Threats of ethnic cleansing in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh)

According to reports from Armenia, Azerbaijani soldiers are currently trying to advance further into Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh). “Apparently, Azerbaijan is planning to drive the Armenian people out of Artsakh by means of violence. There are fears of an impending ethnic cleansing. The German Federal Government and its European partners must take consistent measures immediately,” demanded Sarah Reinke, expert on Eastern Europe at the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), in Göttingen today. “It is appropriate to condemn the attack and to call for peace – but it is not enough! Azerbaijan has been planning the offensive for months, by blocking the Lachin Corridor and by means of aggressive rhetoric. The people of Artsakh are vulnerable and in great danger.”

There have been warnings of war and ethnic cleansing for months, from various sides. So far, they were not heard in Berlin. “Now, it is necessary to at least announce sanctions. If Azerbaijan does not withdraw immediately, the government in Baku must feel noticeable consequences. Germany must not turn a blind eye to this again, only because the aggressor is a supplier of gas,” Reinke added.

In 1915, the fact that those responsible in Germany remained silent and looked the other way had already led to a genocide against the Armenian people. Germany thus has a special historic responsibility for the Armenians, and the Federal Government must live up to its responsibility for the Armenians in Artsakh in this highly dangerous situation.

The STP will hold a vigil in Berlin to demand an end to the aggression in Artsakh – together with the “Arbeitskreis Anerkennung: Gegen Genozid, für Völkerverständigung”, the Central Council of Armenians in Germany, and the diocese of the Armenian church – on Saturday, September 23, from 12 noon to 3 pm in front of the Federal Chancellery.