh"

"Following the last Karabakh war involving the Turkish Armed Forces, the Stepanakert-Goris road, which facilitates passage between Armenia and Karabakh and should be open for humanitarian aid vehicles, emergency services, and peacekeeping forces, has been under siege and closed since December 12, 2022," the statement underlines. 

It further highlights that the Azerbaijani government is ignoring the calls made, stating, "While the United Nations, European Union institutions, and Council of Europe institutions have been calling on Azerbaijan to lift the blockade on 120,000 people in Karabakh for months, the Baku regime ignores, rejects, or denies all these calls. However, everyone knows that no essential supplies are entering Karabakh, and no one from Karabakh can even leave the region to meet urgent healthcare needs."

"Preventing the danger of genocide"

"We, the undersigned individuals from Turkey, see that the international public opinion has not been sensitive enough to the developments and we are watching the situation with concern," the statement says and adds, "Preventing genocides does not mean waiting for them to happen and then intervening. It means taking active initiatives now to prevent such a danger."

Call for "active stance" to the international community

The statement concludes with a call to all states, especially international organizations like the United Nations and the International Red Cross, and to the international public opinion, urging them to take an active stance. It states, "Just as the Berlin blockade was broken in 1948-49, we call for the breaking of the Karabakh blockade through air supply routes, thus ending this humanitarian tragedy."

What happened?

Azerbaijani civilians identifying themselves as environmental activists have closed the Lachin Corridor since December 12, 2022.

The activists claim that they organized the protests due to the illegal operation of mines on Azerbaijani territory and the resulting environmental damage.

Armenia, on the other hand, alleges that the Azerbaijani government directs the protesters. While Azerbaijan denies these accusations by Armenia, it argues that some convoys and aid have passed through the Lachin Corridor, thus asserting that there is no blockade.

Armenia has previously made appeals to Russia in public regarding Nagorno-Karabakh and the Lachin Corridor. In December 2022, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan accused Russian peacekeeping troops in the region of failing to fulfill their duties.

During the 2020 war, Azerbaijan recaptured significant portions of Nagorno-Karabakh. Armenia, accusing Azerbaijan of blocking the Lachin Corridor, also brought the matter before the International Court of Justice at the United Nations. (NT/PE)