12:20, 21 February 2019

Nagorno-Karabakh marks 31st anniversary of liberation movement

Concerts in honour of the 31st anniversary of the Karabakh liberation movement took place in all regional centres of the unrecognized republic. In Stepanakert, the event was attended by more than 500 people.

On February 20, the Council of People's Deputies of the NKAO (Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region) decided to file a motion to the Supreme Councils of the Azerbaijani SSR (Soviet Socialist Republic) and the Armenian SSR to transfer the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region from the Azerbaijani SSR to the Armenian SSR.

"February 20, 1988, is a historic day for our people, when discontent and protest that had accumulated over the decades broke through," Bako Saakyan, President of Nagorno-Karabakh, announced in his speech.

According to him, residents of the republic came to the square "to protect their own rights, independently manage their own destiny, live freely in their native land, and preserve their Armenian identity."

Bako Saakyan called the revival of Nagorno-Karabakh "one of the most significant victories of the Armenian people."

Residents of Nagorno-Karabakh managed to "stand up against historical injustice," said Culture Minister Lernik Ovannisyan.

Araik Arutyunyan, the chairman of the "Free Homeland" parliamentary party, stated that "we won the Artsakh movement." He added that the situation of "neither war nor peace" should not "overshadow the achievements of our predecessors."

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on February 21, 2019 at 04:31 am MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.

Author: Alvard Grigoryan

Source: CK correspondent