A few days ago the news agency Regnum published a letter, said to have been written by a thirteen year old girl from Stepnakert Adeline Avagimyan to the president of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliev. Adeline asks the President why he wants Karabakh and why he keeps talking of starting a war to get it back.
A few days later Adeline was sent a reply from Aliev, written by senior official of the presidential apparat Elnur Aslanov. who questions Adeline version of history but invites her, her mother and father, and grandfather and grandmother to visit Azerbaijan and see for herself how Azerbaijanis live.
Girl power or people's diplomacy? Judge for yourself from the full texts of the two letters.
Letter of a schoolgirl from Stepanakert, addressed to the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev
13-year-old schoolgirl from Stepanakert Adeline Avagimyan wrote a letter to Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev.
Here is the text of the letter provided to the Information Agency REGNUM:
"Mr. President,
I am a Karabakh schoolgirl Adeline Avagimyan. I did not tell anyone of my intention to write to you this letter. For a long time I was thinking about whether to write to you this letter. I decided to write.
I was born and live in the city of Stepanakert. I love this land because Karabakh is my home, I was born and live here, my dad and mom, my grandparents were born here. Their grandparents were also born here (I guess you know that from very ancient times, when our region was a province of Armenia, Artsakh, it was called). I have many friends, and they love their country ... But I want to write to you about something else. I, like many, have problems, and I try as much as possible, to solve them.
In my spare time I think about many things: human life, the happiness of my peers who live very far from my homeland, in their country, different from ours. At night I stare at the stars in the sky and think if there, far away from our planet live other people? .. My grandfather said that he as a child also at night used to look at the starry sky and thinking about the same ... I wonder also about my contemporaries, especially those who in life had seen more misery than joy. I want everyone to live well, would have no problems and would be happy.
Mr. President, every time, watching TV, reading or listening to the stories of adults, I am surprised. You keep talking only about the Karabakh war and don’t seem to think of anything else. It seems you have no other problems and concerns and do not care of any other questions.
I never saw Azerbaijan. I do not think about you or about your country. My parents also do not think about you or about your country. For me it is not clear what you want from our country? I heard that you were never in Artsakh, Karabakh, have not seen our Gandzasar, Dadivank, Amaras, but all the time you are thinking about the seizure of our country. I cannot understand why you are missing this land, why would you want Karabakh? I heard from my grandfather, that before the war, even 50 or 100 years ago, when there were Azerbaijanis in Karabakh in the case of the death of one of their people they took the body from Karabakh and buried it in their true homeland, because we knew that this was not their homeland, not their land. Therefore, there are almost no Azerbaijani cemeteries ...
My father is a veteran of the Azerbaijani-Karabakh war. I have not seen war, but from the the stories of my elders I know that this is very bad, horrible thing, and never wished to see it. I am sure also that no Azerbaijan child would like to see war. But from my elders I constantly hear that if war breaks out again they will protect their country. One of my friends said that if he was not allowed to take up arms, he, like the French lad Gavrouche, will help protect our homeland. I'm also going to help my parents with all my strenght.
From my elders, from various people I heard a lot about how it happened. Artsakh people held a peaceful rally and said they wanted to join our Artsakh Mother Armenia, because for us Azerbaijan is a foreign country and we became part of it 70 years ago by a decision of Stalin. And in response, your countrymen killed many Armenians in Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and other towns and drove them from their homes. Not satisfied with this, your father went to war against my native Artsakh, but in spite of the fact that he was very strong, had a lot of soldiers and tanks, he lost in this war. I asked the adults how it was that such a powerful country lost, and they replied that we were defending our land, our homeland was attacked and the Azerbaijanis wanted to take over our country to, take away our life and freedom
If you start a war to take over our country, the whole Armenian nation will stand to defend our land. But I am sure that if you start a war, your children, your relatives and friends will not participate in this war and you will send our country common Azerbaijani youth. I know that if there is a war, many of us, including women and children may die, many children may be left orphans, but in this war will also be lost thousands of Azeri youths, and many of the Azerbaijani children will also be left orphaned. Is this what you want? Is this why you think every day about war and the conquest of Karabakh?
Why do you continue buying arms? With that money you could build a life in your country, for your people (especially for those who by reason of the war unleashed by your father became refugees) and they would be happy and would not have any problems. Is this not better than to send people to the front?
I really want you to reply to my letter and sincerely would say, why do you want to take my home, which does not belong to you. Why do you want my land, dont you have enough? "
Source: Regnum News Agency; Informal Translation: commonspace.eu
The reply to Adelina Avagimyan sent by Elnur Aslanov, Head of the Presidential Administration's Department for political analysis and information.
