17:39, 8 May 2017

More than 250 people take part in march from Stepanakert to Shushi

Participants of the march in honour of the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Shushi, Nagorno-Karabakh, Stepanakert, May 8, 2017. Photo by Alvard Grigoryan for the 'Caucasian Knot'.

Today, in Nagorno-Karabakh, activists of youth organizations, students, senior upper-form pupils and soldiers have marched by foot from Stepanakert to the city of Shushi. The action was held in honour of the 25^th anniversary of the liberation of the city.

Nagorno-Karabakh celebrates the Day of May 9 as a triple holiday: the Day of Victory in World War II, the liberation of the city of Shushi and the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Defence Army. On May 9, 1992, the Armenian armed forces entered the city of Shushi controlled by the Azerbaijani side. On May 12, the Armenian troops occupied the city of Lachin, and thus Nagorno-Karabakh ceased to be an enclave within Azerbaijan.

The "Caucasian Knot" correspondent was told by Gayane Grigoryan, Deputy Minister for Culture of Nagorno-Karabakh, that the annual march by foot is organized by the Ministry for Culture and Youth Affairs "to visit the places where the operation for the liberation of the city of Shushi was carried out in 1992."

"Starting from 2012, the action is held on May 8. Last year, because of the April events, the event did not take place. However, young people are waiting for the march, and this year, we started to receive applications for participation in the march since April. According to the list, we expected that 260 young people would take part in the march. However, even more young people have come," noted Gayane Grigoryan.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.

Author: Alvard Grigoryan

Source: CK correspondent