Unsugarcoated Media was able to sit down with litigation attorney and Armenian American, Arpineh Yeremian to discuss the current tension between Armenians and Azerbaijan. 

“I have a true fear we might lose our country… it’s a terrifying thought that we might lose it all,” an emotionally torn Yeremian shares.

What is the Armenian and Azerbaijan Conflict?

The Armenian and Azerbaijan conflict is not something new. The area currently being fought over, Artsakh (commonly known as “Nagorno-Karabakh”) is a region in the country Azerbaijan that is historically Armenian land. 

Today, the fight over who the land belongs is not only physical but has turned cyber. According to Yeremian’s testimony, Azerbaijan has created a bunch of bots that are spewing out thousands of fake accounts to spread false information over social media with the goal to confuse. Also, they have created an almost identical website that imitates the Armenian donation website (armeniafund.org) so people donate to them rather than Armenia. A similar strategy is being used with hashtags on social media, by replicating and changing them slightly (like flipping around one letter) to benefit from the support for Armenia. 

“They are fighting with the intention of finishing what they started,” Yeremian expresses with concern in her voice. 

It’s not a coincidence that Azerbaijan decided to attack while the world is distracted by the threat of COVID-19. Yeremian says that the attack on Artsakh is something they have been preparing for. The online rhetoric and panic of the pandemic have helped build up the escalation to violence without consequence. Armenia has done its best to stand its ground but there is only one Armenian soldier to every 3 soldiers from Azerbaijan.  

“The way they are fighting too is the vilest most disgusting way. War Crime after war crime…” a revolted Yeremian remarks. 

Right now, Armenia lacks man-power, resources, and backing from other countries. Azerbaijan is completely backed by Turkey. According to reports, Turkey is hiring jihadist mercenaries, terrorist groups to come and fight. It has also been confirmed that Israel is supporting Azerbaijan and selling them arms, allowing them to bomb civilians.

Historical context: 

In 1915, the Turkish Ottoman Empire started a mass ethnic cleansing of the Armenian population. They began by targeting and killing the most intellectual members of the community (doctors, lawyers, writers, scientists) as a way to strip the Armenian people of their leadership. Afterward, they deported the women and children and killed 1.5 million Armenians. 

The Armenian genocide was the blueprint for Hitler in shaping the Holocaust. Yet to this day, Turkey still does not recognize this genocide, saying the slaughter was more akin to a civil war. 

A few years later, dictator Joseph Stalin took this land away from the Armenians and gave it to Turkey. This led to the development of the country Azerbaijan in 1918, but then in 1923 carved it out as an autonomous region, with borders that gave it a population that was more than 90% Armenian.

Fast forward to the late 80s and early 90s, the region experienced another bout of severe fighting, killing another 30,000 Armenian lives. Nevertheless, the Armenian community maintained a stronghold in the region because they were living there to begin with; the population was 95% majority Armenian. 

For the last 20 years, there have been more periods of tension and clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijan, which has led up to the past couple of months of fighting and “cyber warfare.” 

How you can support: 

According to Yeremian, the most important thing American’s can do right now to support the Armenian cause is to bring awareness to the “cyberwar” that Azerbaijan has initiated. To have people ask the tough questions of ‘why is this happening?’ and ‘what does this mean?’ Addressing injustice is necessary in order to make a change. 

“It’s important to recognize this is a threat to all of humanity” Yeremian states with urgency. 

All across the world, minority groups are experiencing abuse and violence from corrupted authority figures. The people often caught in the middle, are the ones on both sides attempting to live a simple life.   It is right to stand up and dismantle systems that generate violence against humanity and in order to do so, we must ensure that all sides and perspectives of these acts are considered.  Far removed from the region, it’s easy for people to feel helpless and confused on facts, but it’s important to use our voices, be heard, and protect ALL.  

Written by: Anna Randall

Staff Writer Intern with Unsugarcoated Media