Category: 2021

September 2020 in Syunik, the road between Kapan and Kajaran (Photo: Dr. Benyamin Poghosyan)

In mid-December 2020, Armenian PM Nikol Pashinyan ordered troops to withdraw to the territory of former Soviet Armenia in the Syunik province. This decision was made after the Armenian government reached an oral agreement with Azerbaijan. Interestingly, this decision violated Article 1 of the November 10, 2020, trilateral Armenia – Azerbaijan – Russia statement, according to which Armenian and Azerbaijani forces should stay in their positions held as of early morning November 10. As a result of this decision, up to a 21 kilometer section of the interstate Armenia–Iran highway passing from Goris to Kapan fell under Azerbaijani control, alongside some roads connecting several Armenian villages to Goris and Kapan. The Armenian PM stated that this was done to increase the security of Syunik province, as hopefully, after receiving all territories around Syunik that were part of Soviet Azerbaijan, the current Azerbaijani leadership would calm down and pursue a cooperative approach towards Armenia. Meanwhile, according to the Armenian government, both sides agreed that Azerbaijan would allow the free flow of Armenian cars from Goris to Kapan and vice versa without any passport or customs control. 

However, this appeasement policy toward Azerbaijan did not work. On May 12-13, 2021, without any resistance, Azerbaijani troops encroached into Armenian territory in Syunik and Gegharkunik provinces, occupying approximately 60 square kilometers Later, President Aliyev stated that these territories are part of Azerbaijan, and therefore, Azerbaijani troops will not withdraw even a centimeter. Simultaneously, the Azerbaijani army launched subversive actions along different sections of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, including in Yeraskh, located only 60 kilometers from Yerevan. 

On August 25, 2021, Azerbaijan’s Armed Forces closed the Goris–Kapan highway, thus cutting off Armenia from Iran. After two days of negotiations they opened the road, but this is a clear sign that Azerbaijan has zero intentions of respecting oral agreements reached with Armenia in mid-December 2020. After the road reopening, many in Armenia hoped that the situation in Syunik would be normalized. However, after a few days, Azerbaijan established a police checkpoint along the highway and, since September 12, has started to check Iranian trucks and buses and charge money from drivers. The Armenian National Security Service stated that it would take steps alongside the Russian side to solve the issue, but nothing changed. On September 15, Azerbaijani police arrested two Iranian drivers who entered Artsakh, accusing them of illegally crossing the Azerbaijan border.

Currently, Syunik presents an interesting situation. It hosts armed forces and police units of three countries – Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia. A traveler in Syunik may perceive that it is a contested area with a lack of understanding of which state is responsible for what. Armenian flags were followed by Russian, which then turned Azerbaijani before coming back to Armenian ones. At first, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia were mainly part of this spectacle; now Iran has been dragged in. The Iranian ambassador to Azerbaijan twice met Hikmet Hajiev, foreign relations assistant to President Aliyev, in recent days to better understand the reasons behind Azerbaijani actions against Iranian vehicles. It is not easy to decipher its motives, but Azerbaijan probably has several goals.

First of all, it wants to send a clear message to Armenia that it will do whatever it wants, and Armenia has no option but to keep silent and accept the facts. The statements of the Armenian government that Azerbaijan has established a police checkpoint along the Goris–Kaplan highway in its territory and therefore may do whatever it wants, indicate that Armenia accepts these rules. The second target is Iranian vehicles entering Artsakh. Azerbaijan sends a clear signal that it will not tolerate any Iranian vehicle entering Artsakh through the Lachin corridor by arresting two Iranian drivers. However, these are mainly tactical targets. 

