[August 1987]
Petition, possibly written by Suren Ayvazian, signed by over 75,000 Armenians from Mountainous Karabagh and Soviet Armenia, to General Secretary Gorbachev. Ayvazian may have been singled out for a particularly harsh criticism by Secretary K. Demirjian for his possible role in the drafting of this latest petition.
The First Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union M. S. Gorbachev
Dear Mikhail Sergeyevich:
[…]
Over many centuries its geographic position has made Armenia a garrison for Russia and a most important strategic center. For centuries Armenia has also shed its blood, particularly during Russo-Turkish wars. It was gradually losing the space necessary for its existence, it national core. By occupying Armenian territories, and faithful to its barbarian policy of fait accompli, Turkey in 1915-1916 organized the Genocide of the Armenians, which reached monstrous proportions. When creating the Soviet State, V. I. Lenin took into consideration the Russian government to use all means available to pressure Turkey resolve the Armenian Question. He demanded that Western Armenia be attached to Russian Armenia and that the Armenia being created have access to the sea, which was necessary for the free existence of the Armenian people.
Unfortunately, the illness of the leader of the revolution and then his death did now allow him to realize and apply his instructions and demands. Furthermore, under the pressure of imperialist Turkey, the historically Armenian Nakhichevan and Karabagh were annexed to Azerbaijan as autonomous regions and all of this was accomplished despite the fact that on December 1, 1920, the [Azerbaijan] revolutionary committee commissariat for foreign affairs published a government decision that stated, “Beginning today Mountainous Karabagh, Zangezur, and Nakhichevan will be part of Soviet Armenia.”
Because of Turkish pressure, this decision remained on paper. Already at the time, Turkey was developing its illusionary plans for the islamization of Russian territories and had begun the application of the cruel of Turkyfying Armenian regions. These two regions were thus forced into the Azerbaijani structure.
Today there are no more Armenians in Armenian Nakhichevan and Armenian historical monuments there are being destroyed in a most barbarian fashion. Every year the Armenian population of Mountainous Karabagh is decreasing, since impossible conditions have been created for the actual masters of the land. Despite this, the number of Azerbaijanis is increasing, i.e., number of Turks in Karabagh and even in Stepanakert. And in Shushi, the former capital of Karabagh, the Turkish population is reaching 95% of the total population. The contemporary proponents of Turkish Pan-Islamism are stating out loud, “That which was taken away from us by Empress Catherine without firing a shot, the communists are giving back with additional lands. They’re not only kicking out Armenian and Russian inhabitants from Nakhichevan and Karabagh, but also, by realizing the plans of NATO member Turkey, they have created a string of Muslim villages which consider themselves Turkish along the Soviet Froniter.”
When Turkey achieved the incorporation of Nakhichevan in the Azerbaijani Republic, it also bought from Iran a strip of land to achieve common borders with Nakchichevan. Please make the effort and look at the map to see that circle of land. By stepping over the Leninist principles of nationalities policy, by separating historic territories from Soviet Armenia and incorporating them in Soviet Azerbaijan, it is as someone in the past was working in favor of the interests of the Soviet Union’s enemy, Turkey, which is the guarding of imperialism, backwardness and aggression in the south of our country. Now on each side of Soviet Armenia there are Armenian Autonomous regions which are the only ones which purposefully are not named by national identity (such as Tatar or Abkhaz), but rather by their geographic names. Does this not constitute an insult to our country’s nationalities policy?
The inhabitants of Nakhichevan and Mountainous Karabagh have on many occasions appealed to Moscow asking that based on the Leninst principles the question of the incorporation of Armenian Nakhichevan and Mountainous Karabagh into Armenia be resolved. On many occasions, letters signed by the whole population of the Armenian regions have been sent to the leaders of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union. Ten years ago the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union Published letters addressed to Moscow by workers. In that collection one writer says rightly, “Due to events in history, a few decades ago Mountainous Karabagh was artificially annexed to Azerbaijan and in the process, the historic past and national identity of the inhabitants, their economic interests, and the will of the people were not taken in to consideration. Decades passed and the question of Karabagh continues to remain on the agenda and it is causing concern because it is becoming an obstacle to the friendship of two neighboring peoples. It is necessary that Karabagh (Artsakh in Armenian) be joined with Soviet Armenia so that everything will have been done properly.” (Note number 61, Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union, November 23, 1977.)
Dear Mikhail Seregeyevich, in the name of victory of historic justice, in the name of the realization of Leninist traditions, we are making an ardent appeal to you to reattach Mountainous Karabagh and Nakhichevan to Socialist Armenia.
Signatures.
[Droshak, Athens, October 13-14, 1987]
The Karabagh File, Documents and Facts, 1918-1988, First Edition, Cambridge Toronto 1988, by the ZORYAN INSTITUTE, edited by: Gerard J. LIBARIDIAN, pp. 86-88.
