MOURNFUL DATE

Jun 13, 2007
DeFacto Agency, Armenia
By Alexander AZARIAN

It has been fifteen years since an ancient Armenian region – Shahumian – has been occupied.

Shahumian region – Nagorno-Karabagh’s integral part – was artificially seized in 1923. Let’s again recall: in the course of a plenum of the Caucasian Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party it was decided to include Nagorno-Karabagh in the territory of Azerbaijan. It referred to the whole Nagorno-Karabagh, not only to the five regions making Nagorno-Karabagh Autonomous Region, but at the least fourteen more regions, including Shahumian. However, in 1923 Azerbaijani SSR limited the territory of the Nagorno-Karabagh’s Armenian autonomy, hypocritically calling them ‘’inhabited by Armenians’’. For all this the regions inhabited solely by Armenian were separated from the autonomy: Shahumian, Khanlar, Dashkesan (Karkhat), Shamkhor, etc.

All these regions were put to pressure by the Azerbaijani leadership. Their goal was to destroy Armenian villages or evict their population.

There is no necessity to write much about Azerbaijan’s political urban development, which may serve as visual aids of misanthropy. Shahumian region, situated next to Martakert and Khanlar regions, had no automobile road connecting it with these regions.

Since the beginning of the Karabagh movement Azerbaijan blockaded all the Armenian regions of Nagorno-Karabagh. Estranged from the Armenian autonomy and Armenia, the Armenian regions fell, unable to withstand the onslaught of the enemy’s superior forces. However, Shahumian opposed.

The inhabitants of the Shahumian region unanimously decided to require the reunification of Artsakh’s separated parts. September 2, 1991 Shahumian region became the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic’s integral part by the will of its population and the decision of the deputies of all levels, according to international law and the laws of USSR.

Infuriated with the failures of the plans of Armenians’ deportation, Azerbaijan sent 23d division of the USSR aerial-landing troops against the Shahumian region. The Soviet army dislodged the region’s defenders from three villages and returned to Kirovabad, while the detachments of pillagers from Azerbaijan People’s Front began playing the master in the captured Armenian villages. However, the region’s defenders organized lightning attack, making the enemy leave the battlefield.
However, Azerbaijan again turned to the 23d division and its mercenary commander, colonel Budejkin. This time tens units of tanks and fighting aviation was used against the region’s defenders, armed with machine carbines. It became impossible to oppose, and the Armenian detachment were drawing off, sheltering the population’s retirement.

Shahumian region fell. However, the spirit of a Shahumian man, who has lived and created under the canopy of sublime Mrav for ages, has not been broken. The enemy should know: we’ll be back. Wait a little, Motherland!

Note: Above are excerpts from the article. The full article appears here. Clarifications and comments by me are contained in {}. Deletions are marked by [...]. The bold emphasis is mine.