Recognize Artsakh
Armenian clergy holding a memorial on Sept. 27, 2022 to remember the start of the 44-Day War in 2020
Azerbaijan’s armed forces continued the Aliyev regime’s genocidal policy towards Christian Armenians by shelling Armenian soldiers with mortar fire.
The incident took place after 7pm local time on the territory of the Republic of Armenia. One soldier lost his life and eight soldiers have been wounded in the last two days.
Azerbaijan has repeatedly violated the trilateral cease-fire agreement that was established in 2020 by Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Russia as the mediator. The cease-fire was called after Azeri forces had seized territory from the Republic of Artsakh. Artsakh, also known as Nagorno Karabakh, is territory that has historically been inhabited by Armenians.
Historical precedent is important because the international community, including Europe and the United States, have continued to support the former Soviet Union’s policies under the genocidal leader Joseph Stalin, who established Artsakh as an autonomous oblast within the Soviet Republic of Azerbaijan.
Armenians were the first nation to embrace Christianity, so Iranian and Turkic tribes who embraced Islam, in this case Azeris who are a mix of both, are in conflict with the Armenians. During the Soviet era, is was important to keep conflict on the fringes of the empire, rather than allowing it to fester around Moscow.
When the Soviet Union dissolved, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Artsakh each separately filed for independence from the Soviet Union. The international community legally recognized Armenia and Azerbaijan, but not Artsakh, which prompted Azerbaijan to attack Artsakh in order to bring the Armenians there under their control.
Artsakh prevailed in the early 90s, but Azerbaijan’s rich oil and gas deposits have allowed them to become rich enough to bribe western leaders and so-called intellectuals to promote Azerbaijan’s claims to the territory and finance the development of Azerbaijan’s military technology.
Conservative think tanks, like the Heritage Foundation, favor a policy of boosting investment in Azerbaijan under the misguided belief that establishing greater economic connections there, will allow the United States to make gains in Asia at the expense of Russia and China.
The Heritage Foundation’s policy is naïve, at best, and at worst is evil because it supports a genocidal tyrant, who gets rich off the oppression of his own people. Tolerating evil, in the hopes of getting cheap oil and opening up fast food restaurants, will not bring peace in the region.
It is important to recognize the role conservative think tanks operate in international politics because they tend to advocate domestic policies that are favorable towards Christians, which gives the misperception that these groups are, “good, Christian organizations,” when, instead, they openly advocate for a scenario in which an entire Christian nation will either be massacred, or forced from their homes into exile.
In every situation, however, there is an avenue for hope.
At this time, House Resolution 320 is being considered in the House Committee on Foreign Affairs to legally recognize the Republic of Artsakh as a nation. The bill was authored by Democrat Representative Adam Schiff, who has a large Armenian population in his district.
Many conservatives would balk at the idea of supporting a bill authored by Representative Schiff, but I would encourage America’s recognition of the Republic of Artsakh as an excellent opportunity for bipartisanship.
Recognition of Artsakh will be a difficult process because the United States would have to commit to deciding what the borders are - whether it be the current borders, or the borders prior to the 2020 invasion. The effort must be made, however, in order to stave off a genocide.
It would also be a good strategy for Republican leadership to reach out to the Armenian community by passing this bill. Representative Schiff didn’t push for the recognition of Artsakh when Democrats controlled Congress. Instead, he waited until Republicans controlled the House, possibly with the expectation that Republicans would quash the bill and Schiff could earn brownie points without actually having to fight for his Armenian constituents.
American leadership has had ample opportunity to do right by the Armenian people since World War I, when the Ottoman Empire massacred 1.5 million Armenians, and forced more into exile, including in the United States, where they live mostly in California and New York.
The time is now to contact the Republican Representatives on the Committee of Foreign Affairs, and ask them to legally recognize the Republic of Artsakh’s right to self-determination and existance.
