Artsakh will continue its struggle, and we will still celebrate new victories.
The Appeal / Call of the September 2 Rally in Stepanakert
Dear compatriots,
Brothers and sisters living in the Motherland and in different countries of the world
Today, on September 2, 2022, we, the participants of the rally in Stepanakert’s Revival Square, are appealing to you in a fateful period for a historical part of our common Motherland, Artsakh and its people, when the future of our state and statehood depends on our joint efforts and thoughtful actions.
Thirty-one years ago, on this day in 1991, on September 2, thousands of our compatriots chanted “Unification”, “Freedom” and “Independence” on the same square, calling on the people’s deputies of the former regional Council gathered for an extraordinary session to make the right decision regarding the future of the Armenian land. The moment was decisive, as it is now; nations that did not fight for freedom could remain under the rubble of collapsing powers during the geopolitical restructuring.
On that day, meeting the aspirations and will of the population of the former Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, the independent Republic of Nagorno Karabakh – Artsakh was poclaimed. This historic decision was followed by legal and political actions in compliance with the principles of international law and the legislation of the Soviet Union still in force: the popular referendum and the elections of the legitimate authorities of the sovereign state.
With the political process of declaration of an independent state, a new page was opened in February 1988 in the logic of the National-Liberation Struggle of Artsakh Armenians, which was expressed in the ideology of reunification of Artsakh with the Motherland.
The path to the establishment of sovereignty was hard and full of difficulties. The policy of mass murder, repression and ethnic cleansing pursued by Azerbaijan soon tuned into open hostilities against the Armenian Artsakh, which the Armenian population of the region stood up to resist along with many compatriots who came to the aid from Armenia and the Diaspora.
To break the ever-shrinking circle around Artsakh and to prevent a humanitarian disaster, with the greatest strain of forces, in May 1992 we managed to liberate the Armenian town-fortress of Shoushi and the town of Berdzor on the road leading to Syunik, thus establishing a secure land connection with the Motherland. In the struggle for freedom and independence, thousands of Armenians sacrificed their lives for the future of the Motherland. In the summer of 1992, almost half of the territory of the declared independent Republic of Artsakh was occupied by the enemy: the entire Shahoumyan region and most of the Martakert region.
But even in such a situation, Armenians were strong to unite and achieve future victories. The creation of the National Army allowed to put the issues of defense and security of the country on a solid foundation, thanks to which in May 1994, the enemy was forced to sign a ceasefire agreement, fixing the existing situation on the front at that time.
Along with the successes achieved in the battlefield, an active negotiation process in the Minsk Group format started in the spring of 1992 for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict, which was summarized by the decision of the OSCE December 1994 Budapest Summit to recognize Nagorno Karabakh as a party to the conflict.
In the post-war years, the Republic of Artsakh, overcoming numerous difficulties, started building a modern legal and democratic state in line with international standards, and as a result of these efforts, in 2006, the first Constitution of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh was adopted.
While the people of Artsakh strictly followed the concept proposed by the international mediators for the peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, Azerbaijan was openly preparing for a new war. Unfortunately, all our warnings to international organizations and actors involved in the settlement process did not have the expected results, and the enemy, taking advantage of the connivance, created constant provocations on the border of Artsakh.
The four-day war of 2016, during which Azerbaijan, taking advantage of the unaddessed reaction of international structures, went on another adventure, should be considered the focal point of all these. On the same days, Armenians all over the world demonstrated an example of unprecedented support and high readiness to defend Artsakh, and probably these factors prompted the military-political leadership of Azerbaijan to retreat and seek help for future aggressive plans from other anti-Armenian forces led by Turkey
On September 27, 2020, another large-scale war launched by Azerbaijan had severe and catastrophic consequences for our people. Taking advantage of our mistakes and the advantages of the weapons it has accumulated in recent years, the enemy managed not only to seriously damage our security and defense system, but also to cause significant human and territorial losses to us, taking over Armenian Shushi, the entire region of Hadrut and other traditional settlements of historical Artsakh. Thousands of our compatriots lost their homeland and possessions and were forced to seek refuge in the safer settlements of Artsakh and Mother Armenia. The fact that another genocide planned on our territory was prevented by the direct intervention of the President of the Russian Federation and the deployment of Peacekeeping Forces in Artsakh cannot cause any doubt. At the same time, we are convinced that the improvement of our own defense system is the most important component of ensuring the security of Artsakh.
Compatriots,
Today we are facing serious challenges that threaten our national identity and the future of Armenian statehood.
And in order to be able to overcome the defeatist sentiments that overtaken us, and to rediscover the purposeful type of an ARMENIAN of 1988 and 1991, as well as to initiate concerted and coordinated efforts to change the created situation, it is very necessary for us to unite as a nation around a unified Armenian agenda.
And that means:
1. On this very day, 31 years after the September days of the historical year of 1991, expressing the stance and will of all Artsakh Armenians from this same platform, we announce that our strategic goal, the idea of uniting Artsakh with the motherland, has not changed. More importantly, the international recognition of the Republic of Artsakh is one of the necessary steps to bring us closer to this strategic goal.
2. We declare to the world that any status that undermines the state structure of Artsakh is unacceptable for the people of Artsakh, and a sovereign state is a prerequisite for protecting the security and rights of the people of Artsakh.
3. All the current and future negotiators on the future of Artsakh must take the above-mentioned protocols as a basis and beware of the red lines, which were noted in the April 14, 2022, statement of the National Assembly of Artsakh. We demand to be guided only by the provisions of the voiced agenda.
4. We urge the competent international structures and, first of all, the co-chair countries of the OSCE Minsk Group to adhere to the mandate they assumed at the highest level for the settlement of the Karabakh conflict and to be guided by the principles adopted within the framework of the Minsk Group.
5. We call on all Armenians, our sisters and brothers to continue living by Artsakh, to contribute to the restoration of Artsakh by all possible means, and to treat Artsakh as a nationwide achievement and pride.
Borders are not fetters, and chains will break.
Artsakh will continue its struggle, and we will still celebrate new victories.
City of Stepanakert
September 2, 2022