Is Your Sons' Blood Flowing for the Homeland or for the Authoritarian Regime's Longevity? Anna Hakobyan to Azerbaijani Mothers

Anna Hakobyan, the wife of the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, made the following post on her Facebook page:

“On July 13, when active military operations on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border had just begun due to the Azerbaijani attacks and were set to escalate, I urged Azerbaijani women and mothers to call on their country's leadership to cease military actions and not endanger the lives of the children of the Azerbaijani and Armenian peoples.” This I did as the author of the "Women for Peace" campaign, an initiative aimed at uniting women against wars and creating a favorable environment for the leaders of conflicting countries to seek solutions at the negotiating table.

In response to this appeal, several mothers of Azerbaijani soldiers, through heavily state-controlled Azerbaijani media outlets, voiced a unified message: I, as a soldier's mother, say—Fight! Forward, Azerbaijani soldier, Forward! Fight for our flag to wave in Stepanakert! The only mother of a soldier is the homeland. The fight for the homeland is sacred.

Thus, according to the Azerbaijani state propaganda machine, Azerbaijani mothers rejected my call to stop military actions and move towards peace, declaring that they would send their sons to fight and die for this sacred struggle. In the following days, a significant number of Azerbaijanis lost their lives. The Azerbaijani state propaganda machine failed to suppress the passions of the Azerbaijani people. And for several days now, the "sacred fight for the homeland" has spilled over the borders of the conflict zone.

Azerbaijanis living in Russia and various European countries have begun taking different actions against Armenians in those towns to avenge their fallen compatriots—first, by launching physical assaults on Armenian apricot products, then banning the sale of apricots in their owned shops, attacking Armenian women during a protest, setting fire to vehicles of the Armenian diplomatic representation, smashing Armenian cars and shops, and several individuals attacking one Armenian and beating him.

These actions did not go unanswered; our compatriots naturally had to defend themselves. In recent days, Armenians and Azerbaijanis have already been fighting in various world capitals, big and small cities.

Now, not only are the lives of soldiers stationed at the border in danger, but also the lives of random Azerbaijanis and Armenians living in Moscow, Brussels, Los Angeles, and other cities.

And here, the Azerbaijani mothers, who incite their sons to a sacred struggle, have begun appealing to various international organizations and human rights advocacy groups. They call on these organizations to intervene, evaluate, and prevent the incidents occurring in various countries.

Women who boldly rejected the call for peace and led their people into war are now attempting to shift the responsibility for the consequences of this same war onto others.

As an Armenian woman and mother, I must state directly: Armenian mothers not only do not fear sending their sons off to war, but they are also not afraid to fight and sacrifice themselves for the homeland. However, Armenian mothers prefer peace. I am confident that Azerbaijani mothers, sisters, and daughters also do.

Azerbaijani mothers must ultimately seek an answer to one question: Is your sons' blood flowing for the homeland or for the longevity of the authoritarian regime?

I call on Azerbaijani women and mothers to be more courageous, to join the "Women for Peace" campaign as soon as possible, and to compel their country's leadership to permanently abandon the obsession with resolving conflicts through military means and to seek resolution at the negotiating table in peaceful conditions.

Because violence begets new violence. Meanwhile, peace has no alternative.

P.S. Azerbaijani women, you can reject war while sitting at home and voice your support for peace. All it takes is to register on the "I Support" section of the Women for Peace website. Your support is very important. And if you are thousands, the authority cannot retaliate against you; on the contrary, it will have to take your demands into account.”