The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention has raised a
Red Flag Alert for Azerbaijan on account of the alarming possibility of an
invasion of Armenia by that country in the coming days and weeks.
“Azerbaijan has long coveted Armenia’s southern Syunik
Province, which has been discussed in the recent past as the site of an
Azerbaijani-controlled “Zangezur Corridor” to Nakhichevan.
Considering recent political developments in the
region—including the Azerbaijani invasion of Artsakh on September 19, 2023 and
the ensuing seizure of the territory—and well-established genocidal
Armenophobia endemic in Türkiye and Azerbaijan, an Azerbaijani invasion runs a
dangerously high risk of devolving into genocide.
We remind the world that genocide is not only expressed
through mass murder. As was the case during the recent seizure of
Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh in September of 2023, genocide can also be expressed
through a pattern of massacre, atrocity, and forced displacement from
indigenous territory when the ideology behind these actions is aimed at
destroying an identity in whole or in part,” reads the statement issued by the
institute.
As noted, although Azerbaijani officials have recently
distanced themselves from the plan for a “Zangezur Corridor” through Syunik,
there are several reasons for concern as Azerbaijan keeps calling Armenia’s
southernmost province Syunik “Western Azerbaijan”.
