YEREVAN (Armenpress) — February 20 marked the 35th anniversary of the Karabakh Movement, launched by Armenians of Artsakh for the liberation of the territory from Azerbaijan control.
On the occasion, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Artsakh Sergey Ghazaryan, who remains in Armenia due to the ongoing blockade, visited Yerablur military pantheon and on behalf of the people and authorities of Artsakh placed a wreath in memory of those who gave their lives for the independence and freedom of the Motherland throughout the National-Liberation Struggle of Artsakh,.
In addition, the Foreign Ministry of Artsakh released a statement:
“The Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh Republic) today marks the 35th anniversary of the current stage of the national liberation struggle of Artsakh Armenians – Karabakh movement, a struggle that embodied the collective aspiration of the people to restore historical justice, preserve national identity and dignity, and fully realize their inalienable right to live freely and develop in their homeland. In response to the decades-long discriminatory policies of Azerbaijan, the people of Artsakh gathered all their will and rallied for the idea of the revival of Artsakh and reunification with Armenia.
Thirty five years ago, on February 20, 1988, an extraordinary session of the Council of People’s Deputies of the NKAO was held, which decided to petition the Supreme Soviets of the Azerbaijan SSR and the Armenian SSR to transfer the autonomous region from Azerbaijan to Armenia. The issue of the transfer of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia was raised in a democratic, parliamentary way, on the basis of the people’s will, in strict accordance with the Soviet legislation in force at that time and the generally recognized norms of international law.
The decision of the session, which confirmed the right of the people of Artsakh to decide their own destiny, marked the current stage of the Karabakh Movement and predetermined the prospects for the socio-political development of Nagorno-Karabakh. It, in fact, became the forerunner of the Declaration of Independence the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, adopted on 2 September 1991, under the new historical and political realities created by the collapse of the Soviet Union, and marked the beginning of the path to the state independence of Artsakh.
