Concerning Nagorno - Karabakn

PUBLICATIONS IN AMERICAN PERIODICALS CONCERNING NAGORNO-KARABAKH IN 1918-20 Haykaram Nahapetyan

On March 29 of this year on Azerbaijani day.az portal the publication appeared, according to which in the archive of “New York Times” the article was found where Karabakh and Zangezur were mentioned as parts of Mousavatist Azerbaijan (http://day.az/news/politics/151388.html). As Artsakh neither in the mentioned years nor ever has been a part of Azerbaijan (including the fact that the independent Azerbaijan had never existed before May 28, 1918) it remains to find out the backgrounds of another disinformation. It is worth mentioning what “New York Times” and other authoritative American media wrote about Nagorno-Karabakh during the short period of independence of the South Caucasus republics. Thus, day.az cites the “New York Times” publication of August 4, 1920 in which it is mentioned that “Karabakh and Zangezur populated by the Armenians were cut off the rest of the Republic of Armenia and were not controlled by the Armenian authorities due to the absence of the roads and communications”1. Azerbaijani propaganda machine qualified this information no less than “a historical proof that those territories belonged to the Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan” though the word “Azerbaijan” is not even mentioned in that media report. The fact that the Azerbaijani propaganda machine failed to find in the American archives any publication where Artsakh is clearly mentioned as a part of Azerbaijan is rather conspicuous. The most the Azerbaijani propagandists could find and slant to their false thesis was the aforementioned publication. And what did the American press publish about Nagorno-Karabakh in 1918-20 in reality?
In the “Chicago Daily Tribune” issue of July 31, 1919 we can read the telegram of the American army officer Major Joseph Green who was working in Tiflis to the Director General of «Neat East Relief» humanitarian organization Herbert Hoover who was in Paris at that time at the Peace conference. Later, in 1929-1933 Hoover became the 31st president of the USA.
“The Turkish army well prepared and Tartars are advancing from 3 sides…They have cut off the Armenian relief supplies and threaten all the remaining Armenians with the extradition”. According to daily, “Herbert Hoover, the Director-general of the relief, immediately submitted Maj Green’s message to the peace conference, which already had similar reports from other American or British observers”. “The disaster will be more terrible than the massacres in 1915 and the Armenian nation will be crushed, to the everlasting shame of allies…General mobilization was ordered yesterday…We shall no be able to carry on relief work much longer unless British troops receive orders to clear all Russian Armenia, including Karabagh and Alaghez, of Turkish and Tartar forces”2, - wrote Major Green
In the issue of “Atlanta Constitution” of the same date we read: ““The Turks and Tartars are advancing in the districts of Karabagh and Alaghez. They now occupy approximately the territory of Russian Armenia. General mobilization was ordered yesterday”3.
Naturally, the “Tatars” and not “Azerbaijanis” ethnicon is used in the publication of the American press. The latter was put into circulation only at the end of 1936 on Stalin’s initiative. Even more in those two particular publications the unauthentic “Tartar” variant was used. In 1918-20s in the American press the ehtnicon “Tartar” was used instead of “Tatar”.
In “Christian Science Monitor” periodical of August 5, 1919 it is mentioned: “Karabagh is inhabited exclusively by Armenians, and was formerly practically independent and self-governing”4. The citation from the same newspaper of August 28: “The cause of the trouble is said to be apparently political, due to the desire of Tartars to annex the Armenian province of Karabagh to the Tartar Republic of Azerbaijan. The information from Paris gives the following details: “it was on June 4 at 3 o’clock in the morning, that the Armed forces of the Tartar government of Azerbaijan directed by Dr Soultanoff, who had been imposed by force as governor of Armenian Karabagh, began the attack upon the city of Chouci, the capital of Karabagh”5.
In the issue of the newspaper of September 2 we can read: “Some weeks ago, it will be remembered, Major Green who is directing the work of the American Relief association at Tiflis, dispatched message to Mr. Hoover – describing how the Turks and the Tartars were advancing on the Armenian district of Karabagh. Already the most carefully organized massacres have been carried out at Chouci, the capital of Karabagh” 6.
Just in a year when the 11th Red Army was in Caucasus American press informed of the aspiration of Moscow to establish Soviet order in Armenia. In “Bolsheviki advance into Armenia” publication in “Washington Post: 20.07.1920 ” it is mentioned:“The Armenian Government having refused to obey an ultimatum of the Russian Soviet Government, the Bolshevik army has received orders to advance and already has occupied province of Karabagh” 7. The Sovietization of Azerbaijan took place on April 28, 1920, meanwhile Russian army moved forward to Artsakh in July, and this is another puzzle for the Azerbaijani propagandists to present the lie that Karabakh was a part of Mousavatist Azerbaijan to their own and international communities. On July 26 “New York Times” develops the theme: “Considerable Russian Bolshevist forces, chiefly cavalry, are overrunning the Karabagh district of Armenia apparently with the purpose of joining the Turkish Nationalists”8. Here is the citation from “Atlanta Chronicles” of the same date: “Considerable Russian Bolshevik forces, chiefly cavalry, are overrunning the Karabagh district of Armenia … The Turkish Nationalists and the Bolsheviki approaching Shusha”9.
On August 2 “New York Times” wrote: “Bolshevist penetration of Armenia is continuing, according to late advices received here. The provinces of Karabagh and Zangezour, it is stated, established Soviet governments on July 20” 10.
And on March 16, 1921 when Armenia temporarily regained its independency “New York Times” wrote: “A radio telegram from Simon Vratian, President of the Armenian cabinet, dated March 7 at Erivan, announces that the Bolsheviki are completely beaten and that all the country from Karabagh to Alagheuz – that is to say, all the territory not occupied by the Turks – is now administrated by our government” 11.
Other examples can be brought. In the citations from more than a dozen of articles Nagorno-Karabakh is clearly defined as historically Armenian territory and a constituent part of Armenia from political point of view, and Baku is presented as the aggressor which aspired to annex Nagorno-Karabakh to the Tatar Azerbaijan. As we can see American officer Joseph Green saw the connection between the Armenian Genocide of 1915 and the attempts to annihilate the Armenians in Nagorno-Karabakh in 1919-1920. This is another fact which proves that at the end of the 20th century the Armenians of Artsakh fought exclusively for their self-defence and averted the threat of new genocide at the end of the 20th century. And the references to “New York Times” in its aspiration to present Nagorno-Karabakh and Zangezur as their historical territories is another manifestation of the Azerbaijani disinformation in which Baku, in fact, tries to profit from the name of the authoritative international media.

1Doubt Armenia is invaded, “New York Times”, 04.08.1920.
2Turks, Tatars peril Armenia, “Chicago Daily Tribune”, 31.07.1919.
3Turks move to Butcher Armenians, “The Atlanta Constitution”, 31.07.1919.
4Maasacre reported of 200 Armenians. “Christian Science Monitor”, 05.08.1919.
5Tartars and Kurds slay Armenians, “Christian Science Monitor”, 28.08.1919.
6Armenia again, “Christian Science Monitor”, 02.09.1919.
7Bolsheviki advance into Armenia. Will give aid to Turks, “The Washington Post” July 20, 1920.
8Bolsheviki marching to join Turks, “New York Times”, July 26, 1920.
9Bolshevik forces appear in Armenia, “The Atlanta constitution” 26.07.1920.
10Soviet invites Djemal pasha to lead Musulman reds, “New York Times”, August 2, 1920.
11Greeks said to plan new drive on Turks, “New York Times”, 16.03.1921

Miguel Angel Nalpatian(1942).- Mar del Plata.- Buenos Aires.- Rca Argentina.-