The strategic goal is to signal Iran and India that Armenian territory is not safe enough to be viewed as a potential alternative route for the North–South International Transport Corridor. Launched in 2002 by India, Iran and Russia, it envisages the transportation of goods between India and Northern Europe by the new route, avoiding the Red Sea, Suez Canal, and the Mediterranean. According to the initial plan, the goods should travel from Mumbai to the Iranian Bandar Abbas and Chabahar ports by sea, then by railway reach Iranian ports in the Caspian Sea, then to Russian port Astrakhan and further by railway to Northern Europe. Then, the Iran – Azerbaijan – Russia railway route emerged, which should directly connect Iranian Persian Gulf ports to Northern Europe via railroad. Azerbaijan connected its railway system with Iran reaching the Iranian town of Astara located near the Azerbaijan–Iran border. However, Iranian Astara lacks a railway connection to the Iranian internal network, and the missing Rasht–Astara line still waits for construction.  

Meanwhile, another potential route for this corridor to connect India with Northern Europe circumventing the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean may pass via Iran, Armenia, Georgia, the Black Sea and Bulgaria. In 2016, these countries launched a dialogue to establish a “Persian Gulf–Black Sea” multimodal transportation corridor connecting Iran with Europe via Armenia, Georgia, the Black Sea, Bulgaria and Greece. The “Persian Gulf–Black Sea” route may fit quite well in the North–South International Corridor. There is no direct railway connection between Armenia and Iran, but the countries share a land border. Thus, goods may reach Georgian Black Sea ports via the Iran – Armenia – Georgia highway, which passes through the cities of Goris and Kapan in Armenia. Closing the Armenia–Iran international highway in the section of Goris–Kapan and then creating problems for Iranian vehicles, Azerbaijan seeks to delegitimize this potential alternative route for the North–South International Corridor. Meanwhile, Azerbaijan may push forward the Iran – Nakhichevan – Armenia – Georgia railway connection as another alternative route for the North–South corridor to link India with Europe via Iran, the Black Sea and Bulgaria. In this case, both wings of the North–South International Corridor will pass through Azerbaijan (Iran – Azerbaijan – Russia – Northern Europe and Iran – Azerbaijan – Armenia – Georgia – Black Sea – Bulgaria).

Regardless of Azerbaijan’s real intentions, the current mess in the Syunik province proves that hopes to secure Armenia through an appeasement policy towards Azerbaijan are unrealistic. The Armenian government made a strategic blunder by ceding parts of the Goris-Kapan highway to Azerbaijan. The permanent statements by Armenian leaders about the peace agenda and their intention to usher in an era of regional peace and prosperity are perceived as a sign of weakness and make Azerbaijan and Turkey more aggressive and bold. 

A torchlight procession in Artsakh, September 26, 2021 (Photo: Artsakh Press)

What can be done about the gross human rights violations endured by the Armenian people of Artsakh? Human rights advocates in the US and beyond have offered some clues about creative remedies for redressing grave injustices.

More than 40 years ago, Peter Weiss found one creative way to use US courts for survivors of torture and similarly egregious human rights abuses to find justice. Steeped in both the civil rights and human rights movements, Weiss wedded aspirational and practical ideas from both domains to get some semblance of justice for Joel Filartiga, a Paraguayan doctor whose son had been tortured to death in Paraguay by a member of the Paraguayan military. The core idea in Weiss’ pursuit was “universal jurisdiction,” which argues that some crimes are so heinous that they should not be prosecuted anywhere. To apply the concept for the Filartigas, Weiss and his colleagues found an obscure statute in the US’ first Judiciary Act that granted federal court jurisdiction for aliens if the wrongs they suffered violated the laws of nations. In the end, after an appeal, the US Court of Appeals, Second Circuit decided that torture was, in fact, one of those wrongs. For Joel and his daughter Dolly, the $10 million judgment in their favor was largely symbolic, as collection on these cases can be extraordinarily difficult. Then, decades later, Weiss and his colleagues shifted to do similar cases in Europe.

What might be some avenues for justice for Armenia and the Armenian survivors of human rights abuses? One year on from Azerbaijan’s and its Turkish ally’s attack on Artsakh, Armenia has sued Azerbaijan in the International Court of Justice for a range of claims, including mass killings and torture. But Armenians and human rights advocates can—and should—consider exploring additional creative ways to get justice for those who have been subjected to egregious human rights abuses—exploring actions against the individuals who enacted the harms, or from those individuals and other entities that aided and abetted such violations. 

