The plight of Artsakh Christians and their dream to return home: 'Forgotten by everyone'
Ethnic cleansing survivors feel left behind in Armenian peace deal
Preserving the Artsakh identity
Another issue with the government housing program is that it doesn't prioritize keeping the people from Artsakh together in community, which Stepanyan said is needed to preserve Artsakh's unique culture. He praised the humanitarian program sponsored by the Tufenkian Foundation, which will soon cut the ribbon on a model village of 10 homes in a mountainous region of southern Armenia (an area that has seen significant population loss in recent years), providing housing and agricultural opportunities for several Artsakh refugee families.
"We are Armenians. We have the same Armenian identity, but like Lebanese Armenians, like Russian Armenians and other Armenians, we have some specific features of our identity, and we would like to have a chance to preserve this," Stepanyan said. "For that reason, we want to live together, but unfortunately, this [government] program does not promote it. It doesn't hinder either, but it does not promote the resettlement of people together."
Socially, Stepanyan said refugees from Artsakh have also faced "hate speech" from some Armenians, sometimes from government officials, blaming the Artsakh people for "surrendering Artsakh and not fighting." They have also been accused of "serving as a tool in the hands of the Armenian opposition for regime change," Stepanyan relayed.
While the hate speech is not widespread and hundreds of thousands in Armenia empathize with the Artsakh refugees, it is nonetheless a reality that they are trying to overcome.
"We are trying to call for the national consolidation to overcome all the challenges. But it seems that there is a political context and political intention from the Armenians on the side of the Armenian government to do so," Stepanyan said. "But still, I think it is not widespread. I mean, there are hundreds of thousands of people in Armenia who feel empathy towards the Artsakh people and are always ready to help. But still, some of this kind of hate speech always has a negative impact on refugees."
Stepanyan and other leaders of the Artsakh government-in-exile are working pro bono. Their government is not funded, and they are using the resources they have to keep the embassy building operational.
As ombudsman, Stepanyan said his main goal is to ensure that the international community doesn't "close the page on Artsakh." He wants Christians across the globe to speak out about the "erasure of Armenian cultural heritage by Azerbaijan in Artsakh." He also wants to create international platforms to discuss strategies for keeping the right to return to Artsakh alive, even if the cards are not on the table for a return in the immediate future. He is also urging international actors to advocate for the release of the two dozen Artsakh Armenian hostages who were illegally taken to the Azerbaijani capital Baku and are being subject to what the European Parliament calls "sham trials."
Artsakh leaders have expressed disappointment that the release of those hostages was not included in the terms of the Aug. 8 agreement and memorandum of understanding signed at the White House, saying a release was low-hanging fruit that the Armenian government failed to lobby for. They believe Trump would have pressed for their release if the Armenian government had asked for it.
Artak Beglarayan, a former state minister of Artsakh from 2021 to 2022, told the delegation that by 2022, the Armenian government had taken full responsibility for the rights of the Artsakh people at the international level, including the right to self-determination.
"But unfortunately, the current government recognized Artsakh as a part of Azerbaijan, giving a signal to the international community that there is no conflict between Azerbaijan and Armenia," Beglarayan said. "And Armenia doesn't argue any kind of rights, attitudes, security issues, etc. over the Artsakh people. Once we were forcibly displaced, … the Western countries, Europe and U.S. politicians, publicly said that there is a window between Azerbaijan and Armenia to sign an agreement. They encouraged Armenia to withdraw any kind of preconditions over Artsakh. We have certain disagreements with the Armenian government in this regard."
'We want justice'
Beglarayan said that the people of Artsakh desire peace more than anyone else but asserted that the peace agreement as constructed doesn't solve the "core problem of the conflict" and essentially makes Aliyev and Azerbaijan "a winner."
"We want justice. We are not against any peace deal. We are for peace deals, but we are against the peace deals which are not just, which are not dignified," he said. "And we think that since the Armenian government doesn't take any responsibility for our rights, including our right to return, that's why the international community doesn't do anything, including mediators, including President Trump."
