NKR Foreign Minister Calls on the UN to Assist in the Rehabilitation of the Stepanakert Airport

NEW YORK — Nagorno Karabakh Republic Foreign Minister Karen Mirzoyan has circulated a letter, as a document of the General Assembly and Security Council in the United Nations Organization, calling for their assistance in the re-opening of Stepanakert airport.
According to the letter Azerbaijan has started a fraudulent campaign aimed at misleading the international community and justifying its policy of using force or threat of force against the people of Nagorno Karabakh.
The rehabilitation of the Stepanakert airport is the sovereign right of the NKR and pursues solely civilian and humanitarian objectives, including realization of such a basic human right as freedom of movement. Freedom of movement of the civilian population of the NKR alongside with other human rights outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other core international instruments have already been continuously and vehemently undermined by the ongoing Azerbaijani blockade. This stance of Azerbaijan is a clear manifestation of its upright disregard for human rights and fundamental freedoms as a continuation of its policy of collective punishment of civilian population, reads the letter of the NKR Foreign Minister.
The threats of Azerbaijan to shoot down civil aircrafts in particular, violates the provisions of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation and runs counter to the commitments undertaken in the framework of the negotiation process mediated by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chair states, to reject any threat or use of force against civil aircraft, pursue the matter through diplomatic steps, and refrain from politicizing the issue.
Such threats, along with the statements on the highest level declaring all Armenians of the world as enemy number one of Azerbaijan are a vivid example of the long-established anti-Armenian hysteria and xenophobia of the Azeri state policy. The pardon and nationwide glorification of Ramil Safarov, Azerbaijani officer, who was convicted to the life imprisonment in Hungary for perpetuating brutal hate crime, a manslaughter, is the most shocking yet just recent manifestation of this policy. In this context, my Government considers the steps taken by the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in particular declarations on undertaking “all necessary measures” in order to prevent the functioning of the Stepanakert Airport along with previous threats to shoot down civil planes as irresponsible and politically charged actions, is mentioned in the letter.
Minister Mirzoyan called upon the UN Secretary General, the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as all peace-loving Member States to assist in the rehabilitation of the Stepanakert airport in order to ensure that the people of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic is able to exercise their basic human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The NKR Foreign Minister expressed strong belief that the rehabilitation of the Stepanakert airport will contribute to the realization of aims and objectives of the Convention on International Civil Aviation and may also serve as a confidence building measure contributing towards progress in the negotiation process under the auspices of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs.

Full text of the letter at the following link http://nkr.am/en/news/2012-11-12/465/