Azerbaijan-Armenia: The Past and the Present
Azerbaijan-Armenia’s History of Disputes
Pauline Lecomte
The dispute over the Nagorno-Karabakh region is multidimensional and strongly embedded into both the Armenian and Azerbaijani society. The two nations are long-time antagonists and are divided along cultural and religious lines. Indeed, while the Azeris identify deeply with the Islamic Turkic world and their former Persian rulers, the Armenians nurture a strong national individuality. Azerbaijan pan-Turkism sees Armenia as a geographical barrier against a Turkic geographic unity, whereas Armenia’s national character was scarred by Ottoman Turks’ historical torment of the Armenian minority. In addition, the czarist Russian rule over both countries during the nineteenth century has created an economical divide between Armenians and Azeris, the former benefiting from higher socio-economical positions. In short, the history of the region has built a deep resentment of both communities towards the other.
The region of Nagorno-Karabakh is a bone of contention between the two nations since both Armenian and Azerbaijani scholars claim it to be their historical heritage. In reality, the geographical position of the Karabakh region makes it a crossroad for the movements of migrating people and the area is particularly ethnically diverse. Both Azeris and Armenians are settled in the region. Nevertheless, when Karabakh was attached to Azerbaijan under Russian rule, it became the centre of the growth of Armenian nationalism.
Violence flared up in 1988 when political movements demanded Nagorno-Karabakh to be unified with the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic. The demands for unification, supported by Yerevan, led to deportations of Azeris to Armenia and Armenians to Azerbaijan and waves of pogrom, the most infamous of which being the pogrom of the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait, where atrocities were committed against Armenian civilians, such as the murder and mutilation of pregnant women in a maternity hospital. From 1988 to 1992, large scale hostage taking, torture and targeting of civilians was common practices from both sides.
The conflict escalated to a full-scale war in the early 1990s following the collapse of USSR and the declaration of independence of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic from Azerbaijan. Armenian forces took control of most of the territory in 1992 and captured several Azerbaijani villages, notably the village of Khojaly. During the Khojaly massacre, more than 300 Azerbaijani civilians were tortured, mutilated and killed. The Azerbaijani army took similar actions against Armenian civilians as retaliatory measures. Resolutions from the United Nations Security Council and mediation from the Minsk Group (Russia, United States and France) led to a cease-fire in May 1994. However, the tensions have kept on running high in the region.
After the failed attempt of the Minsk Group to find a peace agreement between Yerevan and Baku, armed hostilities resumed in 2015 then in 2016. During the 2016 “4 days war”, crimes against civilians were committed, with the shelling of non-military targets and the death of several civilians.
The most recent violent upheaval took place in 2020. For 6 weeks, between September and November 2020, Armenians and Azeris fought in what has been the “biggest escalation” since the 1994 cease-fire. The resumption of hostilities brought its share of war crimes. Although an agreement was signed between Baku and Yerevan on abstaining from deliberately targeting civilian population, there has been strikes against civilian areas. Human Rights Watch reports indiscriminate strikes against a public hospital in Martakert by Azerbaijani forces. In addition, cluster munitions have been used both by the Azerbaijani forces and the Nagorno-Karabakh forces (allegedly provided by the Armenian military). The use of cluster munitions is prohibited under any circumstances by the Convention on Cluster Munitions. Reports show that at least 94 Azerbaijani civilians and 52 Armenians civilians were killed in and outside Nagorno-Karabakh. Moreover, schools have been targeted by both armies, with 71 Armenian schools and 54 Azerbaijani schools being damaged or destroyed during the combat. There have been reports of unlawful detention of civilians by the Azerbaijani army and degrading conditions of detention
Since the beginning of the conflict, civilians have been suffering on both sides of the border. A report from the ICRCshows how the population of the region is cut off from every resource and how the youth is struggling for a decent access to education and a hopeful future.
The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has also created internal Human Rights issues in both countries. An Azerbaijani journalist was wrongfully imprisoned and beaten in Azerbaijan after questioning the officially accepted version of the 1992 Khojaly massacre. In Yerevan, an Armenian activist, was brutally beaten during a peaceful protest at the headquarter of the ruling Republican Party. He was a member of the Alliance of Freedom Fighters, the organization of Armenian veterans of the first Nagorno-Karabakh war.
The September 2022 Border Crisis
Emma Passey
During the late night hours between September 12 and 13, 2022, violence broke out on the border between the post-Soviet republics of Azerbaijan and Armenia. Though neither side is taking accountability for initiating the conflict, nearly 200 troops have been confirmed as casualties of the violence between the two in addition to numerous civilians (UN News). The Armenian government has accused Azerbaijan of shelling several towns along the border, and that its actions were merely a response to the acts committed by the latter. On the other hand, government officials from Azerbaijan have said that they were attacked first. The military spokesman for Azerbaijan, Lt. Col. Anar Eyvazov, suspects that the violence carried out by Armenian forces “demonstrate that Armenia is preparing for a large-scale military provocation”. There is no confirmed evidence that Armenia is planning to conduct a major operation against Azerbaijan.
The long-standing violence between these two countries has been condemned by the international community, with specific emphasis since September 12, 2022. As predominant world powers alongside China, the United States, and Russia have been cited to be attempting to abate tensions by using their diplomatic relations with both countries. Russia has long had close ties to Armenia because of its military alliance under the Collective Security Treaty Organization; however, it still holds a civil relationship with Azerbaijan. Russia’s efforts for restoring peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan have been characterized by its 2020 deployment of a peacekeeping force of 2,000 soldiers, tasked with halting any further violence along the border of the two countries (BBC News).
A ceasefire between Armenia and Azerbaijan was reached on Wednesday, September 14, 2022, and has been adhered to ever since its implementation. However, the United Nations and other international powers remain concerned about the tensions between the two countries and its implications for the rest of the region. Miroslav Jenča, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Europe, Central Asia and the Americas, had expressed her concern for the renewed hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan and further warned that two “have the potential to destabilize the region. They highlight the need for all actors, in the region and beyond, to act constructively and to press the sides to work for a peaceful settlement.” Jenča and the rest of the United Nations remain uneasy about the impact that the tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia will have on civilians if relations remain strained and unstable.