Government of Nagorno Karabakh Republic

NAGORNO KARABAKH'S STRUGGLE FOR FREEDOM

1923-1988

     The authorities of Azerbaijan SSR systematically and persistently violated the rights and interests of the Armenian population of the Nagorno Karabakh Autonomous Region during the entire time it was under Azeri rule. Azerbaijan treated Nagorno Karabakh primarily as a source of raw materials. Its policy of discrimination against Nagorno Karabakh was aimed at artificial suppression of its social-economic development and active de-Armenianization. Armenian monuments and cultural artifacts were destroyed or presented as of Azeri origin. Because of this the Armenian population never abandoned its intent to restore historic justice and to secede from Azerbaijan . Trying to avoid the plight of once Armenian Nakhichevan, the Armenian population of which dropped from 60% (at the time of creation of Nakhichevan Autnomous Republic ) to 1.5% according to the census of 1953 and later disappeared, Nagorno Karabakh Armenians saw secession as the only guarantee for their secure future. The struggle took different forms and used manifold methods despite Azerbaijan 's efforts to crush it. As early as in 1920's, the Central Committee of the Communist Party (CCCP) of Azerbaijan was forced to discuss the issues pertaining to the Karabakh movement. Many leaders of NKAR and its regions were accused of nationalism and repressed in 1920-1930's; some communist party organizations were disbanded in Nagorno Karabakh. Attempts were made to raise the Nagorno Karabakh problem before the central authorities of the USSR after the WWII as well (in 1945, 1965, 1967, and 1977). Representatives of the people of Nagorno Karabakh appealed with numerous letters and petitions to Moscow . The petition of 1965 was signed by 45,000 people. Based on this petition the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) ordered the CCCPs of Armenia and Azerbaijan to investigate the Nagorno Karabakh problem. Nevertheless, Azerbaijan once again torpedoed the possible resolution of the problem, finding support among some influential leaders of the USSR . The Azerbaijani authorities provoked ethnic clashes. In the course of crushing popular protests, Azerbaijani authorities killed in jails nearly 20 Armenians, about 10 disappeared and more than 150 were repressed. More than 100 families were forced to leave Karabakh due to persecutions, which lasted for two subsequent years. These acts were initiated and implemented by then FBI Secretary Heydar Aliyev.

     Numerous suggestions on Nagorno Karabakh were made during the discussions over the new USSR Constitution in 1977. Despite the fact that the existence of the problem was acknowledged practically always and on the highest possible level, the solution usually was deferred indefinitely

1988

     The Reorganization declared by the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Gorbachev laid the grounds for liberalization of the political regime in the USSR . It was perceived by the people as an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the past. This is why the people of Nagorno Karabakh were hoping for a democratic solution to the problem and practical implementation of norms of international law in the interethnic relations.

     The current stage of the national-liberation struggle of people of Karabakh began in the 2 nd half of 1987, when tens of thousands of people took part in rallies and demonstrations, representatives of Nagorno Karabkkh went to the USSR central party and government bodies. More than 80,000 people signed a petition demanding reunification of NKAR with Armenia .

     On February 20, 1988 the session of the Nagorno Karabakh Republic soviet of People's Deputies resolved to appeal to the Supreme soviets of Azerbaijan and Armenian SSRs to transfer NKAR from Azerbaijan to Armenia . This appeal was preceded by analogous decisions of regional soviets. However, the CPSU Central Committee adopted a resolution on February 21, which essentially contradicted to the international principle of people's self-determination: the central authorities tried to substitute political resolution of the problem with social and economic measures. This was greeted with categorical protests of the population of Nagorno Karabakh.

     Communist authorities of Azerbaijan took advantage of the undecided position of the highest political body of the USSR . By falsification of history of the two peoples and raising nationalistic hysteria in the mass media, they transformed the problem, which required peaceful resolution into an ethnic conflict. The head of the department of administrative bodies of the Central Committee of Azerbaijan Communist Party A. Asadov threatened that it was possible that "100,000 armed Azeries" would invade the territory of the region.

     On February 20, the first secretary Azerbaijani central committee of CP K. Bagirov, members of the bureau of the republic CP and the instructor of the propaganda department of CPSU V. Yashin, who on February 20, arrived in Stepanakert to prevent the session, scheduled for that day, from being held, called a sitting of party region committee of bureau where they insist on adopting the draft of that preliminary prepared decree in which they would put the responsibility for the situation on party organization of the region. The staff of bureau did not adopt the draft. Though the representatives of the official Baku and the First Secretary of Central committee B. Kevorkov were against, nevertheless the session of the Council of Region's People's Deputies took place and adopted a resolution on reunification of NKAR with Armenia . The Azerbaijani side responded with aggression: on February 22, a crowd of many thousands started to move towards Stepanakert from the neighboring Azerbaijani region of Agdam "to restore order". With great difficulty it became possible to avoid bloodshed.

     Mass pogroms and murders of Armenians on February 27-29, 1988 in the Azeri town of Sumgait, situated hundreds of kilometers away from Nagorno Karabakh became the continuation of official Azerbaijan's policy of hindering the possibility of just solution of the Karabakh problem. The genocide of Armenians, which was not properly evaluated either politically or legally by Azerbaijan or the international community, was scrupulously organized. Leaderships of factories and organizations ordered their workers to attend anti-Armenian rallies, where speakers were representatives of municipal authorities. The "rally" of February 27 ended with raising the Azeri national flag by the first secretary of the Communist Party Committee of the Sumgait Muslimzade and leading the crowd. During the subsequent three days of massacres and pogroms, dozens of Armenians were murdered, many of them with extreme cruelty. Hundreds were injured, a great number of Armenians were subjected to rape, torture and persecution. 18,000 people became refugees...

