For several days a human tragedy is unfolding in front of the eyes of the world, as almost 100,000 Armenians in Artsakh (Karabakh) are being driven into exile. This illegal ethnic cleansing is being carried out by the dictatorships in Azerbaijan and Turkey, motivated by a pan-Turkic geopolitical motivation to connect the two nations.
As a result, after 108 years the Armenian people once again find themselves being murdered and displaced from their lands by state forces who possess a racist hatred for the Armenian culture and people. Therefore, the ethnic cleansing currently taking place in Artsakh should be seen as a continuation of the 1915 Armenian Genocide carried out by the Young Turks.
This war crime being carried out by the Aliyev regime in Azerbaijan at the behest of the sponsoring Erdoğan regime in Turkey is a crime against humanity, being orchestrated in front of an international community who continually says “never again” to such atrocities.
When we as Kurds look at the heartbreaking scenes in Artsakh, we see our own recently ignored pain and suffering in Shengal, Afrin, and Serê Kaniyê – where our people fled a murderous terror that was also directed from the Turkish Presidential Palace in Ankara. The names may be different in these attacks and massacres, but the motivations are the same.
Today, the Neo-Ottoman Turkish state wants to expand its borders and transform itself into a hegemonic regional power, at the expense of the Kurdish, Armenian, and Greek peoples. To carry out this policy they have shown they will deploy their armed drones and jihadist mercenaries to terrorize the people whose lands they covet.
The tragedy in Artsakh today is the result of this mentality. If this mindset is not stopped, similar scenes may soon take place across Kurdistan, northern Syria, northern Iraq, southern Cyprus, the Greek Aegean Islands, and Armenia proper, where Turkey wishes to complete their Zangezur corridor with Azerbaijan.
We, as the Kurdistan National Congress – KNK, extend our sympathy and support to the Armenian people and strongly condemn these attacks by Azerbaijan and Turkey.
In addition to the United Nations, we call on all international organizations and forces not to remain silent in the face of this escalating catastrophe.
Executive Council of the KNK
October 1, 2023