"Since we have this as a reality in Armenia, that's why we want to use any alternative channels through friends, human rights organizations, etc., in order to raise our voice and to say that even if the Armenian government compromised our rights, even if they don't take any responsibility for us, we still have our rights," Beglarayan continued.
The International Court of Justice in November 2023 ordered Azerbaijan to allow Artsakh Armenians to return "in a safe, unimpeded and expeditious manner." The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, a bipartisan watchdog, recommended that the U.S. State Department classify Azerbaijan as a country of particular concern for egregious religious freedom violations, a designation reserved for the world's worst religious freedom violators. In December 2023, the State Department added Azerbaijan to its Special Watch List, a second-tier designation that doesn't carry the same weight as a CPC designation.
"Azerbaijan has taken everything so far, whatever they have wanted, and they use the fright to use force against Armenia," Beglarayan said. "The Armenian government and Armenian people being in a weak position and frightened fully, seeing that Aliyev enjoys full impunity by the international community, seeing that there is no international guarantees, the Armenian government explains that they have to compromise whatever they have compromised to save Armenia."
Such impunity, Beglarayan said, has allowed Aliyev's forces to continue destroying ancient Armenian churches, crossstones, cultural monuments and cemeteries "very openly."
"They are destroying our villages, complete villages, residential areas, our private property," he stressed. "They are settling our homes with Azerbaijanis. This is illegal and against both the ICJ and the European Court of Human Rights, which ordered that Azerbaijan should respect our rights," he stated.
Through propaganda, the Artsakh leaders accused Azerbaijan of having an "anti-Armenian hatred policy" that has incited hatred among the Azerbaijani people toward Armenians.
"We say that, firstly, we need justice for whatever happened, for the genocide, for ethnic cleansing, etc., in order to give red lines to Azerbaijan and Aliyev and to show that this reality, this injustice or the international crimes will not be tolerated," he added. "Secondly, we need to target the anti-Armenian hatred policy because it is the No. 1 driver for all kinds of international crimes committed against Armenians since the 1980s. This is the No. 1 ideological foundation for these crimes, and this is also the No. 1 driver for Aliyev's power because he uses the external enemy's image inside Azerbaijan to deviate from, to disrupt from domestic problems, human rights violations, poverty, corruption, everything."
'Obligated before God'
Among those in the Save Armenia delegation was Alveda King, an evangelist, gospel singer, pro-life leader and niece of the slain American civil rights icon Martin Luther King. With the delegation having met with high-ranking leaders in the Armenian government, King stressed that she believes the release of the Artsakh Armenian hostages in Baku is "a priority."
"I cannot say that with authority. I cannot give you any evidence that it is a priority. But deep in my heart, I know it is a priority, and it will be a priority," she said. "Now, [I don't know] how that will work or be handled, and it is very fair that you asked us to help amplify your voice and let your plight be known. Human dignity demands that. ... I'm now obligated before God to pray about it and see what I personally can do."
Save Armenia Director Matias Perttula agreed.
"I've heard it from every relevant party, including the Armenian [government], that [the hostages] are being labeled as low-hanging fruit, … basically saying that we can get this thing done," Perttula said. "So that's one issue that I really want to push for that release."
When it comes to the right to return for the Artsakh people, Stepanyan understands that returning is not feasible without international protection, but cited examples such as in Kosovo, where international presence enabled a right to return. Beglarayan views a role for the international community to help create a path for return.
"Right of return is a strategic vision. We are not saying, 'please help us to return now,'" Beglarayan said.
"We say that, please help us to develop the agenda, to develop the international platform, format, mechanisms to prepare documents for that, to have legal decisions, orders, court orders, etc. Because one day, we hope that the world order will be different. I don't know when — three years, five years, 10 years, 20 years, etc. And in that case, maybe the rights of victimized groups could be restored, including our rights. But in order to reach our return, we need small steps."
