One hundred thousand Armenians, the entire population of Nagorno-Karabakh, had to leave their homes and regions. Lawrence Martin, one of the lawyers representing Armenia's lawsuit, stated this while speaking Thursday at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) during its consideration of Armenia's case against Azerbaijan.
According to him, these Armenians left their homes under the blows of the "iron fist" of Azerbaijan.
He called on the ICJ to examine the footage of Azerbaijanis celebrating the massacres of Armenians during the 44-day war in 2020. Although Azerbaijan promised to give Armenians the opportunity to return to the occupied territories, this did not happen. What is more, several more villages in the Lachine corridor were de-Armenianized, the latest events are the culmination of the process, and it was preceded by the aforesaid blockade, Martin said.
He reminded that Azerbaijan did not fulfill the previous order of the ICJ to allow unhindered passage through the Lachin corridor.
Azerbaijan stopped the supply of natural gas and electricity to Nagorno-Karabakh, the international community continued to condemn, but Azerbaijani soldiers continued to shoot at villagers in the border fields.
On September 18, the situation was such that there were deaths from starvation, patients died due to lack of medicine, and there were many miscarriages. On September 18, the ICRC and the Russian peacekeeping force were allowed to import humanitarian cargo through Lachin and Aghdam. The whole world welcomed it, and there was a feeling that the issue could be resolved. But on September 19, Azerbaijan started the military aggression, calling it an "antiterrorist operation,” and this aggression was carefully prepared, Martin said.
More than 100,000 refugees. For Armenia, whose population is less than 3 million, this is a very difficult problem. It should also be taken into account that in the past many refugees have already become refugees due to Azerbaijan's fault, Martin noted.
According to experts, many Armenian children forcibly displaced from Nagorno-Karabakh suffer from psychological problems as a result of the incident. Azerbaijan claims that the Armenians left voluntarily. But in the case of Azerbaijan, each statement is a kind of confession. It's hard to believe that hundreds of thousands of people left their homes and left for no reason, Martin said.
No sane person would decide to stay under a regime that spreads hatred towards Armenians. In Azerbaijan, they like to refer to their president Ilham Aliyev's statements about the protection of the rights of all citizens and the absence of problems with the Armenian people. But this is the same person who called Armenians “enemies,” and therefore the world can afford not to believe Aliyev, Martin stated.
Armenians did the right thing by leaving Nagorno-Karabakh. The authorities of Azerbaijan have arrested eight former Karabakh officials, including three presidents, and another 300 are wanted, Martin note.
Armenian symbols are destroyed, crosses are blown up, monasteries are shelled, and Azerbaijan has already started to actively settle Nagorno-Karabakh with Azerbaijanis, Martin stated.
However, the UN mission did not see traces of shelling of the houses. In general, it is difficult to call it a “mission.” It was in Nagorno-Karabakh for less than a day, and did not have a chance to find out anything. It is obvious that this is the result of creative activity of the US mission coordinator in Baku. Who and how did he choose the places to visit in the city? They themselves have admitted that they are limited in their movements, Lawrence Martin said.
