On October 16 Turkey’s delegation to the United Nations has sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General over the denial of the Armenian Genocide, requesting to circulate it in the General Assembly and the Security Council.

Expert on genocidal studies Suren Manukyan told Armenpress that the letter of Turkey aims at counteracting the statements made by Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan at the UN General Assembly.

The expert informed that the letter is full of another repetition of absurd facts which the Turkish and Azerbaijani sides are trying to circulate for years at different international organizations and meetings. They include accusation according to which Armenia allegedly is presenting ungrounded claims over the Armenian Genocide. According to him, the reason Turkey is nervous is that Armenia is always warning and alarming about the possible danger of genocide in the context of the escalation of the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

“The word genocide itself makes Turkey very nervous because it is always associated with that country”, Manukyan said.

The expert has presented an example of an absurd thesis from that letter of the Turkish delegation which states that the Armenian Genocide cannot be considered a genocide because the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide has been adopted much later – in 1948. 

“This is a very weak argument, because we have many phenomena which are part of objective reality, have taken place and only later have received their name, including, for instance, many diseases. The same applies to many concepts. According to that logic, dinosaurs could not exist either because their name “dinosaur” was put into circulation for the first time by biologist Richard Owen in 1842. And there are many such examples”, he added.

Common wisdom asserts that Jews and Armenians are natural allies, bound by a ‘covenant of fate.’ But that’s not at all how Israel sees its relations with the Republic of Armenia

Eldad Ben Aharon

The current fiery debate about Israel’s involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict emphasizes, among other things, the common wisdom that Jews and Armenians, as victims of genocide – the Holocaust and the Armenian Genocide, embody the moral and historical imperative of the notable statement, “Never again.” 

Eldad Ben Aharon

Dr. Eldad Ben Aharon is a lecturer at Leiden University and a Minerva Fellow and Associate Researcher at the Peace Research Institute Frankfurt. He is writing a book on Israeli–Turkish–American relations in the last decade of the Cold War as seen through the prism of the Armenian genocide. Twitter: @EldadBenAharon

In September 2020, Azerbaijani troops crossed the “Line of Contact” dividing Karabakh. Turkey intervened on the side of Azerbaijan. Armenia supports Artsakh. Azerbaijan uses laser guided drones supplied by Turkey and Israel to target Armenian troops, villages and civilians. Azerbaijani military offensives against civilians are war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.

The establishment of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic in 1918 began with the systematic extermination of the Armenian populations living in Azerbaijan and the provinces of Nakhichevan and Nagorno-Karabakh. Often viewed as an extension of the 1915 deportation and genocide of Ottoman Armenians, Azerbaijani forces in Baku slaughtered at least 15,000 Armenian civilians in the ‘September Days.’ Azerbaijanis also slaughtered 1,000 Armenians in 1919-1920 in the Karabakh cities of Shusha and Khaibalikend. These historic genocidal massacres contribute to Armenian distrust of Azerbaijan today.

Soviet rule brought the massacres against Armenians to an end, but the dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh during the dismantling of the Soviet Union reignited violence against the Armenian minority in Azerbaijan. From 1988 to 1990, Azerbaijani mobs robbed, beat, raped, and murdered ethnic Armenians in the towns of Sumgait, Baku, and Kirovabad. This campaign of terror caused the forced expulsion of nearly all Armenians living in Azerbaijan.

In 1988, a parliament was formed in Nagorno-Karabagh and in a referendum, the region’s Armenian citizens voted for independence, declaring the Republic of Artsakh. Azerbaijanis boycotted the referendum. A 6-year civil war followed. Armenian forces defeated Azerbaijani forces and many Azerbaijanis fled from Nagorno-Karabakh. During the war, Azerbaijani forces shelled Stepanakert, killing over 100 Armenian civilians, and Azerbaijani forces destroyed Armenian villages, killed civilians, and mutilated corpses. In one significant massacre in the village of Marga, Azerbaijani forces murdered over 100 Armenian civilians in April 1992.

The Azerbaijani government under Ilham Aliyev denies any violence against Armenians and is also a denier of the 1915 Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire.

