The separatist dream of Nagorno-Karabakh is dead and buried. A week after Azerbaijan’s lightning offensive in the region, the self-proclaimed separatist republic announced its dissolution on January 1, 2024, more than thirty years after its creation. This involves the dissolution of “all government institutions,” according to the enclave’s leader Samvel Chakhramanian.
Tens of thousands of Armenians continue to flee for fear of reprisals, via the only road linking Nagorno Karabakh to Armenia, reopened on Sunday by Baku after months of blockade. But Azerbaijan’s government, accused of “ethnic cleansing” by Armenia, has asked “Armenian residents” of the self-proclaimed separatist republic of Nagorno Karabakh fleeing en masse to “not leave their homes”.
Baku promises
While 70,500 Armenians have already left the enclave behind, according to Yerevan, Baku says it is ready to organize a UN visit to the region, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Thursday. Armenian Prime Minister “Nikol Pashinian knows perfectly well that Armenian residents are leaving Karabakh of their own free will,” the ministry said in a statement, denying any abuse.
“It is their personal decision and has nothing to do with forced migration. If some Armenian residents do not want to live under Azerbaijani laws, we cannot force them to do so,” he added. “On the contrary, we call on Armenian residents not to leave their homes and to become part of the multi-ethnic society of Azerbaijan,” he said. To those who have decided to stay there, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliev has already promised “guaranteed” rights and Baku is proposing the organization of a UN visit there.