Armenians protest to demand lifting blockade on Lachin Corridor
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The demonstrators blockade a government building to demand the reopening of the Lachin corridor, a vital route between the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh region and Armenia.
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Police detain a woman during a protest against an agreement to halt fighting over the Nagorno-Karabakh region in Freedom Square in Yerevan, Armenia, Nov. 11, 2020 (AP)
A group of around twelve protesters, primarily comprising war veterans, were apprehended by Armenian police on Tuesday in central Yerevan in light of a demonstration demanding the immediate reopening of the Lachin corridor.
The demonstrators had staged a protest outside a government building before blockading it and demanding the immediate reopening of the Lachin corridor, which had been closed by neighboring and adversarial country Azerbaijan.
The Lachin corridor represents the sole route connecting the Nagorno-Karabakh region, over which Yerevan and Baku engaged in two past conflicts, with Armenia.
Reports have highlighted the precarious and deteriorating humanitarian condition prevailing in the mountainous area, with critical supplies of food and medicine being denied entry due to the corridor's closure.
A statement from the Armenian Interior Ministry disclosed that a total of fourteen individuals were taken into custody for noncompliance with police instructions. However, authorities indicated that these detainees would be released in a matter of hours.
Predominantly consisting of war veterans, the protesters voiced an urgent plea to be armed, envisioning a self-initiated unblocking of the corridor to avert an impending humanitarian crisis.
"Today, we stand united in our demand to deliver sustenance to the suffering people of Artsakh (the Armenian designation for Nagorno-Karabakh), who continue to endure hunger," Sargis Poghosyan, the leader of the protesters from an army volunteer unit, asserted.
"The government cannot do it and we were forced to get together and somehow try to open it ourselves," he added.
Several protesters encountered apprehension as they attempted to obstruct the central Republic Square in Yerevan.
They went on to Kornidzor, a village bordering Azerbaijan, where aid-laden trucks had been stationed for days.
The Lachin Corridor has remained under blockade since July 15, causing significant logistical disruptions.
In a recent interview for AFP, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan expressed concerns about a potential renewed conflict with Azerbaijan and levied allegations of "genocide" against Baku with regard to Nagorno-Karabakh.
The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for a "humanitarian consensus" aimed at addressing the Lachin Corridor's critical situation.
Security arrangements for the five-kilometer-wide Lachin Corridor have been entrusted to Russian peacekeeping forces to ensure unobstructed passage between Armenia and Karabakh.
Similar protests were held in Nagorno-Karabakh last month, wherein around 6,000 Armenians took to the streets to demand that Azerbaijan reopen the Lachin corridor.
The people gathered at the central square of Karabakh's main city, Stepanakert, after the Corridor was closed over a smuggling claim against the Armenian Red Cross.
Pashinyan previously called for international unity against Azerbaijan's "illegal blockade" of the region of Nagorno-Karabakh and further announced the launch of new EU-mediated peace talks with Azerbaijan, claiming that it contradicts an International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling.
"As far as the illegal blockade of the Lachin Corridor and the deepening humanitarian crisis are concerned, the binding ruling of the ICJ creates a possibility for a greater international consolidation to prevent Azerbaijan's policy of ethnic cleansing in Karabakh," he said.
Back in February, the top UN court ordered Azerbaijan to ensure free movement along the Lachin Corridor, which is the sole land link with Armenia.
