No ''peace'' and ''prosperity'' through genocide: Lemkin Institute supports Artsakh people’s right to self-determination

• 11.25.2022, 18:00
•  Region,  World,  Armenia,  NKR

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention voices its solidarity with and support for the people of the Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), who turned out in Stepanakert on October 30th in historic numbers to rally for the self-determination of the territory. The Lemkin Institute noted this in a statement, entitled ''Self-Determination of Armenians in Artsakh (South Caucasus): There is No ‘Peace’ or ‘Prosperity’ through Genocide.''

''The Lemkin Institute stands in solidarity with the people of the Republic of Artsakh as they voice their will for Self Determination. Artsakh is claimed by Azerbaijan although the territory has been inhabited by majority Armenians for thousands of years,'' reads the tweet attached to this statement.

The Lemkin Institute reminds that ''the right to Self Determination is a fundamental one within the international legal system. The people of Artsakh deserve to have their calls for self-determination taken seriously by the international community.''

Also, the statement briefly presents the history of the change in the status of Artsakh, the two Artsakh wars, and the situation created as a result of them.

In addition, the Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention emphasizes that the international community should not ignore the Armenian Genocide’s consequences in the region, ''which completely eradicated the Armenian presence in Western Armenia,'' as well as the ''unchecked genocidal hostility of Azeri nationalists towards Armenians.''

''What the Western world, and particularly NATO, fails to understand is that ‘giving up’ Artsakh would mean condoning genocide against Armenians: the forced displacement and persecution of Armenians, widespread atrocity crimes, destruction of cultural heritage, and one of the largest humanitarian crises in the Caucasus region in the past decades, involving a huge influx of refugees to Armenia proper. Importantly, given the current red flags for genocide in Turkey and Azerbaijan, as well as what we know about the genocidal process in general, it is inconceivable that ''giving up'' Artsakh will put an end to conflict in the region, much less lead to ‘peace’ and ‘prosperity,’'' the statement notes. 

''The Lemkin Institute calls for the creation of an independent international commission to study the issues involved in Artsakh, with the aim of establishing a just outcome and a stable peace,'' the statement adds.