"Dear Adelina,
"The Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan treats the appeal of every citizen of Azerbaijan to President Ilham Aliyev attentively, so your letter could not stay unanswered.
"I hope sincerely that you wrote this letter yourself without any political scientists, and based on your sincere wish to live in peace and intention to return accord and stability to our common home - the South Caucasus.
"You write that you were born and live in Stepanakert. In fact, this city is called Khankandi. You write that you love it, because Karabakh is your homeland and the homeland of your parents and your grandparents. But the same as you, Azerbaijanis, whose parents and grandparents were born in Khankandi, believe it to be their native land, since this city was founded in the late 18th century by Karabakh khans, leaders of one of the state formations created by the Azerbaijanis of that time. It appeared as a settlement for family members and those close to the khan’s family. For the khans’ comfort, the first palaces were laid on the mountain slopes, a few kilometres away from the capital city of the khanate Panahabad, nowadays called Shusha. A village, where solely members of the khan’s family lived occasionally, received the name 'Khanyn kandi', which means the village of the khan, and later it received the name Khankandi-Khan’s village. Only in 1923, a century after its creation, was Khankandi renamed Stepanakert, in honour of Bolshevik Stepan Shaumyan.
"You would probably find it interesting to know that the same Shusha and Karabakh khanate joined the Russian Empire under the Kurekchay treaty, signed between Ibrahim khan Shushinskiy and Karabakhskiy and all-Russian general Pavel Tsitsianov on 14 May 1805. If you look at the text of the signed treaty and the parties to this treaty, you would see that there is not a single hint at any political role for Armenians in Karabakh. Though, we naturally do not reject that Armenians lived in Nagorno- Karabakh, but they were just a minority in the overall population.
"As I certainly don't want to give you a boring lecture on the history of the region, I would say that Armenians started mass settlement to the South Caucasus, including to Karabakh, only after these lands were annexed to the Russian Empire. The Turkmanchay treaty of 1828 that divided Azerbaijan between Russia and Persia, set conditions for the resettlement of anyone who wanted to move from Southern Azerbaijan, which was part of Persia, to the Russian-conquered Caucasus, and vice versa. As a result, under this treaty, tens of thousands of Muslim residents of Azerbaijani khanates left Russia’s Caucasus and moved to South Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of Armenians were moved to the Caucasus, historical lands of Azerbaijan, at the initiative of Col Lazarev (he was an ethnic Armenian) and the Russian envoy to Persia, A.S.Griboyedov. Thus, the tsar’s administration changed the ethnic composition in Nagorno- Karabakh in pursuit of its goals.
"I hope that when you are looking at the sky on one of the starry nights that are magnificent in Karabakh and dreaming of your cloudless future, you will ask your grandfather about it. It would also be appropriate to remind them - your father and mother, your grandmother and grandfather - that in 1978 the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh marked the 150th anniversary of their resettlement and in honour of it they erected a monument in Maragashen-Leninavan village in Mardakert-Agdara region. However, this monument was destroyed by Armenian armed formations in the initial period of the Karabakh war in 1988.
"And now, Adelina, imagine that about a million Azerbaijanis are unable to return to Khankandi and other Armenian-occupied towns and regions of Azerbaijan, including Shusha, Khojaly, Asgaran, Khojavand, Agdara and Hadrut, to the places of their children in Lachin, Kelbajar, Agdam, Jabrail, Fizuli, Gubadli and Zengilan, to the home land of their ancestors. Your Azerbaijani peers hope to see the homes of their grandfathers and grandmothers and their ancestors’ graves. I hope that you will understand the pain they have felt for almost two decades, even more than your age. How do you think they feel living far from their homes?
"I am sure you will understand that if an Armenian girl and her parents were born in any part of the world, it does not give them the right to consider this land historical Armenian land. You probably know that US pop-singer of ethnic Armenian origin, Cher, whose real name is Cherilyn Sarkissian, was born in the United States, while famous French actor and chansonnier of Armenian origin, Charles Aznavour, was born in Paris, but it does not mean that the United States or separately California, France or separately Paris, are ancient Armenian provinces. Though I accept that it is not what the history textbooks from which you learn in Khankandi schools and the adults around you suggest.
"They, these adults, have certainly seen so many things in their life and they have a right to their own opinion. Simply, next time that they start telling you that Karabakh has always been historical Armenian land, remind them about the 150th anniversary of the resettlement of Armenians to Nagorno-Karabakh. When the adults start telling you that Artsakh is an ancient Armenian province, remind them of the words of prominent Armenian historian, Academician Suren Tigranovich Yeremyan, who wrote about ancient Albanians, not about ancient Armenian provinces Artsakh and Utik. And when adults start telling you about Sumgayit, Kirovabad [Ganja] and Baku, let them first tell you about pogroms and atrocities in Gafan, Megri, Asgaran and Gukark. There were more victims among Armenian residents of Azerbaijani origin than among Armenians in Azerbaijani cities. Ask your adults: was there a single Azerbaijani, who took part in pogroms against his countrymen in Gukark and other Armenian regions, like the Sumgayit murderer Eduard Grigoryan did? Has an Armenian given refuge to an Azerbaijani or rescued his neighbour?
