Dear colleagues and friends:
We at the Armenian National Agrarian University were planning to festively celebrate the 90th anniversary of the ANAU this year. Unfortunately, COVID-19 and now the brutal war unleashed by Azerbaijan, thwarted all our plans. This 5th-generation war that began on September 27, 2020 by the full-scale aggression of Azerbaijani army supported by Turkey and thousands of mercenary terrorists from Middle East has created a situation when Artsakh (also known as Nagorno Karabakh) Republic and the Republic of Armenia are facing an existential threat. Moreover, the conflict now may spiral out beyond the boundaries of the South Caucasus as it directly touches the interests of much larger regions and regional actors.
The global crisis is being restrained at the expense of the everyday heroic actions and the lives of the young Armenian soldiers. The war, however, has already led to a large-scale humanitarian disaster. The Turkish-Azeri-terrorist trilateral coalition has been targeting the civic population of the Republic of Artsakh, including the capital city of Stepanakert. This city has always been holding European values.
Residential buildings, hospitals, schools, kindergartens and cultural facilities are being shelled every day. There are dozens of civilan casualties, including children, and hundreds of wounded. At least 70,000 people were forced to leave their homes. Because of the war, as of October 19, 24,000 schoolchildren do not attend school, 4,016 children cannot go to kindergarten, with 4,986 students deprived of the opportunity to attend their universities. During the first 22 days of the war, 18 schools, 6 kindergartens and 4 cultural institutions were shelled. There are casualties and wounded among the civilians also in the Republic of Armenia.
The scale of aggression, targeting civilians, recorded atrocities, and shelling of cultural institutions are clear evidence that Turkey, using Azerbaijan and mercenary terrorists, actively pursues its pan-Turkic expansionist policy by continuing the genocide of Armenians committed back in 1915 and rudely disregarding the principles of international coexistence provided by Geneva Conventions.
The international community has not shown its willingness to stop the agressors and prevent another genocide against the Armenian people who has played an important role in the history of the world civilization.
Therefore, we urge the international community, namely the OSCE Minsk Group, UN, EU, and EAEU to condemn the aggression by Turkish-Azerbaijani-terrorist trilateral coalition, use all their political and economic leverages to achieve a ceasefire, to stop the humanitarian disaster, prevent the serious threat of an environmental disaster, and to return the educational institutions and the people to their normal creative everyday work and lifestyle.
The international community must understand that in the current situation there is no way for Artsakh’s people to be back to Azerbaijani rule as it simply means either deportation or complete annihilation. Artsakh’s independence based on the remedial secession principle of the international law can be the only wise and prospective solution for stopping the aggression and for establishing long-term peace in the region. Only independent and sovereign Artsakh can be the guarantee for the much-desired peace in the region.
We want this clear message to be heard and perceived by the international partners of ANAU across Europe and North and South Americas, from Russia to China and Japan, from Scandinavia to Baltics, from Central Asia to Iran and India.
Dear friends, we, jointly with you, have implemented and continue implementing numerous educational, research and development projects and programs that contribute to the development of the human capital, the progress of agriculture and the related sectors, as well as to democracy. Do not let our joint efforts become senseless because of the sick imagination and genocidal actions of the dictator of Turkey, his boost of the global terrorism, and its henchman Azerbaijan. Raise your voice to urgently and unequivocally condemn Azerbaijan’s continuous aggression for the universal divine values.
Sincerely,
Vardan Urutyan
