Karabakh pleads for help in tackling “humanitarian catastrophe”

Karabakh pleads for help in tackling “humanitarian catastrophe”

Mediamax news agency
24 Mar 05

Yerevan, 24 March: The Foreign Ministry of the Nagornyy Karabakh
Republic (NKR) issued a statement today in connection with the
publication of the report of the OSCE fact-finding mission which
visited the territories around the NKR.

“The NKR Foreign Ministry notes the high objectivity of the
fact-finding mission’s report. At the same time, it should be noted
that the mission covered only the territories controlled by the NKR
authorities after the establishment of truce, and this is why it
does not reflect the whole picture of the humanitarian catastrophe
which has emerged as a result of the war launched by Azerbaijan, when
about 500,000 Armenians became refugees, having lost their property,
motherland and confidence in the future,” the statement reads.

“The NKR authorities admit their responsibility for the destiny
of these people and will make every effort to create the necessary
conditions for them and restore their rights and pay them compensation
in the future either on a parity basis or unilaterally,” the statement
reads.

The NKR Foreign Ministry urged the international community to “follow
the example of the governments of Armenia and the USA which provide
humanitarian, financial and other assistance to the NKR people, respond
to the humanitarian needs of the people who suffered as a result of the
Azerbaijani authorities’ ethnic cleansing and large-scale hostilities,
stop using double standards and providing humanitarian programs only
for Azerbaijani refugees thus ignoring the rights of Armenian refugees
who found shelter on the territory of Nagornyy Karabakh”.