ARMENIANS NEED YOUR HELP
The international community stood idly by while Azerbaijan ethnically cleansed Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) of its indigenous Armenian population. But there is more work to do to support forcibly displaced Armenians and to protect the country of Armenia.
Learn and ACT NOW to help!
[PHOTO CREDIT: VASILY KRESTYANINOV/AP Photo]
Learn about the Current Situation
Learn about Azerbaijan’s attacks on Armenians in the Republic of Armenia from the following sources:
13 February 2024: CivilNet—“Azerbaijan kills 4, wounds 1 in major border escalation’” segment
Learn about the aftermath of Azerbaijan’s September 2023 attack on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) from the following sources:
13 November 2023: France 24 English—“Azerbaijan takeover of Nagorno-Karabakh: Victory of ‘authoritarian power over struggling democracy’” segment
1 November 2023: CNN’s interview with Moderna co-founder Noubar Afeyan about Azerbaijan’s illegal imprisonment of former leaders of Artsakh
28 September 2023: France 24 English—“Azerbaijan's ‘dictator’ Ilham Aliyev engaging in ‘ethnic and religious cleansing, mass deportation’” segment
“Hulusi Akar, a former defense minister who today chairs the parliament’s National Defense Commission, threatened Armenia during a January 29, 2024 visit to Azerbaijan, suggesting Turkey could repeat its and Azerbaijan’s ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh’s indigenous Armenian population against Armenia proper.”
--AEI (Michael Rubin): 12 Feb. 2024: “Turkey Threatens to Invade Greece and Armenia”
“Gaza and the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh share a history marked by slaughter, displacement, and broken promises from the West. They also have in common the influence of Israeli weapons, which have driven violence and upheaval in both regions.”
--Jacobin (Aidan Simardone): 17 Nov. 2023: “Israeli Weapons Are Common to the Displacement in Nagorno-Karabakh and Gaza”
Azerbaijan has reissued a map of Artsakh “with street names in Azerbaijani. One of these streets is named after Turkish military officer Enver Pasha, one of the main instigators of the Armenian genocide of 1915.”
--Le Monde (Faustine Vincent): 4 Oct. 2023: “Azerbaijan reissues Nagorno-Karabakh map with street named after Turkish leader of 1915 Armenian genocide”
“The annihilation of millennia of Armenian life in Arstakh was enabled by the inaction and seeming indifference of those who might have prevented it.”
--TIME (Christina Maranci): 12 Oct. 2023: “What Cultural Genocide Looks Like for Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh”
“Where Armenians go, democracy follows. [...] Aliyev understands any claim to legitimacy he enjoys evaporates in a free and fair vote. Beyond racism, this is one reason he wished to crush Nagorno-Karabakh’s autonomy. Azerbaijanis would be right to ask why Armenians in their country might elect leaders, while Azerbaijanis cannot.”
--1945 (Michael Rubin): 23 Oct. 2023: “What Unites Russia, Turkey, Iran And Azerbaijanis In Hatred Of Armenia?”
“‘France has agreed to forge future contracts with Armenia for the delivery of military equipment to enable Armenia to defend itself,’ [French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna] said during a press conference in Yerevan.”
--POLITICO (Gabriel Gavin): 26 Sep. 2023: “‘We know we aren’t going back’: Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians face up to a life in exile”
“...a revanchist Azerbaijan emboldened by its victory in Nagorno-Karabakh, now eyeing a land corridor to Turkey or even annexing entire regions of what hawks in Baku have begun to call ‘western Azerbaijan.’ In fact, that land is Armenia.”
--The Guardian (UK) (Andrew Roth): 30 Sep. 2023: “‘Azerbaijan is hungry for land’: Armenians fear country will seek to grab more territory”
“In these plans, [Aliyev] has the full backing of Turkey. The first target will be the southern part of Armenia, the province of Syunik, which Azerbaijan calls Zangezur.”
--The Conversation (Svante Lundgren): 29 Sep. 2023: “Nagorno-Karabakh: the world should have seen this crisis coming—and it’s not over yet”
“120,000 citizens are now at [Azerbaijan's] mercy, being forced either to abandon their ancestral homes or else live under a tyranny that has fomented hatred against them for many years.”
--The Telegraph (UK) (Geoffrey Robertson): 30 Sep. 2023: “A democratic nation has been allowed to die – the UN has failed once more”
“‘Our people there [in Artsakh / Nagorno-Karabakh] are exhausted and on the brink of starvation and death,’ said Hovhannisyan, who said that several of her pupils had been killed during the offensive.”
