“We, as European citizens and taxpayers, have the right to demand”, said the general coordinator of the Federation of Armenian Organizations of Belgium Shahnur Minasyan, the presentation of “Europe’s Engagement in Artsakh” campaign. The point is that Armenians living in European countries and those who are tax-paying in these countries have the right to demand Europe to show equal approach towards Artsakh and implement various programs, as it does in other unrecognized countries.

Signature collection of Armenians living in Europe is planned within the framework of the campaign. It started on June 7. Shahnur Minasyan said there are two thousand signatures, but the number is small, as 800,000 Armenians live in Europe. “We urge to join and show that Artsakh aspires to Europe through its system of values and it is not true that it is ignored. This is not a political campaign: it’s a social initiative which aims to establish connections between Artsakh and Europe through European civic organizations”, he said.

After the signature collection, which will probably be summed up in autumn, it will be presented to different European institutions with a demand not to ignore Artsakh.

But the campaign will not end with signature collection, the work will be continuous.

AGBU Armenia’s Director Dalar Kazanjian said that they are implementing various projects in Artsakh, but they especially emphasize this campaign. “EU involvement in Artsakh is not an end in itself: the goal is to change people’s opinions and inform the reality. We want different international institutions to be involved in this. We started with the EU. AGBU’s goal is to ensure a better life for the people of Artsakh, the protection of their human rights”, she said.

Nelly GRIGORYAN