The recent report by the Human Rights Defender of the Republic of Armenia suggests Azerbaijanis committed egregious human rights violations, including crimes against humanity, physical and psychological torture of POWs and civilian captives. The report said the Armenian captives were electroshocked and beaten with metal chains, gun butts and batons to force disclosure of sensitive information and false confessions. Many sustained injuries, including one person who has been rendered blind, according to the report. It also noted video and photos of beheaded Armenians during the ceasefire period, which can be considered a war crime whether or not the beheading was the cause of their deaths. As of this writing, approximately 45 Armenians remain in Azerbaijani detention, held without trial, while others are still missing, said the report.

Human rights advocates can explore taking action against the individual violators, as is being done in both US and European courts, if the survivor plaintiffs can meet the procedural requirements. In the US, non-profit organizations, such as the Center for Justice and Accountability, were founded specifically to pursue these cases against individual offenders who commit such acts, in part to help the survivors regain lost agency and recover psychologically. In Europe, a range of non-profit organizations do similar work. The European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights, for example, has coordinated lawsuits and criminal actions across the continent for torture, complicity and aiding and abetting crimes against humanity. In one German case, Syrian opposition group members were charged for a range of crimes, including posing in pictures with severed heads and mutilating an enemy soldier’s body. Although these actions are difficult to bring, creative advocacy can help with jurisdictional and procedural hurdles to find the right forums and ascertain the most important evidence to advance the cause of justice. 

Can a person damaged by Azerbaijan’s actions sue Azerbaijan itself? Perhaps, this is among the trickiest scenarios. But despite laws protecting sovereign states, US-based human rights advocates like Scott Gilmore have found creative ways to sue human rights abusing states—and sometimes win. Gilmore won a lawsuit against the Syrian Arab Republic for its 2012 targeted killing of US war correspondent Marie Colvin in Homs, where she was reporting on the war. Represented by Gilmore, Colvin’s sister sued the Bashar al Assad regime in US District Court for the District of Columbia, which found for Colvin and ordered Syria to pay $302.5 million to the family of the slain journalist. While it’s unlikely they can collect on that judgment, the declarative win and the evidence gathered through the process could simultaneously help pave the way for possible prosecutions and serve as moral, symbolic victories.

There are other exceptions to absolute immunity, additional potential defendants, including those who are profiting from the conflict, other forums for which people can seek justice, and ways of finding justice, all of which can and should be explored thoroughly and vigorously until justice is won. In the end, all institutions, jurisdictional hurdles and procedural rules are really ideas that people have decided are important enough to uphold for one reason or another. But if the ideas stand in the way of a more important idea—such as justice for the gravely harmed—advocates have had to rise to the occasion to think beyond the status quo. That’s where creative advocacy and a “no stone unturned” approach to the pathways to justice are critical. And even though the international community has failed to stop the great violence inflicted by Azerbaijan on the people of Artsakh/Nagorno Karabakh, there are still opportunities to enlist them in the cause of repair, redress and restoration for the survivors.

, 2020: A scene from Yerevan on the first day of Azerbaijan’s attacks on Artsakh as hundreds from the ARF and the Nikol Aghpalyan Student Association mobilized to volunteer for the front lines. This image was used in the Weekly’s very first daily update from the Artsakh War in the article titled “Azerbaijan launches deadly attack on Artsakh” (Photo: Facebook/@arfhemofficial

, 2020 dawned as that date always has since 1990, with joy for my daughter Dalita’s birthday. Last year marked her 30th. We toasted her health and happiness under pandemic restrictions…with one eye on our phones for news of what was happening to our people in Artsakh. 

, 2020 was the start of a never-ending nightmare for the Armenian people and nation. 