Today, Azerbaijan denies displaced Armenians the right to return and forbids a person of Armenian heritage from entering its territory. The Azerbaijani government promotes hate speech and encourages violence against Armenians. Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani soldier murdered Armenian soldier Gurgen Margaryan with an ax in 2004. Upon Safarov’s return home, the Azerbaijani government acquitted Safarov of murder and awarded him honors for his service to Azerbaijan. In 2016, Azerbaijani troops decapitated the Yazidi-Armenian soldier Kyaram Sloyan and posted photos of his severed head on the social media site VKontakte.

In September 2020, Azerbaijani troops crossed the “Line of Contact” dividing Karabakh. Turkey intervened on the side of Azerbaijan. Armenia supports Artsakh. Azerbaijan uses laser-guided drones supplied by Turkey and Israel to target Armenian troops, villages, and civilians. Azerbaijani military offensives against civilians are war crimes under the Geneva Conventions.

The U.N., Russia, and Red Cross have called for a ceasefire, but it has been disregarded by both sides.

Due to its denial of past genocide against Armenians, its official use of hate speech, and the current targeting of civilians in Artsakh,

Genocide Watch considers Azerbaijan to be at Stage 9: Extermination and Stage 10: Denial.

Genocide Watch recommends:

1. The U.N. Security Council should demand that Azerbaijan stop all offensive maneuvers against the Republic of Artsakh and order a Chapter 7 “ceasefire” in the current conflict.
2. The Security Council should request the “good offices” of the U.N. Secretary-General and the Minsk Group to resolve the conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
3. The Security Council should impose an embargo on the sale of arms to Azerbaijan.
4. A U.N. Peacekeeping Force should be created and positioned along the Line of Contact to deter attacks by Azerbaijan against Armenians in Artsakh.
5. World leaders should condemn hate speech and genocide denial by the Aliyev regime.

Clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the southern Caucasus have triggered a new wave of anti-Armenian sentiment in Turkey, exploited and fueled by ultranationalist elements, and has increased the pressure on its Armenian citizens, Nordic Monitor reported.

Yetvart Danzikyan, editor-in-chief of the Agos newspaper, published in both Turkish and Armenian, told The National that the conflict had roused nationalist feelings in Turkey that were raising concerns in the Armenian community. “Whether it’s or a decision taken by the US legislature on [recognizing] the Armenian genocide, unfortunately, Turkish-Armenians feel that the spotlight is suddenly turning on them, and of course it creates anxiety among them,” Danzikyan said.

Armenian-Turkish lawmaker Garo Paylan from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) was targeted on October 2, in newspaper ads published by the nationalist Center for Eurasian Strategic Studies (ASAM) think tank for comments he made about the ongoing clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia.

The ads claimed that Paylan “shamelessly blamed Azerbaijan and Turkey and openly backed Armenia.” Describing the lawmaker’s words as “evidence of unacceptable treason,” ASAM called on the “independent judiciary” and the Turkish parliament to take “the necessary steps” about Paylan.

ASAM’s ad said the Turkish nation would “never forgive those who try to create false perceptions against the Turkish government by spreading the ‘it is claimed that Turkey is sending arms and jihadist militants to fight in Azerbaijan’ narrative.”

ASAM was founded by Ümit Özdağ, a deputy from the ultranationalist Good (IYI) Party from southern Gaziantep province, who is known for his anti-Syrian campaign aiming to send Syrian refugees back home. Syrians had to flee their country due to its nine-year civil war.

Following demonstrations in front of the Armenian Patriarchate in İstanbul, Paylan had warned the Turkish authorities against hate speech and crimes amid the recent clashes between Azerbaijan-Armenia over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

A group of Turks and Azeris were allowed to stage the protests in front of the Armenian Patriarchate in Istanbul on September 27, following the outbreak of conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Protesters waved Azerbaijani and Turkish flags and chanted slogans in a convoy of cars on the patriarchate’s street in Istanbul’s Kumkapı neighborhood.

The Istanbul governor has attracted fire from critics as he failed to exercise his power to prevent such a risky and provocative protest, Turkish Minute reported.

At the end of a state of emergency in July 2018, Turkey’s governors were granted the authority to implement emergency measures for three years. The governors have frequently used their new powers to restrict and disperse opposition meetings and demonstrations in the country.

Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu, an HDP deputy and human rights activist, also questioned the approval for the demonstration granted by Turkish authorities, asking whether the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government was planning for “new September 6-7 incidents.” The lawmaker was referring to the 1955 İstanbul pogrom against minorities, including Greeks, Armenians and Jews.

