Nagorno-Karabakh region’s residents stage protest rally
- 20 October, 02:51
As uncertainty looms over the future of Nagorno-Karabakh’s Armenian population, a group of Armenians from the region have staged a protest rally.
The protesters gathered outside of the region’s representative office in Armenia’s capital Yerevan on October 20 to complain about accommodation issues and unpaid military salaries.
Moreover, they protested against the decision to dissolve the de-facto republic in Nagorno-Karabakh, a decision that followed Azerbaijan’s lightning victory in early September.
The de-facto president of Nagorno-Karabakh, Samvel Shahramanyan, received the protesters in his office after they broke through the police barricade and entered the representative building. Addressing the protesters and in his first statement since the dissolution of the self-proclaimed government in Karabakh, Shahramanyan said: “The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is not dissolved. Is there anyone here who has read that document?”
He added that there were “many questions related to that document, but I can't say much. The republic established by the people cannot be dissolved by any document”. The decision to dissolve Nagorno-Karabakh was signed by Shahramanyan in late September and will enter force in January.
The protest comes after exodus of around one hundred thousand Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh after Azerbaijan disarmed Armenian military formations in the region. Most of the region’s Armenian population fled fearing Azerbaijan’s persecution despite Baku’s security guarantees.
