Devendra Kumar
Tensions ran high in Beirut as hundreds of Lebanese Armenians clashed with riot police outside the Azerbaijan embassy in the Ein Aar suburb of the Lebanese capital. The protesters, who waved flags of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh, had gathered to express their opposition to the Azerbaijani military’s recapturing of Nagorno-Karabakh, a disputed region that had been controlled by separatist Armenian authorities.
The 24-hour Azerbaijani military blitz had forced the Armenian separatist authorities to agree to lay down their weapons and sit down for talks on the “reintegration” of Nagorno-Karabakh into Azerbaijan. However, the protesters were skeptical of the Azerbaijani government’s promise to respect the rights of ethnic Armenians, fearing reprisals against those who had lived in the region for decades.
The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh had taken a dramatic turn after the Azerbaijani military’s swift victory, with more than 50% of the region’s population of 120,000 fleeing to Armenia. The separatist government, meanwhile, had announced that it would dissolve itself and the unrecognized republic would cease to exist by the end of the year, bringing an end to its three-decade bid for independence.
Lebanese Armenians, who have long been vocal supporters of the region, have been sending money and aid and actively campaigning in the media in support of Nagorno-Karabakh. However, the economic crisis in Lebanon has reduced the financial support they can offer, with banks imposing tight withdrawal limits that have restricted their ability to send aid.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh has personal significance for many in Lebanon, as they recall the mass killings of Armenians in Turkey during World War I. The events, which are widely viewed as the first genocide of the 20th century, had claimed the lives of an estimated 1.5 million people. Although Turkey denies that the deaths constituted genocide, the event remains a sensitive topic for Armenians around the world, including those in Lebanon.
The protesters outside the Azerbaijani embassy in Beirut were a testament to the enduring connection between Lebanese Armenians and the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. As they clashed with riot police, waving flags and burning posters of Azerbaijani leaders, they stood in defiance of what they saw as an unjust and oppressive power grabbing the territory they saw as rightfully belonging to Armenia.