Several attacks have targeted the Armenian community in Istanbul this year. In May a man had attempted to set fire to the gate of the Dznunt Surp Asdvadzadzni Church in İstanbul’s Bakırköy district. Three weeks later, a crucifix from the gate of the Armenian Surp Krikor Lusaroviç Church in the Kuzguncuk district, on the Asian side of Istanbul, was ripped down. A threatening letter was also sent to the Hrant Dink Foundation, which was established in 2007 following the assassination of Hrant Dink, the founder of the Agos weekly.

In August some of the graves in the Armenian cemetery of either the Surp Pırgiç or Karasun Manug church foundation in the Sincan district of Ankara were desecrated.

A hate-speech report by the Hrant Dink Foundation, titled “Hate Speech and Discriminatory Discourse in Media 2019 Report,” revealed that Armenians, Syrian refugees and Greeks were at the top of the list of groups targeted with hate speech by the Turkish media in 2019. By monitoring the media, the report aims to detect intolerant discourse and strengthen social solidarity.

According to the report, Armenians were the most targeted group in 2019 with 803 hate speech items. They have been portrayed as enemies and associated with violence, terrorism and massacres in the context of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

SHUSHA, AZERBAIJAN — Knocked to the ground by the blast, a bible in Armenian script lay open on the floor, covered in dust.

Sun passing through a hole in the roof lit a scene of devastation.

The Ghazanchetsots (Holy Saviour) Cathedral, an iconic site for the Armenian Apostolic Church, came under rocket fire on Thursday, as fighting raged between Armenian and Azerbaijani forces over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Armenia blamed its arch-rival, but Azerbaijan said any damage to the church “has nothing to do with the military actions of the Azerbaijani army”.

One of the rockets hit the roof of the 19th-century building in the town of Shusha, which is perched on a plateau some 14 kilometres (nine miles) from the regional capital Stepanakert.

“I was arriving at the church when I saw three rockets in the sky. Two went by, but the third hit the roof,” said the local groundskeeper.

“My knees are still shaking, it’s a miracle I’m not hurt.”

Outside the church, jagged pieces of its wooden frame and metal roof lay on the ground.

Inside, rubble was strewn on the floor with pews knocked over or broken. There was broken glass and wood splinters amid the rubble and a thick layer of dust covered everything, getting inside noses and mingling with the lingering smell of explosives.

Overhead was a gaping hole of two to three metres (6 to 9 feet) in the ceiling.

‘HOW CAN YOU TARGET CHURCH?’

A man lit a candle before making the sign of the cross, another picked up a bible and dusted it off.

“There is no military, nothing strategic here, how can you target a church?” said one visitor, Simeon, who lives nearby.

Witnesses said a handful of worshippers were present when the church was hit, but none was injured and a priest rushed them into a nearby bomb shelter.

Like Stepanakert, Shusha has come under regular fire since the heaviest fighting in years over Karabakh broke out late last month.

The primate of the diocese of Karabakh, Pargev Martirosyan, compared the hitting of the church to the destruction of religious objects carried out by the Islamic State group.

“They are attacking our spiritual values,” he told AFP.

The enormous cathedral, built between 1868 and 1887, is of major symbolic importance for Armenians.

It is the seat of the diocese and suffered heavy damage during the 1990s war over the disputed region, when it was used as a storage site for Grad rockets by Azerbaijani forces.

Shusha was a strategic stronghold for Azerbaijani forces during the war. For months in the winter of 1992, rockets rained down on Stepanakert from Shusha, killing thousands.

When separatist forces took control of Shusha and the rest of Karabakh, the cathedral was restored and became an important site for visitors from Armenia and the Armenian diaspora.

“We will rebuild our cathedral, as we have always done throughout our history,” Simeon said.

“God will be the judge” of those responsible, he said.

Less than an hour after AFP journalists visited, there was new shelling on the church, Armenia said, leaving several Russian and local journalists wounded.

BY MARSHALL D. MOUSHIGIAN,

When thinking of “appeasement”, the natural connection is to German Chancellor Adolf Hitler when he used British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s lack of guts, spine and foresight to his advantage, ultimately rolling over Czechoslovakia, and then the entirety of Europe, including its Jewish population. Although the Hitler correlation occurs during the Second World War, the comparison applies today. This time it is to Turkey, Azerbaijan and, in a sad twist of irony, to Israel, vis-à-vis Armenia, with implications for Europe. 

