The Artarutyun (Justice) faction of the Artsakh National Assembly issued a statement today, on the eve of Artsakh Independence Day (September 2), lamenting the fact that for the first time in the past thirty years no top officials from Armenia will attend tomorrow’s celebration in Stepanakert.

On September 2, 1991, lawmakers from the Nagorno-Karabakh Provincial Council and the Shahumyan Regional Council convened a meeting and declared the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. On December 10, 1991, Nagorno Karabakh held a referendum and 99,89 percent of the population voted in favor of complete independence from Azerbaijan.

The faction, in a statement released today, says it will boycott a parliamentary session because deputies will be prohibited from expressing their views on the issue.

Continuing, the faction claims it issued warnings about a looming war before Azerbaijan launched military operations against Artsakh last September and that the Armenian and Artsakh governments failed to listen.

The faction also criticizes the Pashinyan government in Armenia of giving land to Azerbaijan in the vain hope of salvaging what remains. The faction predicts that Pashinyan will recognize the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, thus scuttling any talk on Artsakh’s status.

“The state is called upon to implement the principles of the national ideology, and if the authorities do not fulfill this task, they should be removed from power,” the faction’s statement reads.

The faction says it is in contact with the Hayastan and With Honor blocs in Armenia, describing them as “partners”.

The Justice party, founded in 2018, holds three of the 33 seats in the Artsakh National Assembly.