Bloodshed Again in Artsakh: Ruben Vardanyan Appeals to the Global Armenian Community

Ruben Vardanyan, the initiator of the 'Future Armenian' movement and co-founder of the 'Aurora' humanitarian initiative, made a post on his Facebook page stating:

“Blood is flowing again in Artsakh, and we are losing young lives once more. A new wave of violence is unleashed under the pretext of supposedly violating the tripartite statement of November 9, 2020. Since the end of the Second Karabakh War, the threat of further destabilization today is greater than ever. And even if this latest flare-up of military confrontation is successfully extinguished quickly, the threat of new escalations will not disappear. It hangs like a 'Damocles sword' over Armenia and Artsakh.

We must admit that, so far, the Armenian leadership has categorically lacked the will and professionalism to systemically solve the security issues of Artsakh. However, in the backdrop of geopolitics, we must always see the interests of ordinary people—the people of Artsakh.

It does not matter to me at all whose political lie prevails this time. I believe the main thing now is that the children of Artsakh can grow up healthy, happy, and competitive; so they can simply live—with a full sense of security, go to school comfortably, and believe in the future. It is not easy for them now; the 'constant feeling' of war disrupts their lives, breaks and distorts their destinies.

The aggressive actions of the neighboring country exert incredible pressure on the population of Artsakh; therefore, they need our support. I believe they have the right to expect this assistance. The security of Artsakh's children is of absolute priority for me and my like-minded individuals.

I think it is extremely important to exert every effort right now to stop the military escalation and at least block the possibility of it in the future. As a first step, I propose to create a Pan-Armenian Front for the Support of Artsakh's Security and Development. The legal forms and methods of organizing it can be discussed, but such an initiative must unite the civil society, the authorities of Armenia and Artsakh, political parties, the diaspora, and all patriots, all those who understand the principled importance of preserving Armenian identity on Artsakh land.

A key element of security is finding solutions regarding the extension of the Russian peacekeeping forces' presence in the conflict zone and the multiple increase of their contingent, with a clear mandate to ensure the security of Artsakh unconditionally. This mandate should be strengthened as long as we are not ready to fully ensure security ourselves.

This step will allow maintaining peace in the region, establishing humanitarian cooperation, and finding a long-term balanced solution. Our diplomatic efforts should now be directed toward this. The presence of peacekeepers should provide a sense of absolute physical security for the population living in Artsakh.

I would like to appeal to all Armenians around the world and to all those who are not indifferent to the destruction of human lives and humanity's historical heritage: we must draw the attention of the international community to the humanitarian situation in Artsakh by all possible means. The world, which moralizes about the value of human life and the right of peoples to self-determination, should give the most severe assessment of Azerbaijan's actions aimed at destabilizing the situation.

However, no matter how important the support of Russia and the international community is for us today, we cannot— we have no right to rely solely on external factors. We Armenians have allowed far too much throughout our history for others to decide our fate. But no one will solve our problems for us.

It is time to put an end to the exploitation of the Artsakh issue as a political tool in the power struggle; it is time to forget personal political ambitions. This issue should not divide Armenians; it should not become a pretext for intrigue and settling scores. It must and can unite our people.

We must jointly determine what kind of state, what kind of army, what kind of diplomacy, and what other security measures are needed for Armenia and Artsakh. Let’s decide and immediately get to work. Because the children of Artsakh deserve the right to a full life.”