Appeasement is, simply speaking, allowing a bad actor to commit bad acts so that the consequences of confrontation can be avoided at a time when confrontation is needed. 

The West has allowed Turkey to get away with murder for nearly a century. A good starting point is 1974 when Turkey invaded Cyprus, ostensibly to protect Turks on the Grecian island. To this day Turkey illegally occupies Cyprus’ northern third. Turkey learned a valuable lesson in appeasement; the rest of the world did not, and since then its only gotten worse.

It’s no secret that Turkey was a covert supplier of sarin gas to Syrian rebels, including al-Qaeda terrorists, beginning as early as 2012. Turkey continues to be a driving force in the destruction of Syria. Another pass given to Turkey; another gift of appeasement.

The most egregious acts of appeasement concern the Armenian Genocide. In late 2019, Armenian Genocide resolutions passed both Houses of Congress with a combined 98% approval rate. There was little press on the matter. Turkish reaction, however, was swift and melodramatic as it continued its denial and labeled the congressional action “null and void.”

The passage of these two bills came after years of efforts from Armenian advocacy groups and others seeking justice, pitted against powerful resistance who would rather not confront an inconvenient truth. They include, among others, Turkey, the State Department, and Israel.

DECLARING A GENOCIDE

On the presidential front, Ronald Reagan properly spoke about the Armenian Genocide, and that was as good as it got. George H.W. Bush discussed it while running for president, but the State Department redirected his speech toward a fictional Turkish narrative. President Bill Clinton, after a call from the Israeli advocacy group AIPAC, pulled a widely supported Armenian Genocide resolution from a House vote minutes before its introduction in 2000. That same year George W. Bush, in a heated presidential race, promised to recognize the Genocide if elected. Bush easily grabbed Armenian votes, but after inauguration the State Department nudged him to downgrade the Genocide to a mere tragedy. Obama did the same thing. All because Turkey is (and the “is” is quickly changing to a “was”) a valuable NATO ally in the Middle East. 

Having positive foreign relations is a legitimate national interest. But what those interests are and how they are maintained is debatable. The State Department has enforced Turkey’s gag rule of presidential silence on the Genocide for years, and has now extended that silence to Artsakh, an historic Armenian region given to Azerbaijan by Joseph Stalin, but liberated by Armenians after a bitter war with Azerbaijan that ended in 1994. The war ended, but the attacks have continued by Azerbaijan since then, unprovoked by Armenia and unabated by the diplomatic and press communities. Each act of appeasement, just on the Genocide alone, exponentially builds on the previous unwarranted dispensations. But Artsakh is different because there has been a quarter century of opportunity to resolve the matter; instead, the world has witnessed a quarter century of appeasement to oil-rich Azerbaijan. 

Having positive foreign relations is a legitimate national interest. But what those interests are and how they are maintained is debatable. The State Department has enforced Turkey’s gag rule of presidential silence on the Genocide for years, and has now extended that silence to Artsakh, an historic Armenian region given to Azerbaijan by Joseph Stalin, but liberated by Armenians after a bitter war with Azerbaijan that ended in 1994. The war ended, but the attacks have continued by Azerbaijan since then, unprovoked by Armenia and unabated by the diplomatic and press communities. Each act of appeasement, just on the Genocide alone, exponentially builds on the previous unwarranted dispensations. But Artsakh is different because there has been a quarter century of opportunity to resolve the matter; instead, the world has witnessed a quarter century of appeasement to oil-rich Azerbaijan.

Armenians have maintained a defensive position since the cease-fire. Each Armenian killed is met with the same neutral response, which assigns a false parity to both sides. Each side is told to refrain from violence and negotiate. The appeasement is that Azerbaijan, the constant aggressor, is never called to answer for its violence. This emboldens a bad actor. Over a quarter century of appeasement, and today the Azeris are directly targeting Armenian civilians in Artsakh’s smaller villages and the capital city of Stepanakert, along with Armenia proper. The natural continuation of this Azeri-instigated, and Turkish-supported, violence is genocide. Both Turkey and Azerbaijan’s autocratic rulers have stated this intention. Turkey, and now Azerbaijan, know the lessons of appeasement.

