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THE ARMENIAN-IRISH ARE calling on the international community to intervene as deadly fighting continues in the Nagorno-Karabakh region.
About 200 people have died and many others have been injured since clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out last weekend.
The landlocked region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is also known as Nagorno-Karabakh or Artsaj, has been at the center of a decades-long dispute between the two former Soviet republics.
The Soviet authorities merged the predominantly ethnic Armenian territory with Azerbaijan in 1921. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenian separatists reclaimed the region in a move supported by the Armenian authorities.
The war that followed left 30,000 dead and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes.
Despite a 1994 ceasefire by Russia, the United States and France, the so-called Minsk Group, peace negotiations have stalled and fighting breaks out frequently.
The clashes during the week are the worst in the region since 2016, when more than 100 people were killed.
Both Armenia, a Christian-majority country, and Azerbaijan, a Muslim-majority country, have accused each other of initiating recent hostilities, but the fighting appears to be fueled by an attempt by Azerbaijani forces to reconquer the region.
‘What hurts me the most is seeing my mother cry’
Vahe Sasunts, a 23-year-old Irish-Armenian living in Kildare, said he and his family are concerned for his relatives in Armenia.
Vahe’s parents, Tigran and Janna, left Armenia in the mid-1990s and their mother is originally from Nagorno-Karabakh.
Map of Nagorno-Karabakh.
Source: Wikimedia
His family has not been able to contact some of his relatives since last Sunday. Vahe said that several of her cousins and uncles are in the army reserves and could be called up to fight.
“Since our family is constantly checking the news on Sunday, we feel like we’re at CNN headquarters or something like that, constantly glued to the news to try to get some information.
“Every day they are publishing statements of who died, we always hope they are not family members. Even if it isn’t, you’re looking at names and you’re looking at birth dates and it still hurts.
You’re looking at the birth dates of people who are passing away and you’re looking at 2000, 2001, 2002, and you’re thinking, ‘Christ, I have a sister who was born in 2003.’
“What is someone who is basically getting the Bachelor’s Certificate this year, what is someone of that age, that mentality, doing in trenches, under such dire circumstances?”
Vahe’s family has been able to contact some but not all of his relatives and he is concerned for their safety. They have visited Armenia several times in the past and their family members have also come to Ireland.
Pictured Vahe’s family with his grandfather and aunt who visited Ireland from Armenia for Christmas 2018.
“I haven’t heard from them since Sunday. My uncles and cousins are part of the reserves. It’s such a small population [in Armenia]They don’t look at your age, they don’t look at whether you are 17 or 60 years old. They could call you [to fight]. “
Vahe said it is “scary” to see the situation unfold, noting that it must also be difficult for the Azeris, adding that “they are also sending children to fight.”
Vahe, the eldest of five brothers born and raised in Ireland, said that “everything I live and breathe is Irish”, but it is “deeply painful” to see what is happening in Armenia.
What hurts me the most is seeing my mom crying and worried. You are glued to television, to Facebook, to Instagram, whatever means you can get information from. Some of the images I see are just horrible, you don’t want them from anywhere.
He said members of the Irish-Armenian community, which numbers a few hundred families, are discussing the issue among themselves and trying to find ways to help.
A man who has been living in Ireland for six years said that his two brothers are currently fighting on the Armenian side and that his nephew was seriously injured during the week and is in a coma.
Turkey and Russia
Since the fighting began last Sunday, Turkey has declared its unconditional support for its ally Azerbaijan and has provided military assistance.
Russia plays a complicated role in the conflict. Moscow offers Armenia security guarantees, through the Collective Security Treaty Organization, but these do not extend to Nagorno-Karabakh, which is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan.
Russia also supplies weapons to both Armenia and Azerbaijan, and is one of the co-chairs of the Minsk Group charged with mediating the conflict. Russia this week was among those calling for a ceasefire.
Vahe pointed out that “Russian ideals do not align with what happened two years ago” in Armenia. In the spring of 2018, massive street protests brought current Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan to power. Since then, it has cracked down on corruption and introduced popular judicial reforms.
“Starting in 2018, it felt as if Armenia was making its way to prosperity, real democracy, real freedom of expression and freedom of the people.
“It was really inspiring and to see, and to see what is happening now on the other side of the border feels like 50 steps back, like we have gone back in time. We shouldn’t be at war in the 21st century, ”Vahe told us.
A local resident holds his granddaughter in the Hadrut province of Nagorno-Karabakh on Thursday.
Source: Karo Sahakyan / ArmGov PAN Photo via AP / PA Images
The United States and several European countries have also called for an end to the fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The UN Security Council on Tuesday called on both sides to “stop fighting immediately” and “return to meaningful negotiations without delay.”
Council members said they “strongly condemn the use of force and lament the loss of life and the number of victims among the civilian population.”
In a joint appeal on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron urged the two sides to return to negotiations aimed at resolving the long-standing dispute.
The Armenian Foreign Ministry said yesterday that Yerevan “is ready to engage” with France, Russia and the United States “to re-establish a ceasefire regime.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev ruled out peace talks with Armenia earlier in the week.
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Oil and weapons
Vahe said the United Nations, NATO and others must do more than call for a ceasefire. He wants them to help facilitate peace talks and consider peacekeeping missions in the region, similar to those in countries like Lebanon.
“It seems that the international community is not doing its part.”
He said simply asking both sides to abide by a ceasefire will not work and sends a signal that “the international community is not planning to carry out any peacekeeping missions or get involved anytime soon.”
Vahe said part of the reluctance to get involved may be due to the fact that the countries do not want to anger Turkey due to its vast military resources and strategic position in the region, or Azerbaijan due to its vast oil reserves.
Debris outside a house after Azerbaijani forces attacked the town of Martuni in Nagorno-Karabakh on Thursday.
Source: Areg Balayan / PAN Photo via AP / PA Images
“I don’t like all this about pointing fingers at each other and saying ‘they started, they started’. It is as clear as day that one side has the funds, it has the mercenaries, it has the artillery, ”Vahe said.
He noted that “the biggest concern” for many Armenians is the “huge” military budget of Turkey and Azerbaijan.
“Turkey openly expresses its desire for pan-Turkishism and sees Armenia as an obstacle for its brother Azerbaijan to connect with them.”
Genocide
The Armenian genocide resulted in the deaths of around 1.5 million ethnic Armenians in Turkey and neighboring regions by the Ottoman government between 1914 and 1923.
More than 30 countries have recognized the killings as genocide, although Ankara fiercely disputes the term.
Speaking of Turkey, Vahe said: “100 years ago they tried ethnic cleansing and failed. And that led to our people scattering all over the world.
“We have relationships all over the world, like the Irish have relationships all over the world.”
He said that this fact has begun to “bite [Turkey] behind ”because Armenians“ have a voice in center stage ”with celebrities like Kim Kardashian, both of Armenian descent, raising the issues facing the country.
“People who have a large following and are saying openly, you know, this is the reason I’m here, this is the reason I’m abroad, it’s because of a genocide that happened 100 years ago and that to this day “has not been recognized,” said Vahe.
He believes that the majority of Armenians and Azeris do not want the fighting to continue, stating: “Personally, I don’t think people want war, I don’t think anyone is interested in wanting war, but what governments want is something else. thing”. . “
Contains reports of © AFP 2020
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