Contrary to Phuong Le’s assertion, the film The Black Garden clearly presents a highly nationalistic perspective (The Black Garden review – haunting study of growing up in war-torn Nagorno-Karabakh, 31 August). She is right, however, to highlight the human cost of the former conflict. For Azerbaijan, this means thousands killed, some 4,000 missing, around 1 million internally displaced persons and refugees, as well as profound economic and social consequences.
It is important to recall that the former conflict arose from Armenia’s occupation of Karabakh, an internationally recognised territory of Azerbaijan, following a military invasion by Armenian forces in the 1990s. The United Nations security council repeatedly called for the end to the illegal occupation. In 2020, Azerbaijan restored the nation’s territorial integrity, yet the human cost for Azerbaijan continues. Mines laid during the years of occupation continue to kill and injure civilians. Between 2020 and 2026, 436 people have been killed or injured in mine explosions.
