I think we all agree the tragedy that caused the greatest physical and spiritual damage to the Azerbaijani people was undoubtedly from the First Karabakh War, the ethnic cleansing of more than 500,000 Azerbaijanis from Mountainous Karabakh and the surrounding 7 regions, and the death of over 10,000 Azerbaijani civilians. However, we acted so recklessly in categorizing these events politically. For example, the expulsion of Georgians from Abkhazia is known as the ‘Georgian Genocide,’ where a total of 260,000 Georgians were expelled, and 5,000 Georgians were killed. On the other hand, instead of categorizing the cleansing of Azerbaijanis from Karabakh as genocide, we named events like Khojaly Massacre or March days as genocides, which do not fit the definition of genocide. Khojaly was a horrific event, but it was a massacre, the part of huge ethnic cleansing of Azeris(potentially Azeri genocide). Being a massacre does not make it any less bad, but the definition of genocide is different. What we should call genocide is the systematic cleansing of Azerbaijanis from Karabakh and the 7 regions during the First Karabakh War. Thus, we could not formalize the greatest tragedy that befell us due to our poor naming.The expulsion of 500,000 Azerbaijanis from Karabakh and the surrounding regions is by far the most suitable event to be classified as genocide. But we don’t even have a Wikipedia page for this event :d
If it’s called Georgian genocide and Bosnian genocide, then why shouldn’t it be called the Azerbaijani genocide?
https://i.redd.it/kfcg83yidibd1.jpeg
Posted by Leamsezadah
9 Comments
***This post is not intended to incite hatred. Regardless of the name, the fact is that the displacement of half a million Azerbaijanis from Karabakh took place, unfortunately. However, mislabeling the events is our own mistake.
Hope the future of all humanity will be better
Genocide: “Crime committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.”
Which did not happen during the 1st war, despite massacres taking place in Khojaly and other villages, they cannot and never will be classified as a genocide since this was not carried out through any government policy or order (which often is needed to be characterised as genocide), but rather stand- alone battalions doing it as a revenge action because of the progroms taking place against ethnic Armenians across SSR Azerbaijan. Awful as it was, it was not a genocide.
Under the same logic, the Sumgait, Baku and Kirovabad progroms should also be considered as genocide?
I don’t like calling these events genocide simply because it ends up being a self-pity contest, and people become hostage to the old events.
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> “Genocide”
Yeah, sure buddy whatever you say
There are shameless people in this sub who will defend the genocide committed against Azerbaijan. Mods to duty!
I’m pleasantly surprised someone else shares my views on the subject, I wish I could say the same regarding most Azerbaijanis and Armenians
As others have said, genocide (geno meaning race – cide meaning kill) means a governmentally organized attempt to kill a race in whole or in part. Ethnic cleansing and massacres are not genocide. Sad to say, but those two events are relatively common in just about any war even in modern times. There’s no evidence that the Armenian government had any plans to carry out such an event, let alone evidence that such an event occurred. There may be other war crimes committed against Azeris that deserve attention, but labeling any horrific or tragic event as genocide waters down the word.
Was this an orchestrated removal of Azerbaijanis on the basis of ethnicity by the Armenian military/government? Because events like this is what separates a genocide from a refugee diaspora.
For example in Bosnia there were multiple reported instances of Serbian paramilitaries rounding up and exterminating Bosnian civilians/holding them in concentration camps.
I read through your post and all you mention about the Azerbaijani genocide is 500,000 displaced Azeri civilians and 10,000 dead civilians. I don’t think that is enough evidence to call it a genocide. You need to bring more proof, like instances were Azeri civilians under the control of the Armenian military being exterminated under orders, or the systematic removal of people on the basis of ethnicity. If you have some sources please link it.
I skimmed through