HISTORIC PARALLELS

This latest round of Azeri and Turkish appeasement is spot on with world reaction, and inaction, toward Hitler. Hitler was a real threat to Europe and its Jewish population 80 years ago. Europe is again under threat, this time by Turkey’s President Recep Erdogan. However, the immediate threat of Erdogan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev is Artsakh and Armenia proper. 

The appeasement of Turkey coincides with Erdogran’s grip on power. From 2003 onward he has expanded his military, jailed journalists, and rolled back the rights of women and minorities. 

Erdogan’s power is not limited to Turkey. In 2017 Erdogan’s guards viciously attacked peaceful protesters outside the Turkish Embassy in Washington, D.C. Erdogan watched with pride and approval from the front porch. The repercussions were minimal. Appeasing a sadistic dictator in his own country is one thing; allowing him to act with near impunity in the United States is something else.

The press, for its part, has enabled such destructive behavior by regularly questioning Armenian Genocide justice juxtaposed against hurt Turkish feelings and strained relations. The “Turkish feelings” mantra has gotten old, so a new mantra, partially overlapping with the old, is that both Armenia and Azerbaijan are equal aggressors in the current war in Artsakh. Making matters worse is that the press deliberately fails to call out, or even mention, Turkey’s involvement. Turkey is importing mercenary ISIS terrorists from Syria into Azerbaijan to help an inept Azeri leadership. Turkey has troops and advisers on the ground and has taken over the Azeri Air Force. 

Even more enabling is the deafening silence that has sheltered Israel who, for years, has been selling suicide drones to Azerbaijan for use against Armenian civilians. Such silence is understandable: for decades Israel has artfully played the Holocaust card, accusing any critic of anti-Semitism. Israel has gone from the country founded by survivors of the Shoah to a participant in genocide. 

Another enabler is the United Nations who’s General Assembly President is Volkan Bozkir, a Turk and ardent genocide denier. To its credit, the UN has accepted East Timor, South Sudan and Kosovo, which found their place on the map because of peoples’ desire to control their destiny. Artsakh is no different and equally deserving. It has been a full-fledged country for 26 years and in that time the world has waited for the Artsakh Armenians to capitulate. That will never happen. Therefore, the time to recognize Artsakh as an independent country is now — any further delay is appeasement and an opportunity for those who wish its destruction.

REGIME CHANGE

But before Artsakh can continue growing, regime change is needed in Azerbaijan. With a population wallowing in poverty and discontent thanks to the hyper corruption of petro-dictator Aliyev, removing him is easy enough. Turkey, although in need of fresh and real leadership, would be a challenge. But there are ways of containing Turkey, especially with mutual-aid/defense pacts between Armenia and other friendly nations. Heavy sanctions would also be needed, not unlike those imposed on Iran. The basis of Iranian sanctions is the threats to Israel; the basis of Turkish sanctions is the clear and present danger to Armenia.

Turkey’s concern is its original sin of the Armenian Genocide. Turkey was founded on genocide, which dismisses any notion of Turkey’s legitimacy. To fend that off they need to silence the speakers of truth and the seekers of justice. It is for this reason that Genocide justice, including reparations, must happen in conjunction with Turkish sanctions, regime change in Azerbaijan, and Artsakh independence.

Along with matching mustaches, Erdogan and Aliyev share another characteristic with Hitler — their narcissistic love of hate, death and destruction. Israel’s support of Azerbaijan’s mad desire to eliminate Armenians propels it to a shame on par with Hitler. Israel and its people have been on the receiving end of race extermination; Israel should know better. 

The consequences of Chamberlain’s shortcomings are clear as we peer through the looking glass of history. Today we don’t need a looking glass. We can see with our own eyes and consciences what a lack of guts, spine and foresight are doing to the Armenians. Armenia is a stepping-stone for Turkey reigniting the Ottoman Empire; as such, Europe and the rest of the world should be on guard. But first and foremost, truth and consequences must replace appeasement. Marshall D. Moushigian is a Fresno attorney and financial adviser.

According to foreign reports, Israel sells Azerbaijan radar systems and drones, and handles the collection of intelligence against Iran from the Asian nation.

Azerbaijan has purchased nearly $5 billion-worth of defense equipment from Israel, that country’s President Ilham Aliyev said on Tuesday during a visit to Azerbaijan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Aliyev said the defense industry cooperation between the countries had lasted for several years and was flourishing.