Opinion | Armenian Referendum on American Government
Hawk Ohannessian, sophomore political science major
If you watch the news regularly, you have probably heard something about the regional conflict between Artsakh – also known as Nagorno-Karabakh – and Azerbaijan. Armenians, the children of the forgotten genocide of 1915 carried out by the Ottoman Empire, the ancestors of modern-day Turkey – are fighting for the right to exist on the land they have inhabited since the 9th century B.C. Armenians have recorded civilization dating back to the end of the 7th century B.C. Armenia was the first Christian nation as well.
The Artsakh-Azeri conflict has stemmed from years of animosity from Turkic peoples, the ancestors of Turkey and Azerbaijan, toward Armenians. Frankly, the world has not seen such hatred and deep-rooted racism since Nazi Germany. In fact, Adolf Hitler referenced the 1915 Armenian Genocide committed by the Ottoman Empire, where people walked across deserts dehydrated and starving to run from death, when he spread horrid rhetoric about plotting to murder the innocent in the Holocaust. My family escaped to Iran and resided there until my grandmother and grandfather picked up their family and left for America after the 1979 Iranian Revolution threatened their safety as Christians.
Currently Armenia is being threatened with ethnic cleansing by its Turkish and Azeri neighbors and approximately 95% of Artsakh is populated by Armenians, many of whom are resisting this radical imperialism. The Armenian-dominated Artsakh does not want to be under a fascist, anti-Christian and anti-Armenian dictatorship government. Look at a map of the region – where you will see the countries of Azerbaijan and Turkey on either side – and tell me who the true aggressor is.
Corporations are playing a part. McDonald's Azeri Instagram account posted a pro-Azeri war picture and then later deleted it, and a corporate spokesperson wouldn’t comment on the company’s policies on political speech. American tech company Garmin’s GPS navigator units were found being incorporated into Turkish drones used to drop white phosphorus, a similar weapon to Agent Orange used in Vietnam, and cluster munitions on Artsakh. Garmin condemns the use of their products for such heinous acts, and I have continued to boycott and educate myself and others on corporate involvement. It does work. Lobbying firm Mercury Public Affairs terminated their $1 million contract with Turkey after public outcry.
Armenians have not had the most welcoming experience in the U.S. throughout history. Racist housing covenants, present in the deeds of many older homes, and discrimination were customary towards Armenians and immigrants in general.
This trend continues to the present day, where America has not treated Armenians with any respect. The Trump administration funded Azerbaijan $103 million in fiscal years 2018 and 2019 for security assistance, in comparison to the $11.7 million funded to Armenia for the same purpose in the same fiscal years. Although Armenia now was funded $1.5 million more than Azerbaijan in the 2020 fiscal year, the effects of the funds given to Azerbaijan in the past are still being used to fight a war against a peaceful and innocent nation.
The main motivation is industry – specifically oil fields. It is sad that Russia and Iran must intervene to help Armenia because the U.S. is afraid of losing big business and resources. The U.S. should ponder hard about who they support so that they are on the side of truth and love, not hatred.
Armenians have been suppressed under many regimes: the Ottoman Empire, the Soviet Union and corrupt leaders. We have learned to cherish democracy and trust in due process and formal procedure. As a first generation American, I commit myself to expanding the Armenian voice and movement in the United States. Make no mistake, the several hundred thousand swing state Armenian-American voters left their mark on the 2020 election in the U.S.
With thousands of people dead, people must start to care about the Armenian struggle for liberty and freedom, so our people are not exterminated to the liking of Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev. I have this power and I intend to use it. Will you join me?