"Adelina, today you are 13. Most of those Azerbaijanis, who were brutally and inhumanely killed in Khojaly on 26 February 1992, were the same age. They were killed just to ‘break a stereotype’, as Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan said. Remember this date. It was real genocide. Among the 613 people killed in Khojaly, there were 106 women, 63 children, and 70 elderly people. Twenty-five children lost both parents and 76 more were wounded, while 19 were taken hostage for future exchange. Most of these children were younger than you, Adelina, and some of them were burnt alive, beheaded and the eyes of infants were gouged out. Believe me, it is extremely difficult to write this without tears. This date has already gone down in history as one of the bloodiest crimes against humanity. No war can justify these barbaric and inhumane actions.
"You wrote that your adults told you that ‘before the war, even 50 or 100 years ago, when there were Azerbaijanis here, when they died they were carried away from Karabakh and buried in their native land, because they knew it was not their land. Therefore, there are almost no Azerbaijani cemeteries here…’ You should probably know that what you said just confirms the destruction of Azerbaijani, Muslim cemeteries, places of worship and mausoleums in Nagorno-Karabakh and adjacent regions.
"You, who have never seen Azerbaijanis, would find it interesting to know, especially because your grandparents would never tell you, that there were 37 Azerbaijani villages with 21 big cemeteries around the Azerbaijani city of Shusha alone. This city has two big Azerbaijani cemeteries: Mirza Hasan and Mir Faseh. There were cemeteries around old mosques Yukhari Goyhar-aga and Ashagi Goyhar-aga in the centre of the city, which have been destroyed. Old cemeteries existed in Gaybali, Gushchular, Zarifli, Safi Khanlar, Khalfali, Khanaly, Gushchu and other villages. Have your grandparents forgotten about the Azerbaijani cemeteries that were around almost every mosque in Nagorno-Karabakh, in Jidir Duzu area, around the mausoleum of Molla Panah Vagif and also below the city of Shusha?
"If the Internet is not prohibited in Karabakh, use Google Earth and on the photos from space, you will see devastated Azerbaijani towns, villages, mosques and cemeteries, located just kilometres from your house. The cemeteries around Tug, Akhilli, Salaketin, Garabaghli, Amirallar, Muganli and other settlements of Khojavand look like big black holes. In the centre of Khojavand (Martuni) where Armenians settled in the 1930s, there was an ancient cemetery and mausoleum Ashigli Gosha Gumbez, destroyed by Armenians in 1989. Not far from Khojavand, near the frontline, there is an ancient cemetery Nargiztapa, the burial place of the Oghuz khans, as well as Garaja Chaban, featured in the seventh century epos Dada Gorgud. In Findigli yastan, there was an ancient Azerbaijani cemetery, where some graves dated back 2,500-3,000 years. I could continue this list.
"Adelina, if you knew this truth before, would your parents have dared to look into your eyes and say that there were no Azerbaijani cemeteries in Karabakh?
"I don’t want to bore you with reams of historical facts but it is disingenuous to say that ’70 years ago a leader called Stalin deliberately transferred our land to Azerbaijan’.
"At that time Stalin had no voting rights and he merely took part in a session, where the majority voted in favour of ‘preserving Nagorno-Karabakh within Azerbaijan’. All those rumours about the alleged transfer of land are just an Armenian interpretation of history. Attempts to legalize the illegal decision about the unilateral secession of Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region [NKAR] from Azerbaijan in violation of the union and international legislation deserve the same attitude.
"Adelina, unfortunately, the adults, who tell you about the origin of our conflict, distort history and ignore the facts. You are deeply mistaken when you write that Heydar Aliyev started the war against your people. The unilateral decision on behalf of the representatives of the NKAR Armenian community in 1989 ignored the opinion of the Azerbaijani community and broke the law. By the way, you ought to know that the international community still considers Nagorno-Karabakh an integral part of Azerbaijan, which is proven by the resolutions of most international organizations, including the well-known UN General Assembly. It was not Azerbaijanis, who started the conflict as a result of which Armenians attacked Azerbaijani villages and cities, committed ethnic cleansing, targeting the Azerbaijani civilians of Nagorno-Karabakh.
"It is worth noting that the cease-fire was signed in May 1994 thanks to Heydar Aliyev who returned to Baku in June 1993. So, your father was able to return home alive. And you were born four years later.
