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PARALLELS OF INDEPENDENCE MOVEMENTS: ARTSAKH AND UNITED STATES
Posted by Contributor on March 12, 2013 in Opinion
By Armen Sahakyan
Already this year we have seen Barack Obama inaugurated as U.S.
president on Martin Luther King, Jr.~Rs birthday and the European Union
declare 2013 as the Year of the Citizen. Both of these celebrate
democracy and liberty. A third event, less noted but important in its
own way, is the celebration by the people of the Nagorno Karabagh
Republic (Artsakh) of the 25th anniversary of their liberation
movement, which led to the freedom they enjoy today.
Twenty-five years ago, the brave men and women of Artsakh decided to
fix Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin~Rs arbitrary and illegal decision to
sever Artsakh from Armenia, and to rejoin with the Republic of
Armenia. Following the existing Soviet Constitution and all
appropriate laws, the Nagorno Karabagh Autonomous Oblast held a
referendum, in which over 90 percent of the people voted in favor of
reunification with Armenia. It was an extremely rare example of a
human rights movement and a brave step toward freedom within the
Soviet Union. The West enthusiastically backed the struggle of the
people of Artsakh for self-determination and self-governance. After
all, this was the driving principle for the American, French, Haitian,
and other revolutions that took place in the last three centuries. Why
should Artsakh be any different?
Today, Artsakh serves as an oasis of democracy in the South Caucasus
region. It holds regular and free elections, greatly praised by
international observers and organizations. The economy of the country
is growing each year, paralleled with a rising number of tourists.
Recently, Artsakh rebuilt its airport to establish airway connections
with third countries, only to witness neighboring Azerbaijan pass a
law allowing its armed forces to shoot down ~SAir Artsakh~T civilian
airplanes.
In January, we all celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr.~Rs birthday and
the National Day of Service. Following Dr. King~Rs philosophy of
non-violence to achieve justice, the people of Artsakh have made great
sacrifices in the last two and a half decades. It all began with
non-violent protests in Yerevan and Stepanakert, which were
aggressively resisted by the Azerbaijani and Soviet authorities,
resulting in a bloody massacre of Armenians in Baku, Sumgait,
Kirovabad, and other locations. And so the long-repressed and
mistreated people rose up to demand their rights for freedom,
self-determination, and democracy, all engraved in and supported by
numerous international legal documents.
Azerbaijani authorities, drunk with petrodollars, have escalated their
threats and acts of aggression. They have exponentially increased
their military budget and begun a phase of unprecedented armaments
buildup; declared the Armenians of the world as ~Stheir number one
enemy~T; pardoned and praised an Azerbaijani soldier who murdered an
Armenian soldier at NATO~Rs Partnership for Peace Program; intensified
ceasefire violations on the border; and claimed Yerevan, the capital
city of Armenia that will soon be celebrating its 2,800-year
anniversary, is ~Shistorical Azerbaijani territory.~T The list goes on.
Sadly, Azerbaijan~Rs destructive actions undermine prospects for
regional security and prosperity, and even its own democratic
development.
Azerbaijan~Rs aggressive stance is enabled by the ~Sdiplomatically
balanced~T statements coming from the OSCE Minsk Group and other world
powers in the wake of every new Azerbaijani outrage. Rather than
constraining Baku, these artificially even-handed responses only
encourage greater aggression. Whereas Artsakh and Armenia have always
maintained a position of resolving the conflict exclusively through
peaceful means, and have never declared any group of people as their
enemy, Azerbaijan has constantly threatened the world community with
the possibility of war, and has increased its military budget
exponentially year after year. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ~SIn
the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the
silence of our friends.~T Where are the friends of peace when they are
needed the most? Why expect Azerbaijan to step back from its march
toward war if no one is willing to stand in its way?
I do not wish to believe that the morality of humankind has sunk so
low as to rank oil a higher priority than a people~Rs unalienable right
to self-determination. The same right that allowed Americans to
declare their independence in 1776 and the same right that the U.S.
has vowed to protect for other nations should always be provided for
all the people living on this planet. Now is the time to reaffirm our
principles and stand up for the same rights upon which this great
American republic was founded. The Artsakh Republic has constantly
proven that it is capable of sustaining itself as a democratic,
prosperous, secure, and independent country, and it deserves its own
place among the free countries of this world.
Armen Sahakyan is an honors student studying international political
economy at Bloomfield College in New Jersey.
