Azerbaijani government cleansing of Armenian culture
The Azerbaijani government's actions regarding Armenian culture have been a significant point of contention, particularly concerning the region of Nagorno-Karabakh, which is predominantly populated by Armenians. Following Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the Nagorno-Karabakh region became a flashpoint for conflict, leading to accusations from Armenians that the Azerbaijani military systematically destroyed their cultural heritage, including churches and historical monuments.
In recent years, tensions escalated, particularly following a blockade in December 2022 along the Lachin corridor, the sole route connecting Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia. This blockade has been characterized by many international observers as an attempt at ethnic cleansing, as it led to severe shortages of food and medical supplies for the remaining Armenian population in the region. The international community, including organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, has condemned these actions, while Azerbaijan's government has denied wrongdoing, attributing the blockade to environmental protests.
As of mid-2023, diplomatic efforts to address the situation have been ongoing, but the future of the Armenian community in Nagorno-Karabakh remains uncertain amidst allegations of human rights abuses and the tightening of control by Azerbaijani authorities.
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Azerbaijani government cleansing of Armenian culture
The nation of Azerbaijan is bordered by Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Iran to the south, Turkey to the west, and the Caspian Sea to the east. Azerbaijan shares a western border with Armenia. Once a part of the Soviet Union, Azerbaijan became an independent nation following the Soviet Union’s fall at the end of 1991. Control of a 1,700-square-mile (4,403-square-kilometer) region in eastern Azerbaijan, known as Nagorno-Karabakh among Azerbaijanis and Artsakh among Armenians, has been hotly and often violently contested. Although the region lies within the interior of Azerbaijan (it does not share a border with Armenia), it is primarily populated by Armenians, who have inhabited the area since at least the sixth century. Only one road leads to and from the region.
Background
Armenia and Azerbaijan warred over the disputed territory during their brief independence from 1918 to 1920, after the Russian Empire fell and before the Soviet Union was created. During the Soviet era, the area was designated as Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast, which strictly fell under Azerbaijan’s jurisdiction, but the oblast (roughly translated into English as “province”) had considerable autonomy and its own governmental structure. On February 20, 1988, the parliament of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast voted to unite with Armenia and create the unrecognized Republic of Karabakh. When Azerbaijan eliminated the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast after leaving the Soviet Union, the Armenian population of the area voted on a referendum for independence on December 10, 1991, which passed with 99.98 percent of the vote.
These actions led to the first Nagorno-Karabakh war, with full-scale armed conflict beginning in 1992. The Armenians accused the Azerbaijani military of systematically destroying its cultural heritage by ruining churches, tombstones, and khachkars (hand-carved stone monuments), which are all considered sacred by Armenians. Each side accused the other of war crimes and brutal killings.
For example, the Sumgait pogrom took place on February 27, 1988. Mobs of Azerbaijanis attacked and killed Armenian civilians and looted homes and businesses for three days. Russian troops finally quelled the violence and arrested four hundred Azerbaijanis, eight-two of whom faced trial for their actions. The Baku pogrom spanned a seven-day period during which Armenian residents of Baku were attacked, beaten, and killed. Looting and robbery were also rampant. On February 26, 1992, Armenian troops entered the inadequately defended town of Khojaly, killing an estimated six hundred civilians, including women and children. This attack was used by Azerbaijani authorities to further fuel the long-standing hatred of Armenians. The war ended with a ceasefire in 1994, with the Armenians still holding Nagorno-Karabakh. However, no peace treaty was signed, and hostilities continued.
War broke out again on September 27, 2020, when Azerbaijani forces attacked the city of Artsakh. They were assisted by Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a strong Azerbaijani supporter, who supplied troops with weapons, ammunition, bombs, and special personnel. Roughly five thousand Armenian troops were killed on that day. During the six weeks of fighting, approximately thirty thousand Armenians resettled in Armenia to escape the conflict. The Azerbaijani forces were able to make deep inroads into Nagorno-Karbakh. Numerous verified accounts of human rights abuses by Azerbaijani troops were documented, including videos of beheadings and executions of Armenian military personnel and civilians. The Azerbaijani were also accused of using banned weapons such as cluster bombs and white phosphorus gas. The Armenians were forced to accept a peace deal brokered by Russia in November 2020. It was a major defeat for the Armenians, who were required to withdraw from a significant portion of Nagorno-Karbakh.
Overview
On December 12, 2022, a blockade was set up along the Lachin corridor, the only road leading out of Nagorno-Karabakh toward Armenia, thereby cutting off sources for food, medicine, and other supplies for the one-hundred-twenty-thousand Armenians still living in Nagorno-Karabakh. In addition, electricity and gas supplies, which run through Azerbaijan, were cut off. International groups were quick to condemn the action, including those who have repeatedly accused Azerbaijan of human rights abuses such as Amnesty International, Reporters Without Borders, and Human Rights Watch. Azerbaijan was accused of ethnic cleansing by attempting to starve the Armenians.
On February 22, 2023, the International Court of Justice ordered Azerbaijan to open the road. However, with no immediate ability to enforce this demand, the blockade continued. The Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh suffered through the winter with dwindling supplies. Only Red Cross vehicles, which have delivered some supplies, and Russian peacekeepers have been allowed to pass the blockade.
For its part, the Azerbaijani government, led by Ilham Aliyev, has denied any wrongdoing, saying that the blockade was created by environmental activists protesting the impact of mining operations in the area. However, the ruse was thinly veiled and been mostly dropped. Aliyev also insisted that the road was open. As of 2023, the European Union, Russia, and the United States continued to facilitate a peace agreement that will alleviate the Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians’ fear of continued ethnic cleansing, but no common ground had been identified.
Aliyev added to tensions in May 2023 when he opened a checkpoint along the Lachin corridor. As part of an agreement that ended armed conflict, Azerbaijan agreed to turn over control of the road to Russian peacekeepers. The checkpoint suggests that Aliyev is moving to retake control of who travels to and from Nagorno-Karabakh, seemingly in opposition to the peace agreement. However, with Russia distracted by its war with Ukraine, Aliyev has met with little resistance from Moscow or the Russian peacekeepers. The fate of Armenians living in Nagorno-Karabakh remains uncertain as of June 2023.
Bibliography
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Kitachayev, Bashir. “What’s Next for the Azerbaijani Blockade of Nagorno-Karabakh?” openDemocracy, 25 Jan. 2023, www.opendemocracy.net/en/odr/nagorno-karabakh-blockade-azerbaijan-armenia-citizenship/. Accessed 9 June 2023.
Maghakyan, Simon. “How Azerbaijan Weaponized Environmentalism to Justify Ethnic Cleansing.” Time, 22 Feb. 2023, www.time.com/6257467/armenia-azerbaijan-nagorno-karabakh-lachin-environment-icj/. Accessed 9 June 2023.
Quell, Molly. “Armenia Calls Azerbaijan Blockade an Act of ‘Ethnic Cleansing.’” Courthouse News Service, 30 Jan. 2023, www.courthousenews.com/armenia-calls-azerbaijan-blockade-an-act-of-ethnic-cleansing/. Accessed 9 June 2023.
Sawa, Dale Berning. “Monumental Loss: Azerbaijan and ‘the Worst Cultural Genocide of the 21st Century.’” The Guardian, 1 Mar. 2019, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/mar/01/monumental-loss-azerbaijan-cultural-genocide-khachkars. Accessed 9 June 2023.