     However, the Azerbaijani policy of provocations, threats and violence, used as early as 1921 by the Chairman of the Revolutionary Committee of Azerbaijan N. Narimanov, who threatened to "unleash... the anti-Soviet elements" if Nagorno Karabakh was not included in Azerbaijan SSR, could not make the people of Artsakh abandon their goal. This was proved by the decisions of subsequent sessions of Regional Soviet and the Plenum of Communist Party's Central Committee, which was headed by Henry A. Poghosian who had a great authority in the region, numerous lengthy strikes on all industrial enterprises, organizations, and educational institutions with a demand to secede from Azerbaijan . At the wave of the national movement an informal organization "Krunk" was formed which was headed by Arkady Manoucharian the chairman the Stepanakert industrial complex of building materials.

1989

     Taking into consideration the difficulty of the situation, for the first time in the history of the USSR the central authorities introduced a special form of government in NKAR from January 20, 1989. A Special governing Committee for NKAR headed by the chief of CPSU Central Committee Department Arkady Volsky was formed. However, the status of the Committee, which was called to prevent further deterioration of the situation and contribute to its stabilization, was not adequate to its mission. The Azeri SSR authorities took advantage of this and tried to dictate its conditions to Nagorno Karabakh circumventing the Committee.

     The suspension of the authority of NKAR's party and state bodies and other restrictive measures were grossly violating the rights of NKAR and its people. In order to elect a representative authority of the people, it was decided to call a congress of NKAR population representatives. The congress which convened on August 16, adopted an address to the people of Azerbaijan with a concern about the deepening alienation, which transformed into an ethnic enmity between the Armenian and Azeri people. The address also appealed for mutual recognition of fundamental rights of each other. The congress proposed active cooperation with the Commandant of the special region, officers and soldiers of the Soviet Army and armed detachments of USSR Interior Ministry in order to guarantee peace in the region. The congress elected a National Council (chaired by the USSR People's Deputy V.Grigorian), with a goal to implement in practice the decisions of the Regional Soviet People's Deputies session of February 20, 1988.

     However, the official Baku , along with pogroms of Armenian towns and villages, carried out an unprecedented in USSR economic blockade of NKAR and Armenia taking advantage of the fact that goods were transported to NKAR and Armenia via Azerbaijan . NKAR practically was isolated from the outside world. Food, fuel, and construction materials stopped entering NKAR as a result of which the majority of industrial enterprises, transport and agricultural machinery could not function; the harvest could not be exported. The population was on the verge of famine.

     Simultaneously, repressions and punitive actions intensified in the Shahoumian district, where the Armenian population faced a real threat of physical annihilation. In order to prevent this from happening, the extraordinary session of Region's Peoples Deputies Council adopted a decision to include the Shahoumian region in the NKAR. Lacking necessary means and opportunity to defend the region, the authorities of Nagorno Karabakh on numerous accessions appealed for help to the USSR 's highest authorities. However, they did not take any action to prevent bloodshed. The appeal of the National Council Presidency of Nagorno Karabakh to the UNO Security Council to assist in providing security to the Armenian population of the region remained unanswered. Moreover, the USSR Supreme Council adopted a resolution on November 28, which practically ensured that Nagorno Karabakh remained in Azerbaijan SSR forcefully. The USSR Supreme Council disbanded the special governing committee and formed an organizational committee of Azerbaijan SSR NKAR, without directly outlining its goals and level of authority, as it was mentioned in the resolution of the USSR Constitutional Oversight Committee of November 28, 1991. It became known later that the Organization Committee elaborated and carried out deportation missions aimed at the Armenian population of Nagorno Karabakh and surrounding regions with the assistance of the USSR Interior Ministry and the Soviet Army.

     On December 1, 1989, during a joint session, the Supreme Council of the Armenian SSR and the National Council of NKAR adopt a resolution on reunification of Nagorno Karabakh and Armenian SSR "based on the universal principle of self-determination of nations and responding to the just strive of reunification of two forcefully separated parts of the Armenian people". The reaction of the authorities of Azerbaijan followed immediately. They began a new wave of provocative actions utilizing the forces of the Commandant's Headquarters of the Special Region and the detachments of Interior Troops, which were under their control.

1990

     The armed pogroms in the capital of Azerbaijani SSR, Baku that took place in January 1991 were the continuation of the campaign of ethnic cleansing. As a result hundreds of Armenians were killed and a new wave of refugees was created. The cruelty of Sumgait pogroms was matched in Baku  people were burned alive, stabbed and beaten to death. Instances of cannibalism were reported. Realizing that the central authorities were not to take actions to stop the genocide of the Armenian population, the Popular Front of Azerbaijan, which was formed in 1989 as an opposition party, with the silent consent of the official authorities organized an armed assault on the Armenian villages of Shahoumian and Khanlar regions. On the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan military actions began.

     Taking into consideration the situation, the Presidency of the USSR Supreme Council, with the decree of January 15, 1990 , introduces extraordinary situation in NKAR, bordering regions of Azerbaijani SSR, Goris region of Armenian SSR and along the USSR state border on the territory of Azerbaijani SSR . The Military Commandant's Headquarters took upon itself control on all levels, relinquishing the authority of local representative government bodies and practically introducing martial law on the territory of Nagorno Karabakh . Being backed by the Military Commandant's Headquarters, the activity of Azerbaijani authorities intensified along with their policy of repression, ethnic cleansing and terror. More and more active members of Karabakh movement were persecuted. "Criminal cases" were fabricated, based on which arrests were made.

Nagorno Karabakh's Struggle for Freedom

Genocide of the Armenians

War of 1991 - 1994