Armenia's Untold War Story Cries Out for Mercy, Justice

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When I’m not at Ms. Anne Thrope’s Coffee Club, I write, edit, and do other normal activities. Shortly after the warfare against Armenia broke out in September 2020, I began contacting members of Congress and some leaders in my church denomination because this church denomination is known for speaking out in matters of justice. I was appalled that the nation and church ignored the warfare and, worse yet, treated it as if all parties to the warfare were equally responsible. The small population of Armenia is nowhere near the equivalent of Azerbaijan and Turkey in terms of population and wealth.

The justice agency asked me to write an article for the denomination. I turned that article around within two days and revised the article as asked. By now it was around October 20. “Good article. We’ll publish.” Then came the announcement of a peace agreement between Azerbaijan and Armenia. The article was apparently deemed irrelevant. The agency posted a general request for prayers for peace in Armenia, but without setting any context for the warfare. In the meantime, Azerbaijan soldiers are brutalizing Armenian civilians and prisoners of war and still the world is not noticing.

So because I can, here is the October article.

Stand for Justice and Stand for Artsakh

Some news stories since Sept. 27 refer to “warfare over the disputed territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.” As a United Methodist pastor, I’d like you to know more about what is not being written and why these untold stories are important.

Because the area is not given much attention in our history books, I offer you a little context:

Armenians have occupied the Caucasus mountain area between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea since approximately 3500 BCE. Archaeological excavations in Armenia have discovered the first ancient intact leather shoe and other ancient artifacts. Chess is a required component in the school curriculum from grade 1 through grade 12, and backgammon and soccer are national sports.

Armenia converted to Christianity as a nation in the year 301. The Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church remains an independent voice of Christianity. Armenians built churches and communities and established a homeland with Mount Ararat, biblical mountain where Noah’s ark landed, as the national symbol because Ararat was within Armenian territory. Armenians lived peacefully with a variety of neighboring nations.

That changed in 1915. Beginning on April 24, 1915, the government of the Ottoman Empire known as The Young Turks began a systemic effort to eliminate Armenians from the empire. At the beginning of 1915 approximately two-million Armenians lived in the territory. Between 1.2 and 1.5 million died as a result of the violence, the forced marches, and starvation. The charges made against the Armenian people sound similar to those charges made by Adolf Hitler against the Jewish people: “They control the banks and commerce. They take jobs from our people.” Hitler, in fact, said prior to the invasion of Poland in August 1939: “Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?”

In the midst of World War II, Raphael Lemkin, who studied the events of 1915, coined the word genocide to describe what happened to the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire. Lemkin would then initiate what became The Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, which was unanimously adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 9, 1948.

Not only were the people killed, but Turkey eliminated many traces of Armenian culture. The area of Istanbul, for example, known as Taksim Gezi Park was, beginning in 1590, an Armenian cemetery. The cemetery was demolished in 1939. Cities were renamed to avoid Armenian references. To this day, the government of Turkey denies that a genocide took place

After the 1915 genocidal effort, Armenia in the 1920s became part of the Soviet Union. Josef Stalin, as part of his “divide and conquer” policy, put the Artsakh portion of Armenia under the administrative governance of Azerbaijan despite and because of the fact that 98% of Artsakh’s population was Armenian. In 1988 the people of Artsakh petitioned the Supreme Soviet to allow it to become part of the Armenian Soviet Republic. The Soviet Union collapsed before acting upon the petition.

Located between Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran, Armenia is smaller than its neighbors. Three million Armenians live in Artsakh and Armenia proper. The combined population of Azerbaijan and Turkey is 100 million. The situation is an acting-out of the story of David and Goliath.

Why should we care?

In 2011 I went to Armenia for two weeks as part of a mission team. For me, the trip was a homecoming, a visit to the land of my father’s birth and the land from which my mother’s family escaped the 1915 Genocide. My father’s two older brothers, both under the age of twelve, and other family members died during the Genocide. Because of political realities during the Cold War and other limitations, this trip was my first visit. I felt at home in Armenia as I have felt nowhere else.

Our team went to the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh where we worked on several houses and a medical clinic in the village of Kashatagh. The buildings had been bombed during earlier warfare by Azerbaijan. One family–a widow and four children–lived in two rooms of a house that originally contained six rooms. I helped rebuild the community medical clinic, which needed a new roof, new floor, and more.

During our working time, the Armenian army shot down an Azeri drone weapon in the area. Two months after returning to the United States, I learned that Azerbaijan bought the drone from Turkey. Turkey in turn bought that drone from Israel, which bought the drone from a U. S. defense contractor.

The warfare in the Armenian area of Artsakh began in 1989. Russia negotiated a ceasefire in May of 1993, and the government of Azerbaijan officially recognized Artsakh as part of that ceasefire. Violations of the truce began soon after the announcement and have continued for thirty years. Pogroms against Armenians took place in Baku and Sumgait, Azerbaijan in the early 1990s. The chess champion Garry Kasparov and his family are one example of the many who escaped the violence against Armenians in Baku.

