Newsletter of the Artsakh Government – Day 93 Under Blockade

Azerbaijan again blocked the sole gas pipeline supplying Artsakh 

Under conditions of blockade, on March 10, Azerbaijan once again blocked the sole gas pipeline supplying Artsakh, depriving the people of Artsakh of the opportunity to use natural gas.

In the conditions of severe shortage of fuel and intermittent power outages, the regular blocking of gas supply affects both ordinary citizens, who use natural gas for cooking, heating their homes and meeting other primary needs, as well as state services that carry out humanitarian service.

Azerbaijan, by periodically blocking and then restoring the gas supply after some time, aims not only to deepen the humanitarian crisis, but also to create a sense of uncertainty among the people of Artsakh, to exert additional psychological pressure.

The units of the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan again violated the ceasefire

As reported by the Artsakh Ministry of Defense, on March 10, between 7:10 p.m. and 7:40 p.m., units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces violated the ceasefire in the northern direction of the contact line by using small arms.

There were no casualties on the Artsakh sides as result of the violation of the ceasefire.

The ceasefire violation was reported to the command of the Russian peacekeeping troops.

On March 10, 16 patients were transferred to Armenia by the International Committee of the Red Cross

Another 13 medical patients, who were referred to Armenia for treatment within the framework of the state order, returned to Artsakh with their companions.

Transfer of patients from Artsakh to Armenia continues to be carried out exclusively with the mediation and accompaniment of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

As of March 13, a total of 169 patients were transferred from Artsakh to Armenia by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The factions of the Artsakh National Assembly issued a statement

In a few days, the blockade of the 120,000 population of the Artsakh Republic by Azerbaijan will reach 100 days. Disregarding the decision of the International Court of Justice to end the blockade, the leadership of Azerbaijan continues the political course of depopulating Artsakh with the threat and use of force.

The military and political leadership of Azerbaijan misinforms its own public and international institutions with various propaganda tricks, with the aim of creating an illusion of an “era of peace” in the face of humanitarian pressures and intimidation against the people of Artsakh.

The factions of the National Assembly of the Republic of Artsakh, expressing the will and position of the people, demand from the authorities of the Republic of Armenia to adhere to the 1992 resolution of the Supreme Council of the Republic of Armenia, the decision of July 8 and not to question the right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh.

Under the leadership of President Araik Harutyunyan on March 12 an extraordinary extended session of the Security Council was held

In his speech, the head of state noted that the challenges caused by the blockade continue to exist, and the blocking of the natural gas pipeline supplied from Armenia on March 10 is another step towards the deepening of the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh.

President Harutyunyan once again drew the attention of the international community to the 91-day blockade of the people of Artsakh. He emphasized that the Republic of Artsakh is trying to eliminate the severe consequences of the 2020 war, but now it has faced new severe challenges caused by the blockade and the threat of using force.

The Minister of State called an extended consultation on the coordination of civil protection works

The Minister of State noted that it is necessary to clarify the short-term and long-term actions planned by the civil protection plan in order to ensure the safety of the population properly in all situations.

During the meeting, it was reported about the condition of shelters, as well as the measures planned by the civil defense plan. The state minister noted that it is necessary to present the list of works to be performed in the shortest possible time in order to plan a nationwide event and perform these works with the efforts of the people working in the state administration system and the citizens.

The Human Rights Defender of Artsakh issued a statement regarding the disinformation spread by the human rights commissioner of Azerbaijan

Sabina Aliyeva deliberately spread disinformation and made baseless statements about the alleged transfer of military equipment and troops from Armenia to Artsakh, without providing solid facts.

The “ammunition transport” argument is another blatant lie manufactured by the Azerbaijani government, used by the Azerbaijani Human Rights Commissioner, as a tool to cover up the ongoing blockade and the latest terrorist attack by an Azerbaijani ambush group. Such lies serve as an excuse to prepare the ground for new attacks in the future.

The comment of the Artsakh Foreign Ministry regarding the statement made by Toivo Klaar, the EU’s special representative for the crisis in South Caucasus and Georgia

Artsakh MFA took note of Toivo Klaar’s post on social networks on March 9, 2023. However, his remarks in an interview with Azerbaijani media on March 8 regarding the situation related to the blockade of the Lachin Corridor raise serious questions about his suitability and status of a neutral mediator.

