Oskanian: Allowing Azerbaijan`s actions to go unchallenged is a  signal that ethnic cleansing can be conducted with impunity

ArmInfo. Azerbaijan once again demonstrated its disregard for justice, human rights and international law by staging a sham trial against the leaders of Artsakh. Former Armenian Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian writes about this in his article, commenting on the judicial sham trial that began today in Baku against the former military-political leadership of Nagorno-Karabakh.

As the former head of the Foreign Ministry noted, this grotesque  spectacle is the latest act by Baku to erase the Armenian presence  from a region that has been its cultural and historical heartland for  centuries. It also serves as glaring indictment of the  international  community's failure to act and, perhaps most damningly, of the  Armenian government's complicity  in the tragic dismantling of  Artsakh.

"This trial is not an isolated case. It is the culmination of a  Azerbaijan's deliberate campaign of ethnic cleansing.  Just over a  year ago, Azerbaijan expelled 120,000 ethnic Armenians from  Nagorno-Karabakh, blockading the region for nine months before  launching a brutal military assault in September 2023. Since then, it  has razed cultural landmarks, desecrate cemeteries, and sought to  rewrite history by erasing the Armenian identity of the region,"  Oskanian emphasized.

He, however, reminded that Azerbaijan does not act in a vacuum. Its  aggression was enabled by the deafening silence of the international  community and the shameful passivity of the major powers.   "Statements of 'concern' are not substitute  for meaningful actions.  The co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, once tasked with brokering  peace, have abandoned their responsibilities, leaving Azerbaijan free  to trample on international norms with impunity. Equally culpable is   Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, whose complicity has brought  shame upon the Armenian nation. Pashinyan's government has  consistently failed to protect the people of Artsakh. His  administration's  lack of  preparedness, refusal to engage  diplomatically, and failure to mobilize the international community  allowed Azerbaijan to act unchecked. Pashinyan remains silent while  Armenian families mourn the loss of their homeland and their leaders  face imprisonment, his inaction  a stain to Armenia's honor and a  betrayal of its commitment to its people's survival. The  international community must wake up to the consequences of its  indifference.  Allowing Azerbaijan's actions to go unchallenged sets  a dangerous precedent. It signals  that ethnic cleansing can be  conducted with impunity, that international law can be trampled with  consequence, and that justice is an empty word. This moment also  demands introspection from the Armenian people and their government,"  said the former minister.

He stressed that Pashinyan's failures cannot be forgotten or  forgiven. The Armenian nation must demand leadership that will stand  firm against aggression, protect its people, and rebuild its dignity  on the international stage.  "The trials in Baku are not just an   attack on the Armenian people. They are a test of humanity's  commitments to justice and human rights. The world must not let  Azerbaijan's sham justice prevail. It is time to stand with the  Armenian people, for justice, for truth, and for the principles that  bind us all as human beings," the former minister noted.