Nagorno-Karabakh-is there any hope for peace?
So, Nagorno-Karabakh is in the news again.
I am on Twitter… sorry, X every free minute reading all sorts of facts knowing half at least s not true.
What I am realizing these days is we are all biased. Even those who pretend to be unbiased. So of course, I am biased too.
I don’t have any hatred in my heart for the Armenian people, and that’s a fact. Yet, I cannot help it. Every time i read a biased article, every time I see words such as aggression, genocide, ethnic cleansing, “barbarian nation” about my people, my home country…. It gets my hackles up.
Territorial conflicts like Nagorno-Karabakh are complicated. That’s why they go on forever. If it were easy to find a peaceful solution that made everyone happy, it would have been done many times by now.
When Azerbaijan offers Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians to accept Azerbaijani citizenship they, of course, don’t want it. I understand that, is pretty obvious. They never wanted it, isn’t it how the whole thing started all those years ago? Also, if they believe we would behead their children (one of the rumors circulating on X at the moment) how can they be expected to stay?
On the other hand, if Azerbaijan government doesn’t offer them to “reintegrate” and suggests that they leave, that becomes an “ethnic cleansing”.
So what is the solution, please suggest one that will lead to sustainable peace.
With all the disarming of the NK forces photos we can see just how much ammunition was there.
Could Azerbaijani government trust those guys to stay within NK with all their weapons and mines and expect them not to want to kill us? Of course not, come on. I saw the interview Kseniya Sobchak had with Ruben Vardanyan, the former State Minister of the unrecognized state in Nagorno-Karabakh who said no, of course this is not the end. We must stay and we must continue to fight. To the end.
We know they want to fight us, and they, you know you will want to fight us. What choice do you give Azerbaijani government?
After over 30 years of trying to sort this peacefully and ending nowhere, what choice does Azerbaijan have? I know I sound a bit like one of the Putin supporters here when their favorite answer is what choice did he have? But yet, that’s my question. What choice do we have?
We watch videos of you calling us “Turks” -and we all know perfectly well what that word means to almost every Armenian- accusing us of wanting to eat your babies and to end Armenia- the first Christian nation in the world. To restore the Ottoman empire. When people spread paranoia and panic by making things up about their monstrous neighbors- what hope for any peace can there be in the region? Yes we all claim we want peace, as long as it is on our terms.
No promises or reassurances can make you trust us, just like none of yours will make us trust you. We also have people on our side who believe your goal is to have the Great Armenia from one ocean to another, or however that expression goes. We all seen the map of the Greater Armenia, and been told you won’t calm down until you re-create the Kingdom of Armenia. Is that not the same mentality, is that not the same paranoia?
What do I feel when I see all those crying Nagorno-Karabakh mothers I see in Armenian videos? I feel sorry for them, of course I do. I want them and their children to be safe.
But I also know they hate us, just for the fact we are Azerbaijanis. I know also that they are afraid to stay and they don’t trust us. Just for the fact they see us as aggressors, even though 600,000 Azerbaijanis were displaced and kicked out of their homes back in 90s. And yes, I bring that up. How can I be expected not to bring that up? I will bring up Khojaly. How can I not?
Acknowledging what had happened before is important. Both sides have to appreciate what they had done previously, and accept that is not black and white here, is not just one side being an aggressor, just for the sake of some Ottoman dream, that’s just total bollocks. And only this way we can start to forgive and move on.
In the meantime Russia always wanted this crisis, of course. Russia loves instability in their neighboring lands, so they can come and be the big brother. Come and kneel to the Mother Russia says Margarita Simonyan, probably the most hated Armenian in the world to her peers in Armenia. Kneel and be grateful for Russia saved your from existential crisis before.
“With the right support we could go all the way to Baku!” says one Nagorno-Karabakh grandad in a video I watched today. He said the Turks were barbarians that should be erased from this earth. It is not easy to invite those people to be accepted and integrated into Azerbaijan after watching something like that. That’s the beauty of the social media these days. It makes things worse, not better. And yet, Azerbaijan offers them to stay. And I hope some of them do. And I hope my country shows mercy and respect, and dignity. Which I know we have. And maybe then, despite the hatred both sides have for each other, despite the spooky tales and fake videos, and all the endless efforts of some lobbyists peace will finally come to Caucasus. And one day the next generation can sit at the table and jokingly discuss whose dolma is tastier. That’s the future we want.
Yes, I agree, we will never like or trust each other but we all need and hope for peace in our region. It’s nerve wrecking to always expect more trouble from neighbors and to see our young handsome warriors die in this bloody mess. War and hatred destroys trust and it will be a long time before our borders become safe. But i also feel that we should work for that and be a part of a solution, not to add oil to fire.