On Sept. 27, 2020, Azerbaijan, with the encouragement and aid of the Republic of Turkey, attacked Artsakh and fired drone missiles and cluster bombs at Armenian defense positions and at civilian targets, including the Armenian Orthodox Cathedral at Shushi. Turkish troops are also engaged on the battlefield. Credible sources indicate that around 150 Turkish Special Forces are on the front lines commanding Azeri battalions. Private contractors hired by Turkey have also been deployed.

Two Turkish F-16s have been photographed at Azerbaijan’s air force base in Ganja. Turkish drones, including the Bayraktar TB2, provide support to Azeri troops and jihadists fighting on Azerbaijan’s behalf. A variety of sources point to Turkish soldiers assisting Azerbaijan’s troops on the field, and Syrian mercenaries indicate payments from Turkey.

News outlets are now covering the war, though most media use the language referenced in my opening paragraph and ascribe acts of war to both Armenia and Artsakh. Armenia is defending the territory of Artsakh, not acting as an aggressor. Armenia and Artsakh have a combined population of three million people. Azerbaijan and Turkey, Azerbaijan’s primary ally, number 100 million people. It is an absurdity to think that the tiny nation of Armenia would go to war against such a larger pair of nations.

Who will show mercy and act with justice?

Official United States support for Armenia is minimal. Whenever the U. S. Congress considers legislation to recognize the 1915 Armenian Genocide, representatives from the government of Turkey testify that such recognition would damage government relations with Turkey. I am encouraged that members of Congress, including Reps. Adam Schiff and Jackie Speier, are sponsoring a resolution concerning this war. They have joined political forces with Sens. Ed Markey and Robert Menendez to bring a resolution condemning Azerbaijan and Turkey. Sen. Menendez, who sponsored legislation to give official U. S. recognition to the Armenian Genocide, tweeted: “I strongly condemn Azerbaijan’s attack on Nagorno Karabakh, yet another act of aggression supported by Turkey. The Trump Administration should suspend security assistance to Azerbaijan and engage through the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group to bring about a ceasefire.” Discussions through the OSCE Minsk Group have been taking place since 1994.

Descendants of the survivors of the 1915 Genocide live with nightmares of a renewed genocidal effort. We are aware that in a speech made to the National Assembly of Turkey, President Erdogan spoke of completing the work of his grandparents. His comment did not refer to building infrastructure, but to eliminating Armenians. That is the nightmare that every descendent of the survivors of 1915 has.

Here is a scenario that goes beyond the basic nightmare: Azerbaijan and Turkey succeed in their effort to eliminate Armenia and a re-formed Ottoman Empire emerges, which continues to expand outward. Pakistan and Afghanistan align more solidly with Azerbaijan-Turkey while Iran and perhaps Russia align with Armenia. These are the seeds of a world war. Please do not fertilize these seeds with apathy.

United Methodists have passed resolutions concerning genocidal efforts in Kosovo and Rwanda. We have worked for peace and justice. We have stood against acts of international aggression, especially the use of military force against civilians. We advocate to prevent violence against women and children. We have stood for persons displaced by war and other forms of oppression around the world. We have extended shelter and compassion, served food and clothing to the needy, help resettle displaced persons. All of these conditions apply to the Armenian people today. I call on you to notice what is happening now in Artsakh and to break the silence and to act on behalf of the Armenian people.

As Christians, we believe in the power of prayer and fasting. I invite you to join in daily prayer for peace and justice for Armenia and Artsakh. I also invite you to include these prayers as part of the Wesleyan weekly fast, following the example of John Wesley who fasted each week following Thursday tea until the start of the afternoon tea on Fridays.

Project AGAPE is a ministry to Armenia that is a collaborative effort of the North Carolina and the Western North Carolina Conferences of The United Methodist Church together with the Armenian Apostolic Church. The ministry began in response to the 1988 earthquake in Spitak and continues to serve the needs of Armenians, especially in Artsakh. Education is a strong component of the program. You may mail contributions to

Project AGAPE, c/o WNCC Treasury Services, PO Box 2757, Huntersville, NC 28070 or Conference Treasurer – Raleigh Area, PO Box 890202, Charlotte, NC 28289-0202

The Hayastan All-Armenia Fund works with a variety of organizations and projects to grow and sustain development within the country.

As people committed to the transformation of the world through Christ, our calling is to work for justice with peace. Please help Armenia.

Postscript: Violations of the peace agreement happened within a week. News reports are not promising as Armenian churches, cemeteries, and other cultural markers are destroyed. I hope that the new U. S. President will bring some attention to this area.

The Rev. George Donigian worked as an editor for Upper Room Books and publisher for Discipleship Resources. He also pastored churches and retired from the pastoral appointment system in 2020.