It's Time for the World to Recognize the Republic of Artsakh: Turkish Journalist

Azerbaijan has targeted Artsakh with the direct support of Turkey. “We support Azerbaijan until victory,” said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on October 6. “I tell my Azerbaijani brothers, blessed be your ghazwa,” notes Turkish journalist Uzay Bulut in an article published in Modern Diplomacy.

“In Islam, ‘ghazwa’ means a struggle or raid against non-Muslims for the purpose of expanding Muslim territories and/or converting non-Muslims to Islam. Thus, Erdoğan has openly declared that attacks on Armenian territory are jihad. Moreover, the attacks on Armenians are not only from Turkey and Azerbaijan. Turkey has also sent no less than 1,000 jihadists from Syria to fight against Artsakh.

The ongoing attacks on Artsakh by Azerbaijan are part of Turkey's neo-Ottoman imperial ambitions. The Turkish government has intensified its rhetoric of neo-Ottomanism and invasion in recent years. For instance, in his speech on August 26, Erdoğan stated, “In our civilization, invasions are not occupations or plunder. They are the establishment of justice.”

At the same time, Armenian President Armen Sarkissian has requested Russia, the United States, and NATO to restrain Ankara, labeling Turkey as a “bully in the region.” “If we don’t act internationally now to stop Turkey, we will face the prospect of turning this region into a new Syria, which will impact everyone,” he said in an interview with the Financial Times.

“According to our preliminary estimates, about 50 percent of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh and 90 percent of women and children, between 70,000 to 75,000 people, have been forced to relocate,” stated Artsakh Ombudsman Artak Beglaryan to AFP.

The attacks by Turkey and Azerbaijan on Armenians are unjustified for the purpose of seizing the region. Artsakh, which is comprised of 95 percent ethnic Armenians, is a peaceful republic and an inseparable part of historic Armenia for millennia. It has never been part of independent Azerbaijan.

Artsakh has been under the control of various conquerors for centuries but has mostly maintained its semi-independent status within the Armenian formation. The majority of the residents of Artsakh have peacefully and repeatedly demanded reunification with Armenia. However, the Azerbaijani authorities have responded with violence not only in Artsakh but throughout Azerbaijan. The Azerbaijani authorities have organized destruction and mass killings of Armenians in the cities of Sumgait, Baku, Kirovabad, Shamkhor, and Mingachevir.