In the current news coverage on the ongoing war in Nagorno-Karabakh, this region is often referred to as a “disputed region” between Armenia and Azerbaijan and is claimed to be internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, but to be governed by ethnic Armenians. This statement is misleading and misrepresents the reality about the origins and history of the region.

We would like to invite you to get to know Nagorno-Karabakh or Artsakh to see that ethnic Armenians have inhabited these lands for centuries, have created on these lands for centuries, have prayed on these lands for centuries. Our goal is to show that the people of Artsakh have never occupied or forcefully taken control of these lands, because as the Armenian President Armen Sarkissian put it how can you occupy lands where you have been living for centuries?

Artsakh has a rich and long history, exceptionally beautiful landscape and a deep-rooted Christian tradition. Neither Azerbaijan nor any other Islamic culture may have any territorial claims over Artsakh, be it for historical or political reasons. The people of Artsakh deserve to live peacefully and freely in their homes and this will only be possible if the international community recognizes the Republic of Artsakh and lets the people of Artsakh exercise their right to self-determination – the only path towards preventing further deaths on both sides of the conflict and ensuring lasting peace in the region.

Please support our Change.org petition It’s time to recognize the Republic of Artsakh!.

Get to know Artsakh

Below, you can find a collection of travel Youtube videos that show the life, landscape, and history of Artsakh.

Introduction Videos

The first video from the Level Hunt YouTube channel gives you a general impression of the region. The second video Why Slow Down YouToube channel provides an introduction to Artsakh from a historical perspective.

Travel Videos

Have a look at David Hoffman’s travels in Armenia and Artsakh.

History of Artsakh

Artsakh has been standing strong and proud for centuries. Have a look at this timeline from the website of The European Armenian Federation for Justice and Democracy (ՀՅԴ Եւրոպայի Հայ Դատի Յանձնախումբ) to see how ancient and Armenian the history of Artsakh is:

Why recognize the Republic of Artsakh?

The painful past of wars and massacres and the Armenian Genocide of 1915 by the Ottoman Empire later to become Turkey are a constant reminder that the very existence of the Armenian race cannot be taken for granted.

The ongoing war

On the early morning of September 27 and in the midst of a global pandemic, Azerbaijan launched a full-scale war on Artsakh across the entire line of contact under the control of the armed forces of the Republic of Artsakh, thus violating the ceasefire agreement signed in 1994 [1].

Azerbaijani forces are making use of everything that modern weaponry has to offer and do not shy away from using banned cluster bombs to attack the civilian population in the capital Stepanakert and other regions of Artsakh, as evidenced by the Amnesty International [2], [3]. As of 19 October 2020, dozens of civilians have died and more than 700 Armenian soldiers have fallen defending their home, their families, their culture and their statehood. Armenians mourn each one of these precious lives lost.

The role of Turkey and its global implications

Azerbaijan has been openly and vehemently supported by Turkey and its president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government has not only been deploying troops and aircrafts to Azerbaijan but also recruiting Syrian and other terrorists to fight against the Republic of Artsakh [4], [5], [6]. The U.S. Department of State has recently warned its citizens against travelling to Azerbaijan citing terrorism concerns [7].

While it has been widely accepted by the international community that the Turkish president seeks to expand its control in the region [8], Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has warned on multiple occasions that this is a policy of continuing the Armenian genocide and a policy of reinstating the Turkish empire [9].

Civil population of Artsakh and its heritage under attack

From day one of the war, Azerbaijani forces have targeted the civilian populated areas of Artsakh, causing multiple casualties and destructions of houses, schools, kindergartens, churches and vital infrastructure, leaving people in shelters with no supply of water or electricity and depriving thousands of children of their right to education [10], [11], [12], [13].

War crimes by the Azerbaijani military

Footage of Azerbaijani military’s brutal actions flooded the social media platforms during the third week of the war, showing the ISIS style executions of Armenian captives. The video footage with graphic imagery was deliberately sent by the Azerbaijani social network users to Armenian users across different platforms, targeting especially young children and women. The video footage has been investigated and verified by independent digital investigation groups [14], [15].

The international community

On September 30, the French President Emmanuel Macron used some strong words to describe the situation in Nagorno-Karabakh condemning the attacks launched by Azerbaijan and the aggressive and destructive rhetoric of the Turkish president Erdogan. A number of parliaments across Europe have since adopted resolutions condemning Azerbaijan [16], whereas the City Council of Milan [17] has gone a step further by recognizing the independence of the Republic of Artsakh. Even though the Israeli government has been selling and continues to this day selling deadly weaponry to Azerbaijan [18], many Israelis have expressed their solidarity with the Armenian people with whom they share a history of surviving persecution and genocide [19].

Armenian Diaspora

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Armenian communities across the world, formed mainly in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide by the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the twentieth century, have taken it to the streets in multiple countries and cities to show their protest against the lack of adequate response by their governments as well as media coverage on the recent attacks on Armenians by Turkey and Azerbaijan. Many Armenians living abroad have returned to their homeland to back the troops on the ground, whereas others have shown their continued support on all social media platforms despite the vicious attacks by the Azeri propaganda trolls [20], [21], [22], [23].

The right to self-determination of the people of Artsakh

Azerbaijan justifies its violent attacks on Artsakh referring to the principle of territorial integrity, disregarding the fact that Joseph Stalin’s decision to place this region with an overwhelmingly Christian Armenian population under its Soviet administration back in 1921 was arbitrary and against the will of the people of Artsakh.

