(Ottawa – December 13, 2022) – Today, the Armenian National Committee of Canada (ANCC) issued the following statement in relation to Azerbaijan’s blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the disruption of gas supply to the Republic of Artsakh.
“On the morning of December 12, a group of Azerbaijani citizens, disguised as concerned “environmentalists” blocked the Lachin corridor, the only route connecting the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) to Armenia and the outside world. The road has remained closed to all traffic, cutting off Artsakh from all necessary supplies, effectively leaving over 120,000 people in a full blockade and on the verge of a major humanitarian catastrophe.
While the so-called demonstrators claim to be environmentalists, it is evident that they are backed by the central Baku regime, as one of the participants confirmed that they are being provided with supplies from Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and were later joined by uniformed Azerbaijani military servicemen.
Additionally, the Human Rights Ombudsman of Artsakh confirmed earlier today that Azerbaijan has now cut off the gas supply as well, at a time when the temperature is at a freezing level.
Authorities in Armenia and Artsakh have appealed to the international community to immediately intervene and call upon the Azerbaijani dictatorship to halt their destabilizing actions. The State Minister of the Republic of Artsakh has warned of a clear attempt by the Azerbaijani government to commit genocide and ethnic cleansing in Artsakh, something which has long been espoused by representatives of the Azerbaijani regime.
The genocidal policies of the Azerbaijani regime have been on full display over the last 36 hours, demonstrating the regime’s real intentions toward the Armenians living in Artsakh, people, who they claim are their own citizens. The Azerbaijani regime’s constant terrorization of the indigenous Armenians of Artsakh is evidently meant to sow fear and intimidation within the population and contribute to Baku’s policy of ethnic cleansing.
We call on Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Melanie Joly to immediately issue a statement condemning Azerbaijan’s actions and call upon the Azerbaijani regime to immediately lift the blockade and restore the gas supply to Artsakh. All diplomatic tools must be used to apply multilateral pressure on Azerbaijan to abide by its commitments and to the norms of international law.”
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The ANCC is the largest and the most influential Armenian-Canadian grassroots human rights organization. Working in coordination with a network of offices, chapters, and supporters throughout Canada and affiliated organizations around the world, the ANCC actively advances the concerns of the Armenian-Canadian community on a broad range of issues and works to eliminate abuses of human rights throughout Canada and the world.
