Human Rights Defenders of Armenia and Artsakh on the Division of 'Armenian' and 'Artsakhi'

The Human Rights Defenders of the Republic of Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia have issued a joint statement:

“The joint monitoring of our two institutions indicates that in the context of the political processes taking place in the Republic of Armenia in recent weeks, a condemnable phenomenon has gained widespread traction, namely the artificial creation and promotion of divisions and confrontations between our compatriots from Armenia and Artsakh.

Moreover, such phenomena, primarily manifested in the public domain of Armenia, have also found their expressions in Artsakh. The deliberate use of the fact that our compatriots are from Artsakh by political actors to serve their various political interests creates an 'opportunity' in the polarized public discourse for the spread of insults, unacceptable language, and hate speech against our compatriots from Artsakh.

We strongly condemn such harmful, shortsighted, and extremely dangerous conversations, actions, and inaction that aim to create or contribute to the establishment of divisive lines.

In this responsible time fraught with challenges for our countries, we especially call on all political figures and social actors with a significant public audience in Armenia and Artsakh, regardless of their political preferences and agendas, to prevent and condemn the fake and extremely dangerous division of 'Armenian' and 'Artsakhi' by their own example.

We urge all citizens in Armenia, Artsakh, and the Diaspora not to yield to and be intolerant of all actions aimed at dividing our compatriots from Armenia and Artsakh into groups and sowing internal discord. These actions undermine our resilience and erode public and national solidarity.

National unity and wisdom are among the most important guarantees for addressing all the challenges faced by our states.”