Karabakh physicians to not attend in person 6th International Medical Congress of Armenia, due to blockade

Doctors from Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) will not attend in person the 6th International Medical Congress of Armenia, which will be held from Thursday to Saturday, due to the ongoing Azerbaijani blockade of Artsakh. As a result, physicians from Artsakh will participate in this event remotely.

During the press conference held Wednesday, the co-chairman of the congress, Dr. Gevorg Yaghjyan, who lives in the US, noted that back in 2019 a format was proposed for this congress, where there will be three co-chairs: one from Armenia, the second would represent the Armenian diaspora, and the third would coordinate the Artsakh part.

"The purpose of the congress was to unite these three parts. July 8 will be completely dedicated to Armenia-Artsakh-Diaspora cooperation. Unfortunately, we cannot bring Artsakh doctors, but the congress is ready to broadcast all plenary sections, symposia in Artsakh. Doctors [in Artsakh] will come together in one place, they will have the opportunity to connect, follow [the congress]," he said.

To the question of whether there will be a proposal by the participants of the congress to go to Artsakh through the International Committee of the Red Cross and perform surgeries there, which the Armenians under siege in Artsakh need, and whether the congress will make a statement in this regard, Dr. Yaghjyan addressed his colleagues in the world and said: "Everything is ready, discussed, we talked with the ambassadors. At the closing of the congress on July 8, we will issue a communiqué, which will be sent to all international organizations, including the World Health Organization, UNICEF, etc. All doctors who will be present in the hall will sign [it]."

"Besides, we will have a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Artsakh on the 6th of the month. We will go with 15 people, we will take one doctor from each country. The minister will present the current situation. He will present when the doctors will return to their countries, how they will present the situation. If we could ask the embassies of various countries to meet with the doctors of their countries and receive that communiqué from them, that would be wonderful. Imagine Harvard University Professor Roger Hajjar meeting with his ambassador and telling all about it; this is an important component," he said.

Yaghjyan noted that for the first time they have decided to give awards, among which there will be a humanitarian award for the work done for Artsakh and its residents.

"We do not say the name of who will receive. The name will be clear at the opening of the congress," Yaghjyan added.

In turn, the honorary president of the congress, Professor Ara Babloyan, noted that Armenians have no right to remain silent. He recalled that when the road to Artsakh was closed by Azerbaijan with concrete barriers, the community of doctors reached the point that the next day, a child was transported from Artsakh to Armenia by Russian peacekeepers' helicopter.

"Two days later, a doctor from Armenia went to Artsakh. This means that we are fighting equally with everyone for Artsakh," Babloyan added.

6th International Medical Congress of Armenia (6 IMCA) will take place between Thursday and Saturday in Yerevan.

About 2,000 representatives from the healthcare and medical field from Armenia and the Armenian diaspora will participate in this event and 23 satellite symposia to be held within its framework.

World-renowned specialists John Bilezikian, Viken Babikian, Roger Hajjar, Nora Pashayan, Jacoppo Baussano, Sharon Chekijian, Shant Shekherdimian, Wayne Grody, Bagrat Alekyan, Armen Harutyunyan, Avak Kahvejian, and Ruben Vardanyan are among the 6 IMCA plenary session speakers.

Physicians from Artsakh will participate in this event in online formats.

NEWS.am Medicine is the information partner of the 6th International Medical Congress of Armenia.