Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Consent
SUBJECT:
Title
LETTER OF SUPPORT FOR ETHNIC ARMENIANS IN THE REPUBLIC OF ARTSAKH (CITY COUNCIL)
Body
I. SUMMARY
Nagorno-Karabakh, also known as Artsakh, is a territory in the South Caucasus that has historically been populated by ethnic Armenians and targeted for centuries by neighboring forces. After the disintegration of the Soviet Union, this region achieved sanctioned independence and had been protected by a cease fire agreement brokered in 1994 with the governments of Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Republic of Artsakh.
On September 27, 2020 the government of Azerbaijan, aided by Turkish allies, declared war on this region.
II. RECOMMENDATION
Recommendation
APPROVE and SIGN letter to congressional leadership supporting ethnic Armenians in the Republic of Artsakh.
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III. ALTERNATIVES
TAKE another action that Council deems appropriate.
IV. BACKGROUND
The Armenian people have suffered and been the subject of systematic and premeditated genocidal campaigns beginning with the Ottoman government through 1919 and continued under the Kemalist government of the Republic of Turkey through 1923. During this time, approximately 1.5 million Armenians were slaughtered with the goal of annihilation of the Armenian Nation. Additionally, during the period of the modern Republic of Turkey (1924 - 1937) thousands of women and children were abducted and required to change their Armenian names to Turkish names, convert to Islam and cleansed of their Armenian backgrounds.
This liquidation of Armenians had the consequence of permanently removing all traces of their homelands and enriched their perpetrators with their rightful lands and property. The current Republic of Turkey adamantly denies participating in these crimes against humanity throughout history, despite previous Turkish government admissions of involvement and overwhelming proof of their genocidal intent.
In 1994 a provisional cease...
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