Hi, I am Ella Avagyan. I am Armenian.
Have you ever heard of Armenia or Armenians in your country? However, I think it’s impossible not to meet at least one Armenian no matter where you live. But let’s put that aside. I am writing today about something else. I hope your country is in peace. I hope your neighboring country isn’t your enemy and doesn’t shell your town or village with prohibited weapons. I hope you don’t receive a long list of dead soldiers’ names and look for your father’s, brother’s, or friend’s name there. I hope your country is not going through all this. However, the Republic of Artsakh (also known as Nagorno-Karabakh), which is historically Armenian land, is currently going through this situation.
Let me tell you more about Artsakh, its history, and the reason I am writing to you.
Can you guess when this church was established? I don’t think you can.
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Let us go back 17 centuries in history. In the 4th century, Gregory the Illuminator, the patron saint and first official head of the Armenian Apostolic Church, established this amazing church. It is the Amaras Monastery in Myus Haband, which was part of the Artsakh Province of the Kingdom of Armenia.
Isn’t it beautiful? There are countless ancient and beautiful churches in Artsakh: Tsitsernavank, Gtchavank, Hakobavank, Khazarenchoc, Dadivank… This can prove only that Artsakh was a part of Armenia and inhabited by Armenian people since the earliest centuries.
From ancient times Artsakh was thought to be a huge citadel without which it was impossible to imagine the defense of the Ararat kingdom. Indeed, this was the reason why Artsakh was a target for all our invaders.
And now, the republics of Azerbaijan and Turkey have attacked Artsakh and consider Armenians to be the aggressors. Why?
Let me tell you about the history in more detail.
Let’s start from 1918 when Armenia and Georgia gained independence with the Treaty of Batum, and a new country that never existed before called the East Caucasus Muslim Republic (later Azerbaijan). The newly-created Azerbaijan started to make use of this opportunity. The territories of Artsakh, Zangezour, and Nakhijevan were claimed by our future enemy. In 1921, after the Sovietization of the before mentioned 3 countries, Azerbaijan was given Artsakh according to a decision made by the Caucasus Bureau of the Communist Party. This is the point Azerbaijan clings to and what it bases its theory of “liberating Karabakh from the Armenian aggressors and occupiers” on.
But history doesn’t end here.
In 1988 the Artsakh movement started, in which the people of Artsakh demanded to join Soviet Armenia. Azerbaijan responded by massacring and deporting the Armenian population in Baku and Sumgait.
In December of 1991, the USSR collapsed. And that means all decisions, including Azerbaijan’s possession of Artsakh, lost their legitimacy. On December 10th a nationwide referendum was held in Artsakh and the overwhelming majority voted for independence. More than 132,000 people were eligible to vote. Over 108,000 people in Artsakh answered “Yes” to the question of “Do you agree that the proclaimed Nagorno Karabakh Republic should be an independent state?” Only 24 people voted against it. However, this meant nothing to Azerbaijan. After a 4-year war, Artsakh was completely liberated at the cost of severe battles and countless causalities. On May 12, 1994, a ceasefire was signed between the parties in Bishkek. Throughout the 30-year negotiation process, Azerbaijan has repeatedly violated the ceasefire. Four years ago, Aliev tried to solve the problem with a blitzkrieg, but the attack did not turn into a full-scale war. Azerbaijan tested its strength again this year but again faced the Armenian soldiers’ unbreakable willpower to fight for their historical land. I may tell you about this another time.
Judge for yourself who is to blame, and who the real aggressor is.
Do you know why I told you all this? Because in Azerbaijan, hatred towards Armenians is instilled since childhood. In that totalitarian country, even Azerbaijani people found themselves in an information blockade, and the president of this country has and still continues to bribe the international “media” you are probably following. Because Turkey and Azerbaijan, being countries with a combined population of more than 90 million, have unleashed a war against Artsakh, a small country of strong people with a population of only 150,000 who only want to exercise their right to self-determination under international law. Because today, Azerbaijan sends Syrian terrorist groups to the frontline of Artsakh while young people ages 18-20 fight and die like heroes defending our country. Because Azerbaijan has targeted the civilian population and is bombing the capital of Artsakh, Stepanakert, and the cultural center Shushi with prohibited weapons, destroying schools, kindergartens, and cultural institutions, for example, the Ghazanchetsots Cathedral in Shushi. Because the whole world is silent. Because the Turkish-Azerbaijani genocidal goals against Artsakh are probably less important for the world to talk about. Do you know why? Because the civilized world behaved like that in 1915, when Ottoman Turkey massacred more than 1.5 million Armenians in Western Armenia and took away more than half of my ancestors’ homeland. It was because of this tolerance that the Jewish Holocaust took place. Well, I wonder if you are still interested…
The topic of Armenia and Artsakh fighting against international terrorism is not trendy, is it? My relatives and friends are now at the front protecting me, the entire Armenian population, and their homeland. That is why we will win.
I just wanted to write to you so that humanity does not fade in you completely and so that you fight for something valuable and not trendy. I wrote to you because I want you to at least appreciate your peaceful life.
Author: Ella Avagyan, 17 years old
