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  • Karabakh Welcomes All To Artsakh

    KARABAKH WELCOMES ALL TO ARTSAKH

    http://asbarez.com/112889/nkr-foreign-ministry-statement-welcome-to-artsakh/
    Thursday, August 15th, 2013

    Welcome sign at the border of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic

    STEPANAKERT-The Nagorno-Karabakh Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs
    has released a statement regarding the Azerbaijani government's efforts
    at misleading the international community and disrupting the peace
    process, noting that despite Azerbaijan's baseless propaganda, everyone
    is welcome and encouraged to visit Artsakh. Below is the statement.

    Authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) have on numerous
    occasions expressed their grave concern over the fraudulent campaign
    by Azerbaijan aimed at distorting the essence of the conflict between
    Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh and misleading the international
    community. This campaign expands from year to year, introducing new
    sophisticated methods of falsifications, provocations, and revanchist
    threats.

    The most recent examples of such a propaganda campaign are the
    circulation of the July 26, 2013 (A/67/943-S/2013/442) letter in
    the United Nations calling upon the UN Member States to warn their
    citizens against visiting the NKR "without the prior authorization of
    the government of Azerbaijan" as well as the publication of a list
    of people declared personae non gratae by the Ministry of Foreign
    Affairs of Azerbaijan because of their visits to the NKR. This list
    of 335 individuals from 41 countries includes members of parliaments,
    prominent public figures, culture and art professionals, journalists,
    students and tourists.

    In this respect the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the NKR deems
    appropriate to state the following:

    The NKR is an independent state with a population, which should
    not be deprived of a possibility to exercise its fundamental human
    rights under any circumstances as it is enshrined in Article 2 of
    the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that "no
    distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional
    or international status of the country or territory to which a person
    belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or
    under any other limitation of sovereignty".

    People of Nagorno Karabakh established their state exercising their
    inalienable right to self-determination in full compliance with the
    norms and principles of the international law and acting upon the
    then effective constitutional and legal framework of the Soviet Union.

    Since the very first day of its establishment the NKR, unlike
    Azerbaijan, has assumed the course of building a democratic State
    ensuring all the rights and freedoms for its citizens. The NKR
    leadership intends to continue the policy of comprehensive development
    of the Republic and its democratic institutions, and has repeatedly
    expressed its readiness for mutually beneficial cooperation with all
    interested parties.

    >From the very beginning, Azerbaijan rejected any possibility of a
    civilized dialogue with Nagorno Karabakh and adhered to the policy of
    settling the conflict between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh through
    the application of brutal, unproportional and indiscriminate force
    against the civilian population. It carried out ethnic cleansings in
    Nagorno Karabakh proper and Armenian-populated areas of Azerbaijan,
    unleashing full-fledged military aggression against Nagorno Karabakh.

    Despite the ongoing negotiation process and commitments undertaken
    since the conclusion of the cease-fire agreement, the Azeri leadership
    continues to interpret selectively the norms and principles of the
    international law, thus escalating tension and mistrust, as well as
    ignoring the existing realities. Deluded by its language of threats and
    hostility, Azerbaijan has made a step forward in a wrong direction,
    and threatens with sanctions against the third countries nationals
    visiting the NKR. Such a policy of Azerbaijan fits perfectly into
    the logic of its domestic human rights record that it is striving to
    impose upon foreign citizens.

    These highly irresponsible steps thwart any attempts to establish an
    atmosphere of trust between the NKR and the Republic of Azerbaijan,
    which would be essential for the peaceful resolution of the conflict.

    They also hinder the ongoing mediation efforts by the Minsk Group
    Co-Chairs of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
    (OSCE) to find a comprehensive and lasting solution to the conflict
    between Azerbaijan and Nagorno Karabakh.

    It is meanwhile worth mentioning that in spite of the artificial
    impediments created by the Azeri side, the number of tourists
    visiting the NKR steadily grows: throughout its independent history
    tens of thousands of foreign citizens have already visited the NKR,
    which testifies to the safe and secure environment established by the
    freedom-loving people of Nagorno Karabakh, and growing international
    interest in the rich cultural and historical heritage of our native
    land. It is essential to note that the crime rate in the NKR is one of
    the lowest in Europe, and no serious accident has ever been registered
    in our country with participation of a foreign citizen.

    The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the NKR urges the authorities
    of Azerbaijan to abandon counterproductive attempts to hinder visits
    of foreign nationals to the NKR, and direct its energy and resources
    wasted on such groundless and provocative actions towards settlement of
    substantial issues between the parties to the conflict thus promoting
    peace and stability for the whole fragile region of the South Caucasus.

    The Ministry for Foreign Affairs of the NKR welcomes and encourages
    the visits of foreign nationals, both officials and tourists, to the
    NKR. Such visits and people to people contacts in general contribute
    to the creation of an atmosphere of confidence and co-operation in
    the region and are essential for the international community to get
    truthful and objective information about the NKR.

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