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/03/12/parallels-of-independence-movements-artsakh-and-the-united-states/
From: A. Papazian
Posted by Contributor on March 12, 2013 in Opinion
By Armen Sahakyan
Already this year we have seen Barack Obama inaugurated as U.S.
president on Martin Luther King, Jr.~Rs birthday and the European Union
declare 2013 as the Year of the Citizen. Both of these celebrate
democracy and liberty. A third event, less noted but important in its
own way, is the celebration by the people of the Nagorno Karabagh
Republic (Artsakh) of the 25th anniversary of their liberation
movement, which led to the freedom they enjoy today.
Twenty-five years ago, the brave men and women of Artsakh decided to
fix Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin~Rs arbitrary and illegal decision to
sever Artsakh from Armenia, and to rejoin with the Republic of
Armenia. Following the existing Soviet Constitution and all
appropriate laws, the Nagorno Karabagh Autonomous Oblast held a
referendum, in which over 90 percent of the people voted in favor of
reunification with Armenia. It was an extremely rare example of a
human rights movement and a brave step toward freedom within the
Soviet Union. The West enthusiastically backed the struggle of the
people of Artsakh for self-determination and self-governance. After
all, this was the driving principle for the American, French, Haitian,
and other revolutions that took place in the last three centuries. Why
should Artsakh be any different?
Today, Artsakh serves as an oasis of democracy in the South Caucasus
region. It holds regular and free elections, greatly praised by
international observers and organizations. The economy of the country
is growing each year, paralleled with a rising number of tourists.
Recently, Artsakh rebuilt its airport to establish airway connections
with third countries, only to witness neighboring Azerbaijan pass a
law allowing its armed forces to shoot down ~SAir Artsakh~T civilian
airplanes.
In January, we all celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr.~Rs birthday and
the National Day of Service. Following Dr. King~Rs philosophy of
non-violence to achieve justice, the people of Artsakh have made great
sacrifices in the last two and a half decades. It all began with
non-violent protests in Yerevan and Stepanakert, which were
aggressively resisted by the Azerbaijani and Soviet authorities,
resulting in a bloody massacre of Armenians in Baku, Sumgait,
Kirovabad, and other locations. And so the long-repressed and
mistreated people rose up to demand their rights for freedom,
self-determination, and democracy, all engraved in and supported by
numerous international legal documents.
Azerbaijani authorities, drunk with petrodollars, have escalated their
threats and acts of aggression. They have exponentially increased
their military budget and begun a phase of unprecedented armaments
buildup; declared the Armenians of the world as ~Stheir number one
enemy~T; pardoned and praised an Azerbaijani soldier who murdered an
Armenian soldier at NATO~Rs Partnership for Peace Program; intensified
ceasefire violations on the border; and claimed Yerevan, the capital
city of Armenia that will soon be celebrating its 2,800-year
anniversary, is ~Shistorical Azerbaijani territory.~T The list goes on.
Sadly, Azerbaijan~Rs destructive actions undermine prospects for
regional security and prosperity, and even its own democratic
development.
Azerbaijan~Rs aggressive stance is enabled by the ~Sdiplomatically
balanced~T statements coming from the OSCE Minsk Group and other world
powers in the wake of every new Azerbaijani outrage. Rather than
constraining Baku, these artificially even-handed responses only
encourage greater aggression. Whereas Artsakh and Armenia have always
maintained a position of resolving the conflict exclusively through
peaceful means, and have never declared any group of people as their
enemy, Azerbaijan has constantly threatened the world community with
the possibility of war, and has increased its military budget
exponentially year after year. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, ~SIn
the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the
silence of our friends.~T Where are the friends of peace when they are
needed the most? Why expect Azerbaijan to step back from its march
toward war if no one is willing to stand in its way?
I do not wish to believe that the morality of humankind has sunk so
low as to rank oil a higher priority than a people~Rs unalienable right
to self-determination. The same right that allowed Americans to
declare their independence in 1776 and the same right that the U.S.
has vowed to protect for other nations should always be provided for
all the people living on this planet. Now is the time to reaffirm our
principles and stand up for the same rights upon which this great
American republic was founded. The Artsakh Republic has constantly
proven that it is capable of sustaining itself as a democratic,
prosperous, secure, and independent country, and it deserves its own
place among the free countries of this world.
Armen Sahakyan is an honors student studying international political
economy at Bloomfield College in New Jersey.
http://www.armenianweekly.com/2013/03/12/parallels-of-independence-movements-artsakh-and-the-united-states/
From: A. Papazian