Statement on the Situation in Nagorno-Karabakh/Artsakh

22.09.2023

Yerevan, Armenia

We, researchers participating in the Disputed Territories and Memory (DisTerrMem) project and attendees of the project’s final conference, ‘Disputed Territories and Memory: Pathways to Agonism’, taking place in Kaunas and Krasnogruda from 27th to 30th September 2023, stand in solidarity with the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and all those affected by the recent violence. We are dismayed and concerned about the silence in the world on the humanitarian crisis in Nagorno-Karabakh, also known to Armenians as Artsakh.

We are appalled by the ethnic cleansing currently being perpetrated by Azerbaijan in Nagorno-Karabakh, also known to Armenians as Artsakh. The world’s indifference to the illegal actions of Azerbaijan and the suffering of those who are being forced to flee their homes is shocking. It is clear that, if Armenian people remained in Artsakh, they would be subject to genocide and that they therefore have currently no alternative but to leave.

For months, warnings from the UN, international institutions, and human rights organisations have been ignored. This inaction leaves Armenia vulnerable to further aggression, as Turkey and Azerbaijan talk openly of their desire to annex territory in southern Armenian to create a corridor to the Nakhchivan enclave.

Not only do we express our solidarity with the Armenian inhabitants of Artsakh, whose pain is unimaginable, but we also call on the international community to live up to its responsibility to protect Armenians in Artsakh from the crimes against humanity currently being perpetrated there, and furthermore to guarantee the territorial integrity of the Republic of Armenia. We also encourage our colleagues to offer their support in practical ways, for example by donating to Armenian General Benevolent Union Global Relief charity https://agbu.org/global-relief or other suitable aid organisations.

Tomasz Rawski, Faculty of Sociology, University of Warsaw

Joanna Wawrzyniak, Faculty of Sociology, University of Warsaw

Christina Horvath, University of Bath

David Clarke, Cardiff University

Katharina Kurz, Maynooth University, Ireland

Nelli Manucharyan, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences, Armenia

Sophie Whiting, University of Bath

Ruzanna Tsaturyan, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences, Armenia

Nina Parish, University of Stirling

Arsen Hakobyan, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences, Armenia

Ishrat Shaheen, Researcher on borders by engaging art practices

Lusine Kharatyan, Yerevan State University, Institute of Archaeology and Ethnography, National Academy of Sciences, Armenia