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More than 500 renowned artists, scientists and professionals from around the world have signed a petition calling for peace and an immediate ceasefire in Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh). The full text of the petition is below.

“We, the undersigned, call on the international community, the citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and the citizens of the Republic of Turkey to demand an immediate cease-fire to stop the war launched against Nagorno-Karabakh and the Republic of Armenia.

Starting on September 27, 2020, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev launched a large-scale offensive on Nagorno-Karabakh, committing war crimes against its civilian population, settlements, infrastructures, and cultural sites with one purpose in mind: to exterminate the indigenous Armenian population and its heritage, through the combined forces of the Azerbaijani-Turkish army and mercenary fighters and jihadists recruited from Syria.

The 1994 cease-fire was signed by the Republic of Azerbaijan, Nagorno-Karabakh and the Republic of Armenia. And yet, instead of preparing these societies to make compromises toward a peaceful resolution, the Aliyev regime has encouraged and deployed aggressive behavior and hate speech against Armenians, as illustrated by the Safarov murder case in 2004, the cultural genocide of the medieval necropolis of Julfa in 2006, and the constant violation of the cease-fire as reflected in the four-day war in April 2016. This has distanced Azerbaijani society from the idea of a compromise solution.

The Republic of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh have advocated for a peaceful resolution to the conflict with compromises for all sides, which Aliyev’s regime has rejected.

The large-scale war now underway is an unprecedented violation of the 1994 cease-fire. Under the direction of President Aliyev, backed by President Erdogan, the Azeri army and its allies are committing war crimes, as defined by the International Criminal Court, by deploying cluster bombs against the civilian population.

As residents of a democratic nation, Armenians are fighting against two dictators seeking to use this conflict to destabilize the region and beyond. Turkey’s and Azerbaijan’s bloody and repressive assaults today are driven by the Pan-Turkish project. 

This is clearly demonstrated by Presidents Aliyev and Erdogan’s deliberately bellicose actions and appeals to acts of barbarism against all fundamental human rights. "Now we have shown who is who. We are driving them [Armenians] away like dogs. Azerbaijani soldiers drive them away like dogs," President Aliyev said on October 5. On the very same day the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nikol Pashinyan stated: “If we don’t all take a stand, we will be sujected to genocide.” The time could not be more urgent. Arayik Harutyunyan, the President of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) has taken pains to state that he does not view the Turkish and Azeri people as enemies. He said on October 4 “We are fighting against Azerbaijan, not against the Azerbaijani people.”

Numerous calls for a cease-fire and the continuation of peaceful negotiations have been declared by international organizations and world leaders, including the Presidents of France, Russia, and the United States. Azerbaijan and Turkey have rejected them all.

Today’s situation is yet another outcome of the failure to globally recognize and condemn the 1915 Armenian Genocide․In light of numerous violations of international laws, we call on all people and powers in the world to exert their influence on Azerbaijan and Turkey to put an end to this war immediately. We call for an immediate mediation process that guarantees the safety of all people throughout the region."

The full list of the figures who have signed the petition can be accessed here.