Los Angeles Leads a Caravan of Hundreds of Cars to Fresno to Bring Attention to Aliyev’s Crimes Against Humanity
Los Angeles — A caravan of hundreds of activists will drive from Los Angeles to Fresno in a caravan to bring awareness to the genocide currently being perpetrated against the indigenous Armenians of Artsakh (formerly Nagorno-Karabakh).
The united people’s movement caravan starts at Verdugo Park in Glendale at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 2, and drive directory to the Ararat Armenian Cemetery and Masis Ararat Armenian Cemetery to pay respect to celebrated Armenians buried there, including Andranik Ozanian, William Saroyan, Soghomon Tehlirian, and the Monument dedicated to national hero, Monte Melkonian.
Armenian people’s call to action coincides with the 22nd anniversary of Artsakh when the people of Artsakh, then known as Nagorno (Mountainous) Karabagh, declared their independence from the Soviet Union.
Armenian diaspora communities worldwide have organized similar events in seventeen cities across thirteen nations, including New York, The Netherlands, Cyprus, Germany, England, Denmark, Switzerland, Artsakh, Armenia, Lebanon, and France.
Background
Since December 12, 2022, Azerbaijan’s security forces have blocked the Lachin Corridor, the only road connecting Artsakh to Armenia and the rest of the world. 120,000 people, 30,000 children, have been without much food, medical supplies, and other necessities. Azerbaijan routinely sabotages the electricity, internet, and gas pipelines going to Artsakh from Armenia. Aliyev’s authoritarian regime’s ethnic cleansing strategy is to make living in Artsakh so unbearable so that Armenians leave.
On August 7, the former International Criminal Court prosecutor, Luis Moreno Ocampo, issued report stating the blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh is ‘GENOCIDE.’ He wrote, ‘The blockade of the Lachin Corridor by the Azerbaijani security forces impeding, access to any food, medical supplies, and other essentials should be considered a Genocide under Article II, (c) of the Genocide Convention: ‘Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.’
On August 23, the preliminary report of Argentine lawyer, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Juan Ernesto Mendez stated, ‘There is sufficient reason to proffer an early warning that the population of Nagorno-Karabakh is at risk of genocide.’
The caravan is organized by Armenian activists who are frustrated by the US government and the international community’s inaction to stop the genocide. In his report, Ocampo added, ‘”Starvation is the invisible Genocide weapon,” Ocampo wrote, adding that without “immediate dramatic change, this group of Armenians will be destroyed in a few weeks.’
On August 15, K. Hovhannisyan, a 40-year-old resident of Stepanakert, died as a result of chronic malnutrition and protein deficiency, states a report conducted by the human rights office.
A case of death from starvation was recorded in Artsakh on Tuesday evening local time, according to the Office of the Human Rights Defender in the region.
The Armenian communities worldwide demand the following:
- The immediate opening of the Berdzor (Lachin) Corridor with expedited airlifts to stop the genocide in Artsakh
- Azerbaijan to open the Lachin Corridor for people move freely both ways
- Transports, including humanitarian aid to access Artsakh without any check-points
- Armenians’ human rights be respected, and their safety guaranteed
- The international community’s recognition of Artsakh’s independence including recognition by the RA National Assembly in Yerevan
- President Aliyev be held accountable for crimes against humanity in the international court
- Punitive action against Azerbaijan including sanctions on Aliyev and an end to all foreign aid to Azerbaijan through Section 907.
In July, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) reaffirmed ordering Azerbaijan to open the Lachin Corridor. The ICJ reaffirmed its February 22 ruling, in which it ordered Azerbaijan to ‘take all steps at its disposal’ to ensure unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin Corridor in both directions.
On August 7, UN experts urged Azerbaijan to lift the Lachin corridor blockade and end the humanitarian crisis in Artsakh. They warned that the region was rapidly depleting its medical reserves, and hospitals were struggling to provide care as the operation of ambulances has been hampered due to declining fuel supplies.
The experts urged authorities in Azerbaijan to immediately restore the free and secure movement of persons, vehicles, and cargo moving along the Lachin corridor in both directions, in accordance with the ceasefire agreement of November 9, 2020. They also called on Russian peacekeeping forces deployed in the region, to protect the corridor under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Azerbaijan Continues to Behead Armenian Civilians & Captured Soldiers:
https://truthandaccountabilityleague.org/media-room
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2023-08-30/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-biden
