The Stepanakert Airport, which is closed to civilian passengers because of Azerbaijani threats
BY ALEX BASTIAN AND VANNA KITSINIAN
We traveled to a place that was majestic and breathtakingly beautiful where few have been fortunate enough to visit. You cannot go there by plane because the neighboring country has threatened to shoot down all civilian aircraft that fly there. To make matters even more interesting, if you tried to navigate your way in a car using Google Maps, the app will essentially tell you that this mystical place does not exist.
What we saw and experienced was surreal. Stunning green rolling hills and mountainous landscapes that rival those of Switzerland and happy people who are making the most of their humble life circumstances. It’s a place where $1,000 lost in cash is returned to its rightful owner without a second thought, where a female-majority Supreme Court is constantly looking to the West to improve their decision-making processes, and where the Human Rights Defender protects the rights of not only the people in his country, but those of all humanity, including enemy combatants. We are not talking about a fictitious utopia, but rather a real place – The Republic of Artsakh – a country we visited in May with the Armenian Bar Association for its Annual Meeting. We travelled there with a delegation of nearly 50 people, including judges, lawyers, human rights advocates, journalists, doctors, and students.
If you have not heard of Artsakh, you’re likely not alone. Artsakh is a highly contested, landlocked region just north of Iran, east of the Republic of Armenia and west of Azerbaijan. Less than 100 years ago, Artsakh was a part of Armenia (and had been for millennia). Nonetheless, Artsakh was arbitrarily carved out of Armenia in 1921 by the Soviet Union and given to Azerbaijan as an autonomous province, as part of the Soviet divide and conquer strategy. After the fall of the Soviet Union, in December 1991, Artsakh held an independence referendum in which 82% of all voters participated and 99% voted for independence. In response, Azerbaijan launched an all-out war against the Republic. A cease fire agreement took hold in 1994, which is still currently in place.
Due to political reasons, no UN member states have recognized the nation. Despite this fact, Artsakh has thrived as a forward thinking, progressive, democratic state that celebrates the rule of law. Since declaring independence in 1991, Artsakh has successfully declared more than ten parliamentary and presidential elections – all of which have been praised by international observers as free, fair, and transparent. For about a quarter century now, Artsakh has been governing its own affairs and establishing democratic values and institutions. Recently the late Anthony Bourdain visited Artsakh as part of CNN’s “Parts Unknownâ€