--Open Democracy (Samson Martirosyan & Thomas Rowley): 25 Sep. 2023: “UN urged to push Azerbaijan for humanitarian access to Nagorno-Karabakh”
“Nagorno-Karabakh has been under an Azerbaijani blockade for months, meaning that many were forced to make the journey with little food or water. [At] the last Azerbaijani border post, the few Armenian men making the crossing were asked to get out of their vehicles and stare into an identification camera.”
--Barron's / AFP (Anne-Sophie Labadie with Thibault Marchand): 25 Sep. 2023: “Uncertain Future For Tens Of Thousands Fleeing Nagorno-Karabakh”
“‘We’ve seen things I can’t even begin to describe — how can we live together with Azerbaijanis after this?’”
--POLITICO (Gabriel Gavin): 26 Sep. 2023: “‘We know we aren’t going back’: Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians face up to a life in exile”
“Armenians do not need an apology after the fact. They need the West to show moral backbone and signal, through sanctions on Azerbaijan and direct aid to Artsakh, a red light that Aliyev would be foolish to ignore.”
--1945 (Michael Rubin): 11 Sep. 2023: “Anatomy Of Genocide: How The State Department Inadvertently Green-Lighted War On Armenians”
“The blockade was already causing critical shortages of food, medicine, fuel, and other basic necessities—forcing Karabakh’s Armenians into a position of dependence and subservience. Under these conditions, many Armenians will see no option but to leave their homes.”
--TIME (Alex Galitsky & Gev Iskajyan): 20 Sep. 2023: “The U.S. Keeps Failing Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh”
“[Armenians in Artsakh / Nagorno-Karabakh] are more likely to leave than to live under Azerbaijan’s rule and risk discrimination and retribution.”
--The Economist: 21 Sep. 2023: “Azerbaijan is close to taking control of Nagorno-Karabakh”
“The final official count of ethnic Armenians who have crossed into Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh is 100,500. The international community has allowed the ethnic cleansing of Armenians from Nagorno-Karabakh to reach completion. We are shutting down this Live Monitor as of October 2, 2023.”
--University Network for Human Rights: “Monitoring Ethnic Cleansing in Nagorno-Karabakh”
Learn about Azerbaijan's nine-month-long blockade of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) from the following sources:
17 August 2023: Democracy Now's "Nagorno-Karabakh: Armenia Demands End to Azerbaijan Blockade Amid Accusations of Genocide" segment
Luis Moreno Ocampo: 7 Aug. 2023: "Expert Opinion: Genocide against Armenians in 2023 "
Newsweek (Thomas Becker): 31 Aug. 2023: "Armenians Face a Second Genocide. Will the World Intervene?"
New Lines Magazine (Siranush Sargsyan): 22 Sep. 2023: "Living Through War and Waiting for Peace in Nagorno-Karabakh"
The Economist: 4 Sep. 2023: "An Armenian enclave inside Azerbaijan is on the point of starvation"
United States Congress: Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission: 21 June 2023: "Safeguarding the People of Nagorno-Karabakh"
New York Review of Books (Susan Barba): 22 Feb. 2023: "The Road to Artsakh"
Harvard Political Review (Mira Nalbandian): 22 Jan. 2023: "Azerbaijan Won’t Stop at Artsakh"
Read Statements Condemning Azerbaijan's Ethnic Cleansing of Armenians
Human rights organizations say...
“That this horrific mass exodus—which happened to ethnic Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh just weeks ago—has received so little international media and diplomatic attention says everything you need to know about the state of the world right now. It’s not that the world doesn’t care; it’s that there’s too much to care about in too many places at once.”--Human Rights Watch
“...the United States continues to enable the perpetrator with its reckless ‘bothsidesism’ and its delusional belief that the genocidal regime of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev can engage in good-faith talks or negotiations. Genocide is not a matter of ‘simply [having] differences.’”--Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention
“With over 100,000 ethnic Armenians having been forced to flee the enclave since the latest offensive, MEPs say the current situation amounts to ethnic cleansing and strongly condemn threats and violence committed by Azerbaijani troops against the Armenian inhabitants of Nagorno-Karabakh.”--European Parliament: 5 Oct. 2023: “Nagorno-Karabakh: MEPs demand review of EU relations with Azerbaijan”
Armenian civilian Vagif Khachatryan, aged 68, was found guilty “in Azerbaijan’s infamous judicial system, where violations of the fundamental guarantee of due process have become alarmingly common. In fact, according to one observer, Mr. Khachatryan’s statements are intentionally being mistranslated for Azerbaijani and Turkish audiences. Additionally, photos of Mr. Khachatryan have raised concerns about his potential mistreatment and deteriorating health.”
--Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention
“‘We are deeply concerned by reports that the Azerbaijani military is massing equipment along the Armenian border. We condemn any plans to attack the sovereign territory of Armenia and urge mediating parties to work toward preventing any further violation of Armenia’s borders.’”--Michael J. Abramowitz, of Freedom House
Among the refugees who fled Artsakh, 30,000 “...children are dealing with intense feelings of sadness, anxiety, fear and anger, manifesting in nightmares, bedwetting, and inconsolable crying. Others have shut down and become detached, leaving them unable to express emotions or connect with the situation around them.”--UNICEF
“...the suffering inflicted upon tens of thousands of innocent civilians—is a direct consequence of Azerbaijan’s brutal policy of starvation, intimidation and gross violations of human rights. Perpetrators of such cruel acts must be held to account.”--Baroness Caroline Cox, of Humanitarian Aid Relief Trust
“The main reason why the situation in Nagorno Karabakh has reached this latest crisis point is that, with each Azerbaijani escalation of the genocidal process, the world community has failed to take the actions required by international law and basic human rights norms to prevent the destruction of a group.”--Editors of Genocide Studies International at the International Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies
“Azerbaijani social media channels have openly threatened civilians with abuse, ranging from bounties on missing children to images and reports of massacres of residents who refused to leave their homes, leading to frantic civilian efforts to evacuate ahead of the arrival of the Azerbaijani military.”--Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention
“...escape corridors had been set up for civilians, which must set alarm bells ringing and further proves what was already known: the Aliyev regime seeks the expulsion of the Armenian Christian population.”--International Society for Human Rights (ISHR)'s "Warning of Genocide"
“Over the course of nine months, they were systematically starved out and cut off from medical care. They were unable to defend themselves against the major offensive by Azerbaijan...Now, the people of Artsakh will have to decide between forced displacement, starvation, or unconditional subjugation to the Aliyev regime.”--Sarah Reinke, of the Society for Threatened Peoples
“The Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh have become prisoners and targets of ethnic cleansing on their ancestral land and no Armenian is safe.”--Center for Truth and Justice
Learn about the Context
Get background on Azerbaijan and Turkey's war on Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) in 2020 and attacks on the region in 2022 from the following sources:
7 September 2023: "Nagorno-Karabakh: Mounting Cases of Azerbaijani Human Rights Violations" video report with lawyer Sheila Paylan
US House of Representatives: 13 Sep. 2022: "House Resolution condemning Azerbaijan’s unprovoked military attack on Armenia"
National Interest: "It’s Time to Stop Funding Azerbaijan’s Aggression"
Compact Magazine: "Why Armenia Stands Alone"
Tufts's Fletcher School: "Azerbaijan’s Ultimate Goal Was Never Karabakh, It Was Armenia’s Capitulation"
Telegraph UK: "Armenia is being brutalised by its neighbours. If it is defeated, it would be bad news for the West"
Newsweek: "Another War Is Brewing, but Will the World Take Action?"