We were being attacked – again – by Azerbaijan, our familiar and hostile neighbor to the east. What we didn’t know that day was that another familiar aggressor to the west – Turkey – and its hired jihadist mercenaries had joined the attacks in the spirit of “one nation, two states.” All at once, our collective intergenerational trauma resurfaced, resulting in actions and emotions both expected and unanticipated. On the one hand, our worldwide community of activists immediately sprang into action. In the midst of a pandemic, we donned our masks and immediately began protesting the unprovoked and violent attacks against our people, led by the Armenian Youth Federation (AYF). The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) redoubled its efforts in the US capital, informing and educating Congress about the events at hand. At the same time, my generation of genocide-survivor grandchildren saw many of our parents (children of survivors) emotionally devastated and deeply concerned that another genocide was happening…or could occur.

The team at the Armenian Weekly decided to mobilize in a way contrary to our regular mode of operation. We provided daily news updates instead of drafting our typical weekly reports. In accordance with the requests of the Armenian government, we exclusively used official sources of information – proper journalistic practice – only to find out after the catastrophic November 9  statement ostensibly ending the war that those sources had been less than truthful. We had lost, and that included more than two-thirds of Artsakh. Later, we found out we had also lost upwards of 5,000 heroes. Still later, we heard about the prisoners of war (POWs) – hundreds of them.

It has been one year since that horrific day. Where are we now? We are still in the midst of a pandemic, with vaccines and treatments available, and hundreds to thousands continuing to die of the pervasive virus daily. Snap elections were held in Armenia and those who voted decided to maintain the status quo. The disastrous leadership of PM Nikol Pashinyan and his government has left us at the mercy of our enemies, with Azerbaijani troops having now encroached on sovereign Armenian land with no apparent repercussions.

And our POWs continue to languish at the hands of the enemy while activists and organizations including the Office of the Human Rights Defender of Armenia, the Yerevan-based International and Comparative Law Center (ICLaw), the Armenian Legal Center for Justice and Human Rights (ALC) in Washington, DC and the ANCA do everything in their power to secure their release. The ANCA has been working tirelessly to end military aid to Azerbaijan, garner Congressional support for pro-Armenian amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and increase US aid to Armenia and Artsakh.

The Armenian Cultural Association of America (ACAA) Artsakh Fund has rebuilt and repaired infrastructure in the strategically important Ariavan village while supporting many families and hundreds of people affected by the 2020 Artsakh War. Additionally, the Verelk entrepreneurship program in Artsakh, initiated by the ARF Bureau Youth Office and AYF of Artsakh, was underwritten by the ACAA Artsakh Fund, demonstrating its commitment to the mission of the program to “accelerate the economic reconstruction at a local scale and ensure increased and sustainable living standards for the youth” following the war. 

The AYF in the US and the homeland supports our people through activism in all its forms and internships that introduce participants to their homeland while providing practical work experience, igniting the desire to continue working in and for Armenia and Artsakh and sometimes plans to repatriate. The ARF Bureau Youth Office, in addition to the Verelk program, launched the “Towards Syunik” program to ensure the security and integrity of the critical province.

The Armenian Relief Society (ARS) continues to support those displaced from their homes in Artsakh with everything from housing to goods to meals to living expenses, all of which began immediately after the start of the attacks. The Society is supporting those who have returned to Artsakh through similar programs and educationally with the surviving ARS “Soseh” kindergartens. In addition, the ARS offers support to our soldiers and their families with medicines, supplies and visits, and with its “Children of Fallen Heroes” program.

Again – where are we now? This is just the tip of the iceberg. The extent of the work being done is beyond the scope of this article. Suffice to say, our entire nation has mobilized. We are rebuilding and continually committing to the safety and security of Armenia and Artsakh while fighting against our enemies, both internal and external. Yes, much has been done, but there is a great deal more that needs to be accomplished. The work is not finished. We have a long way to go.

is our daughter Dalita’s birthday, a day we will always celebrate with gratitude and love. But it is also a day when we will always remember to honor and mourn all those lost in the vicious attacks against our nation. We remain vigilant against the persistent enemies who seek to destroy our people and nation. We continue to fight for the release of our POWs. And we remain committed to work for a free, united and independent Armenia.