If the EU special representative is really concerned about the actions that escalate the tension in the region, then we recommend paying attention to Azerbaijan’s military provocations, aggressive and belligerent statements, as well as the deployment of new military units and other military infrastructures in the occupied territories of Artsakh.

The MFA of Artsakh responded to the Azerbaijani proposal to hold another meeting

In response to the proposal of the office of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan to hold a meeting between the representatives of Azerbaijan and Artsakh, we inform you that the Republic of Artsakh adheres to its previously expressed position that such meetings can take place with the mediation of Russian peacekeepers, in the same place as on March 1 and on humanitarian, infrastructural, technical issues, without their unnecessary politicization.

At the same time, we inform you that the closure of the Lachin corridor and the continuation of the humanitarian crisis are unacceptable and do not in any way contribute to the formation of a favorable atmosphere for negotiations. We are convinced that Azerbaijan must properly implement both the obligations assumed by the tripartite declaration of November 9, 2020, as well as the requirements of the decision of the International Court of Justice, refraining from the use of force or the threat of force and from unilateral, extremist approaches. In that case, only favorable conditions will be created for further discussions.

As for the political issues of the settlement of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh conflict, let us remind that Artsakh is committed to the negotiations aimed at the comprehensive settlement of the conflict, which should take place in an internationally recognized and approved format, under the conditions of the presence of international guarantees of the equal rights of the parties and the fulfillment of the assumed obligations.

Update of daily statistics

About 850 people have been deprived of the opportunity to receive necessary medical treatment due to suspension of planned surgeries in all medical facilities of Artsakh.

As of today, 169 patients have been transferred from Artsakh to Armenia to receive appropriate medical care with the mediation and accompaniment of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Due to the Red Cross not having an ambulance and only being able to transport patients with an ordinary vehicle, it is not possible to transport patients needing to lay down because Azerbaijan has obstructed the movement of Artsakh ambulances.

755 business entities (17.7% of the total) have suspended their activities due to the impossible operating conditions under the blockade, while the remaining operate partially or with state support.

At least 6,400 people have lost jobs and sources of income as a result of the impact on the economy.

More than 36,500 tons of vital supplies, which would have been delivered during the period of the blockade, have not reached Artsakh. Only a meager amount, about 2,530 tons of goods, mostly food and medicine, has since been delivered by the ICRC and the Russian peacekeeping forces.

During the blockade, the economy of the Republic of Artsakh suffered a loss of around 150 million US dollars, leading to decline of the predicted annual GDP index (903 million dollars) by more than 16 percent.

Key facts

Due to the shortages in food, 20 long-day educational institutions have been working partially since January 9, and in different periods, instruction of kindergartens and schools were also completely or partially stopped.

Since the beginning of the blockade, several types of food, specifically almost all types of vegetables and fruits, which were imported from Armenia, have faced drastic shortages and eventually became unavailable. Considering the shortages of food, a special coupon system has been in effect in Artsakh since January 20. Within the coupon system, limited volumes of pasta, buckwheat, rice, sugar, oil, fruits, vegetables, eggs, as well as non-food products like washing powder, are sold.

Since January 9, the only high-voltage power line between Armenia and Artsakh has been cut in the territory under Azerbaijani control. The Azerbaijani side does not allow Artsakh specialists to enter and restore the power supply. Taking into account that the volume of domestic electricity production, currently run on hydropower, is much less than consumption, and the water resources of the Sarsang reservoir are decreasing, rolling blackouts have been instituted. From January 10 Artsakh switched to 2-hour blackouts, from January 17 to 4-hour blackouts, and since January 21 residents experience 6 hours of blackouts each day.

Since the beginning of the blockade, many countries and international organizations have condemned Azerbaijan’s actions and called for the lifting of the blockade. This issue was also discussed in the UN Security Council while the European Court of Human Rights ordered Azerbaijan to take all necessary and sufficient measures to end the blockade. The issue will soon be considered in the UN International Court of Justice (The Hague) as part of the proceedings of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.

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