Azerbaijani community of Nagorno-Karabakh responds to separatist regime's statement

By AzerNews

The Azerbaijani community of the Nagorno-Karabakh region of Azerbaijan has harshly responded to a statement by the "prime-minister" of the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" Ara Harutyunyan about the Khojaly airport in Nagorno-Karabakh.

"If Harutyunyan supports resolving the issue within the framework of human rights, then, first of all, he should raise the issue of restoration of the rights of the Azerbaijani population expelled from Nagorno-Karabakh and surrounding areas, and their return to the native lands," chairman of the coordinating council of the Azerbaijani Community of Nagorno-Karabakh Public Union Orkhan Akbarov told journalists. "If it is a question of human rights, why are the rights of Azerbaijanis from Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions not protected?"

During a press conference held earlier, the "prime minister" of the so-called "Nagorno-Karabakh Republic" Harutyunyan said that the issue of commissioning the Khojaly airport should be resolved not in the political arena, but within human rights.

"No international entity recognizes the so-called 'Nagorno-Karabakh Republic', established as a result of the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia, while the international community recognizes the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan," Akbarov said.

According to him, Harutyunyan and others like him who support the separatist regime should be punished under international law for the expulsion of the Azerbaijani population of Nagorno-Karabakh from their homes, the ethnic cleansing perpetrated in the region, the Khojaly genocide and other crimes.

The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emerged in 1988 when Armenia made territorial claims against the neighboring country. Since a lengthy war in the early 1990s, Armenian armed forces have occupied over 20 percent of Azerbaijan's internationally recognized territory, including Nagorno-Karabakh and seven adjacent regions. The UN Security Council has adopted four resolutions on Armenia's withdrawal from the Azerbaijani territory, but they have not been enforced to this day.

A precarious cease-fire was signed in 1994. However, units of the Armenian armed forces commit armistice breaches on the frontline almost every day.

Armenian media frequently reports that the airport in Khojaly is to be commissioned in the near future.

Recently, Chief of the General Department of Civil Aviation (GDCA) of Armenia Artyom Movsisyan said that this body will allow civil aircraft to fly to the occupied territory of Azerbaijan.

According to Movsisyan, flights will be carried out on board 19-seat Armenian planes. He declined to disclose dates.

Earlier, the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry stated that commissioning of the airport is an open violation of the Convention on International Civil Aviation adopted on December 7, 1944 in Chicago.

Besides, Azerbaijan's Civil Aviation Administration recently condemned Armenia over the statement on the opening of flights from Yerevan to Khankendi and vice versa, saying these actions are not in line with international law.

Azerbaijan has banned the use of airspace of its Armenian-occupied territory Nagorno-Karabakh, as no one can guarantee the safety of the area.

The International Civil Aviation Organization and European Civil Aviation Conference support Azerbaijan's position on the issue. Document No.121 on airports of the ICAO cited the Khojaly airport as property of Azerbaijan.

International flights from the Khojaly airport, constructed in 1978, were prohibited after the occupation of territories by Armenia. The Khojaly airport, which has been registered in international organizations with the name UB13, is a facility with military purposes.