Nagorno-Karabakh marking 30 years of independence

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenians worldwide are marking the 30th anniversary of the proclamation of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) Republic on September 2.

On September 2, 1991, a joint session of the provincial and Shahumyan Regional Council of Deputies was held in Stepanakert, where the Declaration of Independence was adopted. On December 10 of the same year a referendum was held to confirm the independence of Nagorno-Karabakh. On that day, 99% of the population voted for independence.

"September 2 is the most important day in our life. The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic was proclaimed at the joint session of the Nagorno-Karabakh and Shahumyan regional councils of people's deputies convened in Stepanakert thirty years ago. We have had achievements and losses on the way to state building," Karabakh President Arayik Harutyunyan said in a statement on September 2.

"I bow my head in memory of the martyrs who fell for the sake of the homeland. Human losses are irreversible and binding at the same time. We have a historic obligation to live and create in our own homeland, to build the Artsakh Republic, guided by our national values, with internationally enshrined rights."

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan too issued a statement on the occasion, noting that "sacred right" of the people of Artsakh to self-determination can't be suspended by the use of force.

"That is why we insist on all international platforms that the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has not been resolved. The conflict is awaiting a comprehensive settlement through a peace process based on the well-known principles advocated by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs," Pashinyan said.

In a separate message, President Armen Sarkissian said Armenians are facing a nationwide ordeal, which requires unity and consolidation.

"Issues of ensuring the security of Artsakh and the inviolability of its population, the constant threat of a new war by Azerbaijan, the status of Artsakh, social-economic and humanitarian matters are priorities on the national agenda," Sarkissian said.

"They cannot be resolved without the existence of an economically and politically strong, developed and competitive Armenia, without a fundamental transformation of the Homeland-Diaspora ties and the full use of the existing potential, without full-fledged cooperation with our international partners."