National Interest: "Defending Armenia from Turkic Aggression"
EVN Report: "Name the Aggressor"
5 March 2021: Popular Front segment, "Ghosts of Karabakh: Armenia and Azerbaijan's Tense Ceasefire"
EVN Report: "International Human Rights Organizations and Victim-Blaming"
Bild (Germany): "We have watched this war happen—and stood idly by"
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty: "Left Behind? Churches, Monasteries Due For Handover To Azerbaijan"
LA Review of Books: "On the Struggle for Indigenous Self-Determination in the Republic of Artsakh"
Zoravik Activist Collective: "From Hate Speech to Ethnic Cleansing: Why We Need to Get Our Facts Right about Armenia and Azerbaijan" translated into multiple languages
Berkeley News: "Why Violence Has Re-emerged in Armenia-Azerbaijan Conflict"
Columbia's Institute for the Study of Human Rights: "The Media War by Turkey and Azerbaijan against Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh"
The American Conservative: "How Azerbaijan Is Lobbying Washington To Sanitize Its War"
National Interest: "Recognizing Artsakh’s Independence Will Stop Turkey and Azerbaijan’s War on Armenians"
Read about the historical, social, and political context of Azerbaijan's attacks on Armenia and Artsakh from the following sources:
Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP): "How to Build Yourself a Stealth Lobbyist, Azerbaijani style"
AtlanticCouncil's Digital Forensic Research Lab: "Patriotic astroturfing in the Azerbaijan-Armenia Twitter war"
Middle East and North Africa Research Center (MENA): "The Grey Wolves conquering Europe"
Zoravik Activist Collective: "Our Response to Azeri Hate Crimes, Vandalism, and Attacks on Peaceful Protestors"
Cornell's Caucasus Heritage Watch: "Silent Erasure: A Satellite Investigation of the Destruction of Armenian Cultural Heritage in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan"
Hyperallergic: "Google Arts & Culture as an Agent of Ethnic Cleansing"
American Association for the Advancement of Science: "High-Resolution Satellite Imagery and the Destruction of Cultural Artifacts in Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan"
History Today: "Sacred Stones Silenced in Azerbaijan"
Archaeology: "Tragedy on the Araxes"
Join us at events in the Boston Area
We organize events in the Boston area to advocate for Armenians and for Artsakh.Our efforts have had a real impact—because of our vigil series, we have had two separate roundtable discussions with Senator Markey and with Senator Warren, who both pledged to advocate for Armenia with the State Department and to vote for legislation that sends a strong message to Azerbaijan that violent aggression against Armenians will not be tolerated.Join us at our next event to reach more Congressional representatives!
Our Past Events:
November 18, 3:30–5:00 pm, JFK Federal building: Rally to Demand US Action for Artsakh
To continue pressuring our elected leaders while educating the public, Zoravik, together with a coalition of local Armenian advocacy, youth, and student groups, held a protest rally at the JFK Federal Building in Boston on Saturday, November 18th from 3:30 to 5 pm.Representatives of supporting organizations shared their statements alongside musicians.Read about the rally in our press release.
Nov. 17: Belmont Center, 4:30–6 pm: Demonstration for Artsakh every Friday afternoon
We educated rush hour drivers about Putin, Erdogan, and Aliyev’s goal of Armenian Genocide 2023 and how Americans can help stop it.Contact Nicole Simmons at [email protected] for details
In Boston at the JFK Building:
Vigil on 5 Oct.
Vigil on 12 Oct.
Vigil on 19 Oct.
Vigil on 26 Oct.
In Belmont at Belmont Center:
Demonstration on 10 Nov.
Demonstration on 3 Nov.
Demonstration on 27 Oct.
If your organization or ASA would like to join or co-sponsor our efforts, please PM us on Facebook or Instagram, or email [email protected].
Contact Us
This site is made and maintained by Zoravik Armenian Activist Collective.
You can reach us via email at [email protected].We welcome your suggestions for sources or events that we can share with our readers.
ACT NOW
Contact your Congressional representatives to get the US to act NOW:
Contact President Biden, Vice-President Harris, your Senators, and Representatives and urge them to end U.S. complicity in Azerbaijan’s genocide against Artsakh’s Armenians and to stop further Azerbaijani aggression against the Republic of Armenia by:
Enforcing Section 907 and cutting all U.S. security and military assistance to Azerbaijan
Sending robust U.S. humanitarian assistance to help forcibly displaced Armenians
Sanctioning Azerbaijan through the application of U.S. and international laws—including the Global Magnitsky Act and the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of Genocide
Securing the release of Artsakh leaders and all Armenian POWs illegally detained by the Azerbaijani government
Ensuring the indigenous Armenian Artsakh population’s right to return and to live peacefully in their ancestral homes
Safeguarding the security of the Republic of Armenia’s borders against further Azerbaijani aggression
Calling your elected officials is the best way to make your voice heard. Yerazad has created a helpful call and email script to use to contact your Congressional representatives who can vote to enact real change for Armenians in Artsakh.
If you prefer to email or use social media posts, you can use Yerazad’s helpful email script, as well as the Armenian Assembly’s "Action Center" and ANCA’s "March to Justice" tools.
Donate to the following charitable organizations that provide immediate humanitarian assistance to forcibly displaced Armenians:
All for Armenia (501(c)(3))
Armenian Relief Society, Eastern USA (501(c)(3))
Paros Foundation (501(c)(3))
Tufenkian Foundation (501(c)(3))
Armenian American Medical Association Boston (501(c)(3))
Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund (501(c)(3))
Traveling Doctors (501(c)(3))
[PHOTO CREDIT: HASMIK KHACHATRYAN/AFP via Getty Images]