When a video of former President of Armenia Levon-Ter Petrosyan confessing to ethnic cleansing against non-Armenians in Armenia and the Karabakh region of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the congress of the terrorist organization “Yerkrapa” in 1993 was revealed 31 years later, it led to serious debate. Yerkpara was founded by Armenia’s first defense minister, Vazgen Sargsyan, following independence in 1991. It consisted of Armenian volunteers. This terrorist organization played an active role in the occupation of Azerbaijan territories and the Khojaly genocide.
The initially released video showed Petrosyan, whom the outside considered a pragmatic and rational head of state, stating at the congress: “Armenia and Karabakh have been fully cleansed of other ethnicities … it is a 600-year-old problem.” Those whom Petrosyan mentioned as expelled from Armenia and Karabakh were Azerbaijanis who were forced from their historical lands. Indeed, Petrosyan admitted that Azerbaijanis constitute the majority in some regions of Armenia and said: “Remember that Azerbaijanis constituted a majority in three regions. Those were Vardenis, Masis and Amasia. They also constituted a significant majority in the Zangezur region.”
A few days later, the remaining video of the meeting was released. In it, then-Armenian Defense Minister and Yerkpara founder Vazgen Sargsyan said: “I could not disclose what the president said at this meeting. But these things must remain secret here. Otherwise, we will be in an unfair position in front of the world community.” This video surfaced 32 years later, but the outside world misled Sargsyan as it did not react appropriately and necessarily to then-President Petrosyan’s confession of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis.
Although ignored by Western and Armenian media and politicians, this video caused discussions in Azerbaijan and Armenian social media from different perspectives. Azerbaijan saw this statement as an admission by the Armenian president of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis. Armenian social media did not deny Petrosyan’s confession by saying, “Yes, these things were done, but they were done during wartime.” The Armenian side’s acceptance of the confession of the country’s former president constituted recognition of a clear violation of the laws that regulate such issues during wartime. Such laws of war are the reason why politicians and soldiers who carry out these actions and make such statements during wartime, anywhere in the world, are judged in front of international courts.
Facts emerge sooner or later
In reality, this video deserves further analysis in several respects, which reveal some important considerations. Armenian political parties and opinion leaders do not see such explanations and actions as war crimes but rather accept them as part of a narrative of epic heroism in Armenian society. Unfortunately, instead of criticizing and condemning this situation, political and factional leaders choose to embrace this narrative, leading to it being accepted as normal in society. We see this in situations such as the veneration of members of the ASALA terrorist organization, who killed Turkish diplomats and their relatives, and Monte Melkonyan, one example of those who carried out the occupation, massacre and genocide in Karabakh.
Levon-Petrosyan’s statement contains two important confessions. First, the fact that Azerbaijanis have lived on these lands for centuries and Azerbaijanis are the indigenous people of this region within the borders of the current Armenian state. Second, it is a direct confession of the ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis from the Armenian president. Unfortunately, in the past 100 years, this population was expelled from its homeland thrice: in 1918-1920, 1947-1953 and 1987-1990. They had the opportunity to return after the first two expulsions but not following the latest one. It is known that, before the First Karabakh War of 1987-1990, around 300,000 Azerbaijanis living in Armenia were forcibly expelled from their lands. During this expulsion, hundreds of these Azerbaijanis were attacked and killed.
After Karabakh was liberated from occupation, the expelled Azerbaijanis organized themselves and addressed Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and the world community, stating that they wanted to return home in dignity and safety. Although they received positive messages from the U.N. and some international organizations, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan opposed their right to return. In fact, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called on Pashinyan to meet with and listen to Azerbaijanis who wanted to return to their homeland. However, Pashinyan remained opposed to this idea.
Petrosyan’s confession also confirms that Azerbaijanis were expelled not only from within the borders of Armenia but also from the seven internationally recognized regions of Karabakh and its surroundings. After the First Karabakh War, which began in 1991, around 600,000 Azerbaijanis living in Karabakh and its surrounding regions were expelled from their lands. During this war, more than 20,000 Azerbaijanis lost their lives. Azerbaijani territory was occupied for 30 years and was only liberated from occupation by the 44-day war in 2020.
Petrosyan’s video, which was revealed 31 years after the event, is not the first confession by an Armenian leader. In 1997, then-Defense Minister and later President Serzh Sargsyan was talking about the Khojaly genocide, in which Armenian gunmen killed 613 civilians in one night. He confessed to this, saying: “Until Khojaly, the Azerbaijanis thought we were joking. But we broke this stereotype in Khojaly.” Former President Robert Kocharyan further explained the reason for the expulsion of Azerbaijanis from their lands during a trip to Moscow in January 2003, saying that Armenians and Azerbaijanis were “ethnically incompatible.”
Ultimately, the real problem between the two communities is not the absence of a peace agreement text but that the Armenian side is trying to legitimize Petrosyan’s ideas instead of opposing them. We learned through bitter experiences during the First Karabakh War that when normalization is one-sided, real peace and a return to normality cannot be achieved. To prevent this from happening again, normalization should be bilateral and instead of defending and legitimizing such statements, Armenian society should condemn and apologize for them, not own them. In fact, those who committed these crimes should be brought to court and tried.