The people of Artsakh base their claim to independence on their right to self-determination under public international law, their right to liberty and their right to live freely without being discriminated, persecuted and massacred on lands that have been their home for centuries. The people of Artsakh effectively exercised this right back in 1991 by holding a referendum and declaring their independence, in which 82% of all voters participated and 99% voted for independence [24]. On a side note, in that same year Azerbaijan had declared its own independence from the Soviet Union, based on that very same right to self-determination [25] the validity of which it has been fiercely contesting since then. Moreover, in response to the referendum of the people of Artsakh, Azerbaijan organized a series of massacres of ethnic Armenians, continuing on the genocidal path of its Turkish ancestors [26].

The right of peoples to self-determination is guaranteed by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and constitutes a well-known principle under public international law. This right, in the case of the Republic of Artsakh, is especially vital in the face of the grave violations of human and minority rights by Azerbaijan in the past, and the grave violations of human rights and the war crimes that are taking place in this ongoing war. Being part of Azerbaijan is not an option for the people of Artsakh, it is suicidal. These people have an inherent right to live on these lands peacefully and freely without the constant fear of being massacred.

What can you do?

  1. Verify your sources: Azerbaijan is an oppressive and corrupt dictatorship [27], controlled by the Aliyev family. The government has blocked almost all social media and communication platforms and has banned the entry of foreign journalists into the country. The rare international journalists working on the ground are under the tight control of the Azerbaijani police and Government.
    Do not fall victim to Azerbaijani propaganda, Azerbaijani troll factories [28] which employ thousands of fake pages and accounts to disseminate false information, and beware of Aliyev family lobbying schemes [29], [30].
  2. Counter the false narrative created by the Turkish and Azeri sources by posting about Armenia and Artsakh
  3. Donate
  4. Urge local media to report properly on Armenia and Artsakh
  5. Call on your politicians to stop selling weaponry to Turkey and to Azerbaijan and to recognize the independence of the Republic of Artsakh!
  6. Participate in petitions

Bibliography

  • [1]BBC, “Armenia and Azerbaijan fight over disputed Nagorno-Karabakh.” BBC, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [2]H. Neil, “Armenia/Azerbaijan: Civilians must be protected from use of banned cluster bombs.” Amnesty International, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [3]DFRLab, “Verifying Azerbaijan’s use of cluster munitions in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.” DFRLab, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [4]T. Guardian, “Syrian recruit describes role of foreign fighters in Nagorno-Karabakh.” The Guardian, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [5]Reuters, “France accuses Turkey of sending Syrian jihadists to Nagorno-Karabakh.” Reuters Staff, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [6]France 24, “Macron condemns Turkey’s ‘bellicose’ statements on Nagorno-Karabakh fighting.” France 24, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [7]Bureau of Consular Affairs, “Azerbaijan Travel Advisory.” U.S. Department of State, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [8]T. Gonul, “Viewpoint: Why Turkey is flexing its muscles abroad.” BBC, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [9]Reuters Staff, “Armenia says Turkey seeks to continue genocide in Nagorno-Karabakh.” Reuters, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [10]H. Neil, “Nagorno-Karabakh: Sirens, shelling and shelters in Stepanakert.” Aljazeera, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [11]BBC, “Nagorno-Karabakh: Civilians and churches under fire.” BBC, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [12]I. C. of the Red Cross, “This is not what a school should look like.” ICRC, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [13]A. Lillian, “Shushi’s Ghazanchetsots Cathedral Bombed.” Armenian Weekly, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [14]DFRLab, “Evidence emerges of Azeri soldiers executing Armenian POWs.” DFRLab, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [15]N. Waters, “An Execution in Hadrut.” Nick Waters, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [16]Zartonk Media, “Luxembourg, Austrian, & Flemish Parliaments Adopt Resolutions Condemning Azerbaijan.” Zartonk Media, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [17]M. Forte, “Matteo Forte’s Facebook feed.” Facebook, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [18]Reuters, “Armenia recalls ambassador to Israel over arms sales to Azerbaijan.” Reuters, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [19]B. Uzay, “Israeli academics ask Israel: Stop arms sales to Azerbaijan .” Israel Natinoal News, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [20]NBC, “Estimated 100,000 March in Support of Armenia in Conflict With Azerbaijan and Turkey.” NBC, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [21]S. Michael and M. K. Bethan, “’Defend our nation’: Armenian diaspora feels pull of another war.” The Guardian, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [22]T.-F. Gabrielle, “Armenian diaspora rushes to Nagorno-Karabakh to back troops.” Reuters, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [23]E. Shafer, “Kim Kardashian West Donates 1 Million to Armenia Fund Amid Ongoing Conflict With Azerbaijan.” Variety, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [24]Wiki Editors, “Republic of Artzakh.” Wikipedia, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [25]Wiki Editors, “Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic.” Wikipedia, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [26]Asbarez, “Members of Congress Remember Sumgait Massacres on Anniversary.” Asbaerz, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [27]Freedom House, “Freedom in the World 2020.” Freedom House, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [28]S. Craig and M. Ryan, “It Took Facebook More Than A Year — And A Whistleblower — To Remove A Troll Farm Connected To Azerbaijan’s Ruling Party.” Buzzfeednews, 2020, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [29]W. John, “US Lobbying Firm Launders Azerbaijan’s Reputation — And Gets ‘Laundromat’ Cash.” OCCRP, 2018, [Online]. Available at: url.
  • [30]M. Sedrak, “Lobby for Aliyev by Aliyev, 2005–2018.” Medium, 2015, [Online]. Available at: url.