Copy of letter from Avetis Aharonian, president of the delegation of the Republic of Armenia, addressed to the presidents of the delegations of Italy, France, England, and the U. S.
Paris, 15 May 1919
Dear Mr. President,
Certain regions of Caucasian Armenia are also claimed by our neighbors, the Georgians and the Tatars [Azerbaijan]. While the government of the Republic of Armenia awaits with patience and confidence the decision of the Peace Conference, our neighbor, the Republic of Azerbaijan, is seeking to create a fait accompli.
In conformity with the decision of the British High Command, the Armenian government has, since the month of December, ceased all movements of its army. By contrast, the government of Azerbaijan has begun marching its troops toward Armenian Karabagh and has occupied regions which are, without question, part of our territory. In conjunction with this occupation, the government of Azerbaijan has, by an official act, proclaimed the annexation of these occupied regions and has sent to it a Governor-General, Mr. Sultanov.
The General Assembly of the Armenians of Karabagh, meeting in Shushi on February 19, has rejected with legitimate indignation all pretense of Azerbaijan with regard to Armenian Karabagh, which said Assembly has declared an integral part of Armenia in virtue of the principle of nationality itself, proclaimed so many times by the powers of the Entente.
We have noted with deep regret that the Allied High Command in the Caucasus had given consent to the nomination of this Governor-General while declaring that this is only a temporarily arrangement and that the final determination of the frontiers depends entirely upon the decision of the Peace Conference.
It is infinitely painful for us to know that a territory which has always belonged to Armenia and which encompasses an absolute Armenian majority may be delivered, even temporarily, to an alien administration profoundly hostile to the Armenian element.
[…]
In fact, Armenian Karabagh, the mountainous district of Elizavetpol, Kazakh, and Zangezur, have a total population of 494,000 inhabitants; of these numbers 358,000 are Armenians, 24,000 other Christians, and only 112,000 are Muslims, Tatars, Kurds, etc. In addition to these ethnographic considerations, it is to be noted that this strip of land constitutes an indivisible part of Armenia, being the immediate prolongation of the Armenian plateau, with the same physical and geological formation, the same culture and the same history, and forming, in addition, the naturally defensive ramparts of Armenia against Turanic invasions.
All these questions are minutely exposed in the attached memorandum which the Delegation of the Republic of Armenia has the honor to submit to your Excellency. This memorandum proves in concrete fashion that the province of Karabagh and the adjacent districts as well as the valley of the Arax to Zangezur can, under no circumstance, be incorporated in another state.
[…]
The Armenian people which, during the terrible years of the war and at the cost of major sacrifices, has resisted the direct and indirect attacks of Tatars, Turks, and Germans, and has fought on the side of the Great Allies for the cause of justice and for the defense of its native soil, continues today the same struggle under extremely difficult conditions with the firm conviction that the Peace Conference will do justice to its undeniable rights.
In the name of our much oppressed populations, we have the responsibility to warn respectfully the Peace Conference that all arbitrary solutions that would sacrifice the legitimate aspirations of Armenians are bound to become in the future the source of new and perpetual conflicts.
The Delegation of the Republic of Armenia requests to be heard before a decision is taken concerning the future destiny of the Armenian people and the frontiers of its territory.
Please accept, Mr. President, the assurance of my highest regards.
Signed,
A. Aharonian
President of the Delegation of Republic of Armenia to the Peace Conference
[Republic of Armenia Archives, File No. 105]
The Karabagh File, Documents and Facts, 1918-1988, First Edition, Cambridge Toronto 1988, by the ZORYAN INSTITUTE, edited by: Gerard J. LIBARIDIAN, pp. 19-21.
