A rally in Stepanakert to end the blockade of Artsakh

As hundreds of Artsakh citizens gathered in Stepanakert’s Renaissance Square on Wednesday, the Human Rights Defender of Artsakh, Gegham Stepanyan, sounded the alarm saying the situation in Artsakh is at critical breaking point.

In a social media post Stepanyan urged the International Committee of the Red Cross to “sound the alarm of danger and genocide.”

”For a month, Artsakh has been completely cut off from humanitarian access, being literally besieged by Azerbaijan. Since June 15, the intentional and total ban on transportation of food and essential goods by Azerbaijan threatens the lives of 120,000 people of Artsakh. Since yesterday, Azerbaijan has also blocked the two-way transportation of patients and medicines by the ICRC,” said Stepanyan.

“The Russian peacekeepers transport cargo for their needs by helicopters, while the entire population of Artsakh is under the threat of starvation, and the international actors do not take any steps other than statements. Evidently, the international community is waiting for thousands of people to perish to then hypocritically express its regret,” Stepanyan emphasized.

“My people are being betrayed by everyone’s criminal indifference,” exclaimed Stepanyan.

Meanwhile, an organization called the “Popular Movement to Unblock the Corridor” held a rally in Stepanakert on Wednesday demanding action to end the now seven-month-old blockade of Artsakh.

“Our plan is to gather a large number of people here, after which we will start a march to the Hakari Bridge. For that, we need to be provided with fuel and security, and we need to turn to the Russian peacekeepers for both of those issues. If they don’t do anything, we will close the airport and cut off their supply, just as ours is cut off. For now, we will inform the population about our actions so that a large number of people gather,” Arthur Osipyan, an activist and organizer of the rally, told Armenpress.

Then the participants of the rally headed to the group’s headquarters where they announced that they will also appeal to the Artsakh authorities to support the implementation of the goals of the rally.