"You write that you have never seen Azerbaijanis. I see. The time has come when there are no Azerbaijanis left in Nagorno-Karabakh, historically Azerbaijani land, while no one but Armenians lives in Armenia. Representatives of dozens of different ethnicities live happily in Azerbaijan, including Armenians, whom your peers can see here. You write that you think about it a lot in your spare time. Then think about how it happened, how Armenia has become a mono-ethnic and Azerbaijan a multi-ethnic state. If you do not know what a mono-ethnic state means, ask the adults. They can use the case of Armenia to illustrate their explanation of this word.
"Unfortunately, at present our two neighbouring states are experiencing a conflict that erupted before you were born and which still remains unresolved. I see that you think and read much about Azerbaijanis and the genetic incompatibility of our peoples.
"After all, this thesis was voiced by the second president of Armenia, Robert Kocharyan, and is now actively being repeated by Armenian newspapers and websites. So, Adelina, you should know that similar politicians who talked about genetics and the purity of the Aryan race came to power in Germany many years ago. Their policy led to a mass genocide of Jews in Germany, as well as the start of World War II. This war claimed tens of millions of lives. We do not want war, we want the happy, peaceful co-existence of Azerbaijanis and Armenians in a developing, prosperous region called the South Caucasus, which also includes Azerbaijan and Armenia. There was a time when we, Armenians and Azerbaijanis, lived peacefully in a single state called the Soviet Union. At that time many mixed Azerbaijani-Armenian families were created and the great Soviet and Azerbaijani singer Muslim Magomayev sang songs by Armenian and Soviet composer Arno Babajanyan. Ask Mum and Dad or your Grandpa and Grandma - they'll tell you about those times.
"The South Caucasus is sure to become a peaceful place as soon as we have our say together, solve the conflict and return to our homes. An early solution of the conflict is beneficial to all, including the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh, which includes you too. And nobody has the right to deny you the opportunity to live in your own land in Karabakh, just as no one has the right to deprive hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis of the right to return to their homes in Khankandi, Shusha, Khojaly, Asgaran, Khojavand, Agdara, Hadrut, Lachin, Kalbajar, Agdam, Jabrail, Fuzuli, Gubadli, and Zangilan.
"Perhaps you feel that this land has always been as barren, uninhabited and undeveloped as today. You are not to blame for what you think - you have seen Nagorno-Karabakh torn from Azerbaijan, destroyed by war. But there were times when the region flourished, when living standards here were higher than in the entire South Caucasus, where there was no ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis.
"But now the living conditions in Nagorno-Karabakh, unfortunately, are worse than those in Armenia from where people escape.
"Anastas Mikoyan’s prophecy has come true. He said: 'The Dashnaks are agents of the Armenian government, seeking the annexation of Karabakh to Armenia, but for the people of Karabakh this would mean the loss of their source of life - Baku, and link them with Erivan, with which they have never been connected.' I am sure that the adults have already told you who Anastas Mikoyan was.
"Unfortunately, those in Yerevan have not yet understood that by occupying the land of a neighbouring state and conducting ethnic cleansing both in Azerbaijan and Armenia, destroying cities and villages of Nagorno-Karabakh and seven surrounding districts, Armenia has really lost. It has lost the political and economic future of the country and of young people like you and is sinking into an abyss with the second worse economy in the world.
"'Today, there is a new generation of girls in Armenia who have no chance to marry, because all the boys leave the country,' Armenian political and social activist Karine Danielyan wrote recently in a letter to the government. You are now 13 years old, Adelina. But after a while you will also think about starting a family, you will begin to think about that very human happiness, which seems so close and real when you look at the distant stars.
"After all, it is not Azerbaijanis who drove the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Armenian population into this life.
"It was done by those who started the Karabakh recklessness, who ruled and now rule Armenia. They themselves live very well while the Armenian community of Nagorno-Karabakh lives badly. But what's worse is that hundreds of thousands of people in Karabakh and Armenia are held hostage to field commanders and half-witted extremists. But everything could be different, Adelina.
"And finally, a proverb says that it is better to see once, than hear a hundred times. I invite you, Adelina, to visit Baku, Ganja, Sumgayit and the districts of Azerbaijan, to see their development and new appearance. Come with your parents, father, mother, grandma and grandpa, they should have first-hand experience of Azeri hospitality and the creativity of my people, not just through hearsay. Come together and see how much Armenia is losing by occupying Nagorno-Karabakh. I am sure that after this your views about Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis, whom you have never seen, will change.”
source news.az
This story was compiled by the newsroom of commonspace.eu with reporting from Regnum News Agency and news.az
picture courtesy of Regnum (www.regnum.ru)
