The Artsakh Women’s Initiative Group carried out a peaceful demonstration outside of the Embassy of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland to Armenia. They mentioned the Shushi Massacre of 1920.
One of the members of the group, Liana Adamyan, appealed to the government of Great Britain. “We know that there is no one in the office, but we want to tell the world that you’re just pretending you’re not listening to us, but you’ve been covered in blood since at least the Shushi Massacre in the 1900s. Now that the enemy is only five kilometers away from Shushi, the spirits of our ancestors remind us of what happened one hundred years ago when the British troops came to help us and assured the local government that they could sleep peacefully. That’s how they weakened the defense in Shushi. Our relatives were dying at the hands of Turks at the time. In 1919, 600 Armenians were killed, and in 1920, the wells of Shushi were full of dead bodies. Overall, 700 Armenians were killed as British officers watched the bloodshed from their windows and silently took part in the crime. The new British commander wrote in his report that the Turkish genocide happened due to the silence of the British troops. We call upon Great Britain to not be a criminal once again. We will not tolerate silence today.”
The protesters demanded the independence of the Republic of Artsakh. “The recognition of Artsakh can put an end to the atrocities taking place there.”
Luiza Sukiasyan