ReplyDeleteYes I agree with you. We were kicked out of our homes in Baku. Neighbors and relatives murdered. I don’t believe murderers are good people, it does not matter their motive or race. Someone gives them an opportunity to commit crime and that someone is not the populace. We have good and bad in the world. Unfortunately, people gravitate to amplify the bad things. I cry and hope that one day our people can live together again. Many beautiful stories I heard from my grandparents about their Azeri friends and neighbors. If it weren’t for an Azeri my great grandmother would have been murdered. Both sides must admit they’re wrong. For us it starts with the genocide. I know Turkish people who are nice but have been fed to believe the genocide never happened. No one wants to admit their countrymen could commit these crimes, ok I can understand that. At the end we live within human made borders, we’re still all one people. Let’s be friends.
ReplyDeleteI'm Armenian and always curious to hear from honest, open-minded Azeris. Thank you for sharing. There's a few things I wanted to share back in the same spirit:
ReplyDeleteI've studied this conflict first as an international student in a US university taught by a Ukrainian professor and read primarily European sources. This isn't to discredit Armenian/Azeri evidence-based research but just to make my point clear that I appreciate a balanced perspective on this painful topic. I was very sad to learn about the devastation caused by ethnic cleansing from both sides. We all deserve better. I personally always make it a point to inform people when I can.
I'm surprised to hear how sympathetic you are to the Azeri government. They have fabricated so much information both domestically and internationally. They cannot rewrite facts about the region at the state level, eliminate free press and then expect most people to be informed. Let's acknowledge that propaganda on both sides plays a huge role in this conflict. For example, yes Karabakh had weapons, but they didn't break the ceasefire right? Armenia couldn't smuggle weapons into Karabakh because the road was tightly monitored by Azeris right? Aliyev and Erdogan also say 'one nation, two states' right - that nation is turkic right?
Also, our paranoia about the Azeri state is not unfounded. Hate crimes against Armenians seem to be encouraged in Azerbaijan. The 'fake videos' are not fake. I wish they were but I've seen countless credible sources trace and verify this footage from 2020. We are tired of seeing heinous hate crimes like mutilations and beheadings to people that feel like they are family. It's absolutely paralyzing and a feeling I would not wish upon anyone. I haven't seen a single Azeri condemn this behavior.
At some point, we also have to stop saying 'what about'. You say Khojaly, I say Sumgait. The list goes on. All of our pain matters, but when does this end? I just wish we were all brave enough to say 'enough' instead of 'what about.' I know this is a difficult thing to say and hear. It's not in the interest of minimizing any events, rather of paying attention so we can break cycles.
Regarding a solution, it's simple that all people should feel safe in their homes. If Karabakh Armenians are Azerbaijani citizens, then the Azerbaijani government must do what is needed to build trust and ensure their safety. Armenians should have honest leaders to identify those needs. This of course is a dream without Russian interference. The Armenian leaders were Russian puppets and for almost everyone, it is more convenient to have a Karabakh without Armenians. I'm not sure where we go from here.
In the end, we come from imperfect states but they are still home. My hope for Armenia is that we are able to look inward and grow. I hope the same for Azerbaijan.
I hope there is peace!
ReplyDeleteIt always surprises me that Azerbaijanis who seem to be liberal and open-minded do not publicly push their country to be democratic and respect civil rights. Azerbaijan has very much gone the other way. Freedom House this year puts Azerbaijan on the list of the Worst of the Worst between Somalia and China. https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/FIW_World_2023_DigtalPDF.pdf
ReplyDeleteLikewise for Reporters Without Borders https://rsf.org/en/index?year=2023
Armenia is now very much a democracy and far less corrupt. Even the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh was far more free than Azerbaijan.
Perhaps if Azerbaijan had chosen the path of liberal democracy and gotten rid of their corrupt dictator, the Karabakh Armenians would have been more likely to choose reconciliation. But after 10 months of blockade followed by a brutal military assault is it any wonder no wanted to stay. Especially given the record of areas taken back by Azerbaijan in 2020.
Very well written and presented.
ReplyDeleteThe upshot is, AR and AZ had forgotten any animosity there was between them, maybe thanks to Soviet system. The NK indipandence movement just rattled the cages and did wake up the dragon inside.
I hope both nation can put this dragon to sleep once and for all.
Honesty is important. When Armenia had the upper hand in the early 90s, they drove Azeris out of not only NK, but surrounding Azeri majority areas. Now that Azerbaijan has the upper hand, they are doing the same.
ReplyDelete