Rally for Armenia Spreads Awareness About Ongoing Genocide

by Gloria Doudoukjian

On September 27th, 2020, Azerbaijan launched a surprise attack against the capital of Artsakh, directly targeting citizens. Since then, the fighting has progressed into a full blown war. There have now been three attempts at a ceasefire (negotiated in Russia then France), all of which were violated within hours by Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani President, Ilham Alieyv, has made it clear he has no intention of stopping, stating this past July that they intend to “continue to fulfill this mission, which [their] grandfathers have carried out for centuries.”

To say this came out of nowhere is inaccurate. This conflict really began 100 years ago (shortly after the Armenian Genocide of 1915). In 1921, a small region of land, known as Artsakh or Nagorno-Karabakh, located between Armenia and Azerbaijan (both part of the Soviet Union), was “given” to Azerbaijan by Joseph Stalin in order to appease Turkey. Artsakh has historically been a part of Armenia since 200 BC. It consists of a 95% Armenian population, and is full of rich Armenian history, including ancient monasteries and relics. Thousands of the Armenians living in Artsakh were massacred in an attempt to increase the Azerbaijani population during Azerbaijan’s 70-year long control. With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, both Azerbaijan and Armenia declared their independence. The vast majority of the population of Artsakh voted to declare independence from Azerbaijan and to reunite with Armenia. Azerbaijan did not approve of this, which led to years of fighting throughout the early 90s. This conflict resulted in Armenia’s de facto control over Artsakh, which has lasted for the past 30 years. While there have been flare-ups from time to time, the senseless violence has never been as bad as it is now. Thousands of Artsakh’s citizens have been killed, and thousands more have been displaced. Azerbaijani forces are targeting civilians and have completely destroyed the capital, Stepanakert. With the violence Armenians are currently facing showing striking similarities to the events of The Armenian Genocide of 1915, Genocide Watch has officially labelled this a genocide emergency at stage 9 of 10 (visit www.genocidewatch.com for more information).

Although this event initially received little media coverage and world leaders remained extremely neutral, the word is slowly getting out. As the violence persists, the world is beginning to catch on. At the recent Rally for Armenia that took place at Niskayuna Town Hall, half a dozen speakers expressed their support for the Armenian community. They explained the 10 stages of genocide, the effects of denying genocide, and about the general course of the conflict leading to today’s war. Congressman Paul Tonko, the representative for the 20th District of New York, attended the rally and expressed his support of Armenians. Clips of the rally were aired on numerous local news channels, with the main purpose of the rally being to educate others and to show support for Armenians. It’s not too late for you to do so too.

Mr. Daniel Curry, a Social Studies teacher from Saratoga Central Catholic School, passionately and powerfully explained the how Genocide is a process which does not just occur overnight. He spoke directly to non-Armenians, urging them to listen to Armenians community members. “Do not let the distance and borders create division to morally justify your silence,” Curry said, “Don’t let Turkish propaganda make you blame the victims and see them as the aggressors because this is part of the process. So I urge you to please, listen to the Armenians… listen to them and do what you can,”

To take a stand, speak out and demand intervention through the sanctioning of Azerbaijan and Turkey, call politicians, representatives, or the media. The top priority right now is to get Artsakh recognized as an independent nation. Share social media posts bringing awareness to this and supporting Armenians under hashtags like #RecognizeArtsakh and #PeaceforArmenians. More resources, petitions, pre-written emails, calling scripts, etc. can be found at www.ANCA.org or www.ArmenianAssembly.org.

Feel free to email me at my school email dou06259@stu.niskyschools.org if you have any questions or would like to discuss further.