VIDEO: We are asking for humanitarian asylum from France, the action of Artsakh people in front of the embassy

Today, on October 23, in front of the French embassy in Armenia, a group of Artsakh people gathered to request humanitarian asylum in that country.

“If 1-2 years ago we were gathering here as those displaced from Artsakh in 2020, today we are a group of Artsakh citizens gathered after the events of September 2023. During our meetings with the Ambassador, we were always assured that the issue of Artsakh does not have a military solution. But today, we can say that the issue of Artsakh is not closed, yet it has been resolved militarily, with more than 135,000 Artsakh people finding themselves in the territory of the Republic of Armenia, and a large wave of migration is starting, mainly towards Russia,” said Arthur Stepanyan from Hadrut, who left his homeland in 2020 when Azerbaijani armed forces occupied that Armenian region.

According to the participant, they demand a meeting with the Ambassador to present the current situation and pressing problems. “We are asking for humanitarian asylum from France,” said Stepanyan, noting that they will gather in front of the embassy every day until they meet with the Ambassador.

He emphasized that the topic of returning to Artsakh is not currently under discussion: “I am not authorized, and the authorities do not discuss such topics. We did raise such a demand, and we received responses from the embassies of the United States and France that such issues should be raised at the level of authorities. For example, we have demanded UN peacekeeping forces. We have seen the Russian peacekeepers' activity when in December 2020 the villages of Khtsaberd and Hin Tagher in the Hadrut region were emptied, then Parukh, and eventually we reached a point where Artsakh has been completely emptied of Armenians. We have repeatedly stated that there should be international peacekeeping forces in Artsakh to ensure that it remains Armenian.

Regarding the question of why they are not staying in Armenia, Arthur Stepanyan responded: “Today, it seems that the Artsakh people have been divided into two parts. The last 100,000 who arrived are forcibly displaced, while it seems there is no talk about us.”