For the third year already, Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) is welcoming the New Year under extraordinary conditions. And this year, being under a blockade, people silently marched to the Stepanakert memorial complex where a memorial service was held in memory of the martyrs. The sad thing was that no one from the authorities participated in that march. Davit Galstyan, head of the opposition "Justice" Faction of the Artsakh National Assembly (NA), told Armenian News-NEWS.am about this
"People were not in a good mood, there was no New Year's feeling. We tried to create a festive mood for the children. We kept the symbolism of the New Year. Santa Claus brought gifts for the children, perhaps this is how much we felt the spirit of the New Year," said the MP.
It is the 23rd day that Artsakh is under an Azerbaijani blockade and the lawmaker from Artsakh believes that the authorities of Armenia and Artsakh are not taking enough steps to get out of the blockade.
“We all understand that the blockade can last a long time, and in that case many problems will arise. For us, the behavior of Armenia’s authorities, the passive approach is more cruel for us than the reaction of the international community.
If the authorities of the Republic of Armenia were to stand with [Artsakh] today and set the task that if the road is not [re]opened, it will diplomatic relations and there can be no talk of a peace treaty, then it would be more important for us than the reaction of the international community.
But Armenia continues to move forward with the fabricated agenda of peace and is ready to give road to Azerbaijan in the case when Azerbaijan has taken 120 thousand Armenian hostages [in Artsakh]. That statement of Armenia would be equivalent to today's realities," Galstyan said, in particular.
The humanitarian disaster in Artsakh is deepening due to the ongoing Azerbaijani blockade. There are shops that are no longer functioning and others are half-empty.
"The humanitarian disaster will deepen, we will face starvation. Flour, cereal, sugar, [vegetable] oil; they sell these products in a limited amount, there are queues in the shops, and there are no more fruits, vegetables, and other products for general consumption [in Artsakh]," said the MP.
