On April 24, 2015, we remembered and demanded on the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
Today, we demand and remember.
On the occasion of the 33rd anniversary of the Republic of Artsakh’s declaration of independence on September 2, 1991, followed by a democratic referendum on December 10, 1991, in which the overwhelming majority of the native population of Artsakh expressed their free will to realize their collective right to self-determination, we today demand and we remember nothing more and, to be sure, nothing less.
We demand adherence to Artsakh’s inalienable entitlement to determine its own future and to welcome back to its soil 120,000 of its indigenous men, women, and children.
We remember that, above all else, it is the soaring spirit of Sardarabad and the tireless will of our national liberation experiences and instincts which must be summoned and contemporized, over and over again, to ensure that what we demand is rooted in what must be remembered.
After making great sacrifices and enduring pogroms, massacres and wars during which the heroic people of Artsakh made great sacrifices to secure their hard-fought independence against all odds, and established the Republic of Artsakh, what emerged was a true miracle–a bastion of democracy set free from the oppressive grasp of genocidal Azerbaijan. A miracle, however, that so many experienced, worked for, and, ultimately, earned.
The Artsakh liberation movement united the Armenian people in the Homeland and the Diaspora, who joined forces for the noble causes of Artsakh’s survival, freedom, and the right to set its own horizons, to enjoy without restraint its people’s basic and universal human rights. The Armenian nation also realized that Artsakh was both the symbolic and strategic protector of Armenia’s borders, establishing a buffer zone along the majority of Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan.
Unfortunately, the losses, both avoidable and unavoidable, during Azerbaijan’s and Turkey’s 44-day war of aggression, and the subsequent 10-month illegal blockade and bombings of the civilian population, opened the door to Azerbaijan ethnically cleansing Artsakh of all Armenians, occupying Artsakh. In addition to the Artsakh Genocide of 2020-2023, the perpetrator government is now actively engaged in a cultural genocide to remove all of the millennia-long heritage of Artsakh’s indigenous Armenian population.
While the international and regional powers focused on their own interests and sat idly by to placidly witness the destruction of our Artsakh nation, and while the Armenian government with its failed foreign policy and lack of military strategy was willing to and did subordinate Artsakh to Azerbaijan (and Turkey), we find it disconcerting at best that those same decision makers appear willing and apparently eager to continue to make further concessions against Armenia’s national interests. To be clear, they do not speak for us, nor do they speak for much of the Armenian Nation.
Realizing the road ahead is long and arduous, but very much so attainable when working in unison, we call on our communities to once again unite and support our brothers and sisters from Artsakh, their right to self-determination and right to return to their homeland; to hold Azerbaijan and Turkey accountable for their war crimes; to secure the release of Armenian POWs and hostages illegally held captive in Baku; and to provide aid to Armenian refugees from Artsakh.
We up our promise to honor our commitment and work towards these priorities, despite the agendas to the contrary, and invite everyone to join this enduring and, if necessary, everlasting movement. Let’s together keep the struggle for Artsakh alive as we work towards our people’s eventual return.
