Our Security on Our Own Land is Not Well-Assured: An Open Letter from an Artsakh Resident to President Araik Harutyunyan

Artsakh resident Lusine Khachatryan has addressed an open letter to the President of the Republic of Artsakh, Araik Harutyunyan.

“Dear Mr. Harutyunyan, I am Lusine Khachatryan, a resident of Karmir village. On December 24 of this year, while returning to Karmir village from Stepanakert with my husband, our vehicle was fired upon by Azerbaijanis. Fortunately, we were not harmed in the incident.

You, as the President of Artsakh, urged us to return to Artsakh, assuring us that it is safe here. However, numerous known and unknown incidents incited by Azerbaijanis suggest otherwise. Moreover, the trilateral agreement reached on November 9 states that Russian peacekeepers guarantee the safety of Artsakh residents, yet the realities show that our security on our own land is far from assured.

Now, I turn to you as the guarantor of the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and security of the Republic of Artsakh, as the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces: is our security assured? If so, who is the guarantor of our safety? How can we be sure we won’t fall victim to such an incident next time?”