Conflict in Artsakh

Our community in Glendale is grieving the unprovoked attacks by Azerbaijan on the Republic of Artsakh, beginning on September 27, 2020. On September 29, the Glendale City Council passed a resolution standing in solidarity with the people of Armenia and Artsakh and condemning Azerbaijan’s aggression supported by Turkey. The County of Los Angeles passed a similar resolution, and the Glendale Unified School District issued a statement. The Glendale City Council adopted a second resolution on October 27, 2020 recognizing the independence of the Republic of Artsakh and formally called upon the United States to recognize the independence of the Republic of Artsakh for the purpose of bringing peace and stability to the region. 

The History of the Conflict 

Artsakh, also called Nagorno-Karabakh, is a historically indigenous Armenian land located in the Armenian Highlands Region (South Caucasus) with a population of 150,000.  The original conflict in the Nagorno-Karabakh region goes back to the 1917 collapse of the Russian Empire. Azerbaijan, a country of 9.9 million, claims Nagorno-Karabakh, but the Republic of Artsakh sees itself as an independent country. Violence against Armenians by Azerbaijan has marked the region, from the Shushi massacre in 1920 to the Sumgait massacre in 1988, and the Baku pogrom in 1990. Ethnic violence is a frightening development in the region, in light of the 1915 genocide of Armenians by the Ottoman Empire, and Turkey’s present-day support of Azerbaijan. We recommend the following resources to help you understand the historical context of this conflict:     

Articles 

• “Why are Armenia and Azerbaijan fighting and what are the implications?” Safi, Michael. The Guardian. Sept. 30, 2020. 

• “Enclave risks being spark in tinderbox.” King, Laura. Los Angeles Times. Sept. 30, 2020.  

• “The History Behind the Violence in Nagorno-Karabakh.” Baghdassarian, Anoush. Lawfare. Oct. 9, 2020.  

Books 

• Armenia: portraits of survival and hope, by Donald E. Miller and Lorna Touryan Miller  

• Post-Soviet Armenia : the new national elite and the new national narrative by Irina Ghaplanyan 

• Black Garden: Armenia and Azerbaijan through Peace and War by Thomas de Waal 

• Armenia's future, relations with Turkey, and the Karabagh Conflict by Levon Ter-Petrossian  

• My Brother's Road : an American's Fateful Journey to Armenia by Markar Melkonian​  

• Artsakh: A Photographic Journey by Hrair Hawk Khatcherian 

• Additionally, we have multiple resources in Armenian. 

Documentary 

• Dark Forest in the Mountains, 2006 

We also recommend these sources for information on the conflict: 

• Glendale Community College's Artsakh & Azerbaijan Conflict Resource Page 

• USC Institute of Armenian Studies' Focus on Karabakh Page 

• Promise Armenian Institute at UCLA 

• Eurasianet 

• EVNReport

Local Impact 

The Armenian diaspora has been protesting in Glendale and around the world in an effort to raise awareness to help bring the conflict to an end. Many local organizations are providing humanitarian aid to the thousands of people displaced due to the conflict; the City has compiled a list of ways to help.  

Between November 1-3 on Artsakh Avenue between Wilson and Broadway, Glendale Día de los Muertos will have an altar as a tribute and a sign of respect to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the Armenian people in Artsakh and Armenia.

Stay Informed, Stay Well 

You can find up-to-the-minute news articles from around the world about this rapidly-developing conflict through PressReader, which is free to access with your Glendale Library, Arts & Culture library card. It includes the Los Angeles Times and includes the Armenian-language newspaper Aravot/Առավոտ. We recommend evaluating all articles, videos, social media posts and other information sources to ensure that you’re getting credible news and avoiding misinformation, disinformation, and propaganda.  This infographic (available in 45 languages) from the International Federation of Library Associations, and the article it’s based on from FactCheck.org, are great tools for evaluating sources. 

The stress of this conflict is taking a toll on the Glendale community.  There are many resources available to people struggling with the situation in Artsakh. 

• ARMUNITY helps individuals and families in the Armenian community of Los Angeles find and receive quality mental health care. 

• Armenian American Mental Health Association (AAMHA) is a non-profit organization that advocates for mental health in the Armenian-American community. 

• GUSD held Mental Health Forum events in Armenian and English on Traumatic Stress and Intergenerational Trauma are available online.