Armenia, Artsakh & Azerbaijan
Quickly lost in media coverage was the conflict between the Armenians of Nagorno Karabakh, Artsakh in Armenian, and Azerbaijan. It resulted in the ethnic cleansing of the overwhelmingly Armenian enclave. For many months, their land was under siege and blockade by Azerbaijan. Putin and his so-called peacekeepers did nothing. The international community was silent. On September 19th Azerbaijan invaded. The outnumbered and outgunned Armenians had little chance against their more powerful neighbor. By the end of September, there were virtually no Armenians left in their ancient homeland. This is a huge blow in the history of the millennial old Armenian people who have endured massacres and genocide. But Armenians are resilient and they will heal their wounds and bounce back.
Interviewed by David Barsamian.
Speaker
Bedross Der Matossian
Bedross Der Matossian is Professor of Modern Middle East History and Hymen Rosenberg Professor in Judaic Studies; and Vice Chair of the Department of History at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is the author of The Horrors of Adana and editor of Denial of Genocides in the Twenty-First Century.
From a listener in CT –
Thank you for the in-depth presentation on the history, politics, and present situation of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. I had zero knowledge of any of that before.
A. Avakian –
It’s true and I appreciate that our ancient lands were mentioned as such. We are indigenous to this land. As a photojournalist I covered the first war in the early 1990’s for TIME and have been to Armenia many more times before and after that war. Including for the Armenia story for National Geographic Magazine.
From a listener in Ecuador –
What an amazing interview. I learned a lot, especially from his pragmatism regardin regional politics and what the Armenian refugees from Artsakh are to do now, e.g., move back/reintegrate or foresake their ancestral home and resettle in the Armenian republic. I was also very interested in how the Israeli state treats Armenians just like Palestinians—the other. Israel seems to have perfected that attitude.
Pat –
An accurate, sobering and infuriating lesson in hegemony, hypocrisy and realpolitik by perceptive historian Der Matossian and informed questioner Barsamian. Thank you, AR, for introducing us to yet another unbought and righteous scholar!