“We don’t want war, we don’t want revenge. We just want peace.”
Due to the difficult situation in the Artsakh region, whose ethnic composition has been largely Armenian since ancient times, the Armenian community in Mexico convened on Saturday, November 7, a Classic Evening for Peace. Armenians and Mexicans of all ages gathered at the base of the Art Deco style clock located in Parque México, which the Armenian diaspora gave to this country in 2015. There, surrounded by calm water, rests a plaque in commemoration of the Centenary of the genocide suffered by the Armenian people from 1915 at the hands of the Ottoman government.
After a relative period of quiet, because peace has not reached Artsakh for almost a century, this region, also called Nagorno-Karabakh, was once again the epicenter of an armed conflict on the morning of September 27, 2020. The armed forces of Azerbaijan, with the military backing of Turkey, in addition to the support of Afghanistan and Pakistan, launched an offensive along of the Upper Karabakh Contact Line (1).
Faced with this event, the Armenians of the world and many civilians demonstrated around the world, condemning these military actions. In Mexico City, Meline Wanian, Martin Tiriaquian and other young people from the Armenian diaspora organized a small concert for peace. “With this event, which is totally pacifist, we want to show a bit of our Armenian culture. We want people to become aware of what Turkey and Azerbaijan are doing to Armenians, and therefore to international peace.”
Emma Melik-Stepanian, an opera singer, whose parents migrated to Mexico decades ago, highlighted the importance of speaking out at these events: “We know that Armenia is a distant country, but it is important that people know what is happening, because conflict can escalate. To the Armenians in Artsakh I would say: ‘They are as strong as the ancient Armenians, who were Gods.’
After the concert, a priest of the Orthodox Church led prayers for the Armenian people and those at the frontline, and immediately, each of the congregants took a candle in their hands, to take a walk around Parque Mexico, distributed flyers with information on the peace action, as well as the invitation to donate funds for the displaced and all those who have suffered the ravages of war. The candles rested until they were consumed in the waters surrounding the plaque in honor of the deceased, and all raised their fists to the sky, forcing the troops and people of Artsakh.
Following the capture of Shusha, the second largest settlement in Nagorno-Karabakh, a peace agreement was signed between the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan, and the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin, which put an end to all hostilities in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone from 00:00 on November 10, 2020 Moscow time. Armenia agreed to return other occupied territories surrounding Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan’s control over the next month.
Today, many families are displaced.
You can support through the Armenia Fund, one of the largest global collaborative efforts powered by the Armenian diaspora. Also through the Hayastan All-Armenian fund.
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Kofman, Michael (2 de octubre de 2020). «Armenia-Azerbaijan War: Military Dimensions of the Conflict». Russia Matters. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.