of Donara Gabrielyan, Rector of Mesrop Mashtots University of the Republic of Artsakh/the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh, Honorary Doctor of the Slavic Academy of Nature and Society, Honorary Professor of the International University of Vienna, Member of the Club of the Rectors of Europe, Academic Staff and Student Council of Mesrop Mashtots University, addressed to RA and foreign universities
We appeal for urgent support and alert on behalf of 120,000 people living in the Republic of Artsakh, tens of thousands of whom are pupils and students.
From December 12, 2022 until now Azerbaijan has illegally blocked the only communication road connecting the Republic of Artsakh with the Republic of Armenia and the outside world (the humanitarian corridor of Lachin) subjecting Artsakh to a complete blockade.
“Justifying” the blocking of the corridor with pseudo-ecological narratives, Azerbaijan is actually implementing a continuous program of state-coordinated complex actions. A multi-layered toolkit of political, economic, energy, psychological and informational terrorism is used against the people of Artsakh. Azerbaijan’s goal is to have “Artsakh without Armenians” as the final result of the creeping ethnic cleansing policy.
Azerbaijan grossly violates the principles of international law. As a result of the humanitarian disaster caused by Azerbaijan, the right to education of thousands of pupils and students of the Republic of Artsakh has been violated.
We call on the universities to address the governments of their own countries with the following demands:
- to apply practical pressure against Azerbaijan to unblock the Lachin corridor and end the complete blockade of the Republic of Artsakh,
- to immediately impose mechanisms of sanctions in order to restrain and prevent the terrorist actions of Azerbaijan against the Republic of Artsakh,
- not to contribute to the impunity of Azerbaijan, not to become an accomplice in the legitimization of impunity,
- not to subordinate human rights to geopolitical and geoeconomic interests,
- to respect the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh as a vital means of their salvation.
MESROP MASHTOTS UNIVERSITY
THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH / THE REPUBLIC OF NAGORNO KARABAKH 1.02.2023