DECLARATION OF THE ACTING GOVERNOR-GENERAL SULTANOV

History

DECLARATION OF THE ACTING GOVERNOR-GENERAL SULTANOV ON THE READINESS TO ESTABLISH TEMPORARY RELATIONS WITH THE ARMENIANS OF NAGORNO-KARABAKH BASED ON THE TERMS FORMULATED BY THE VII CONGRESS OF KARABAKH ARMENIANS Shusha, August 22, 1919

<…> From this day forward, the principles outlined above shall be implemented by me with unwavering firmness. A new era begins in the life of the population of Karabakh. Today—August 20*—is a historic day in the chronicles of Karabakh: today marks the laying of a solid foundation of trust between two nationalities and of stable statehood. I emphasize the phrase “foundation of trust” and pledge to uphold and realize this trust in practice.

Now that the temporary statute of 26 articles, developed by the VII Armenian Congress of Karabakh and guaranteeing all civil rights to the Armenians of Karabakh, has been approved by the government, this trust is fully ensured. To thoroughly and comprehensively study the needs of the Armenian population and to uphold minority rights, the government shall appoint an Armenian assistant to me. For the same purpose, a Council composed of Armenians and Muslims—three from each nationality—shall be established under my authority. It is essential that both the assistant and the Council members be individuals trusted by the Armenian population of Karabakh, elected by the Congress and submitted for government approval.

Recognizing as natural and entirely just the right of minorities to participate in all governmental organizations and institutions, I, as the representative of the Republic in Karabakh, deem it necessary—while maintaining the form of governance through the Governor-Generalship—to appoint Armenian administrative officials to the mountainous regions of Karabakh populated by Armenians, as recommended by the Council members.

The Council under the Governor-General, as a socio-administrative body, shall possess broad rights of initiative in all matters concerning the organization and governance of the Governor-Generalship. It shall also be granted the right to observe and oversee the regional administration, without the authority to interfere in its directives. This will facilitate governance and improve administrative health.

Considering the right of every nationality to cultural self-determination as inalienable, and seeing in it the sole path to the cultural and economic revival of democracy, the government recognizes the sacred right of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to cultural self-determination. To study and illuminate the cultural needs of the Armenian population more deeply and comprehensively, a body composed of the people themselves shall be established to assist the government—under the supervision of government-appointed Armenian representatives—in realizing the cultural aspirations of the Armenian population of Karabakh.

This body shall be the National Council of Karabakh Armenians, elected by the Armenian Congress, and tasked with implementing cultural self-determination without engaging in political matters.

Abnormal national relations in Karabakh have fostered mutual distrust and fear of aggression between Armenians and Muslims. Therefore, I, as the representative of the Azerbaijan Republic in Karabakh, declare that the peaceful course of life in Karabakh shall not be disturbed by anyone, regardless of nationality, and any violation shall be punished with the full severity of wartime laws.

Military units shall remain stationed in Khankendi and Shusha. Fully understanding that the movement of troops into Armenian-populated areas may cause anxiety and unwarranted fear among the population, I find it entirely appropriate that any such movements in the mountainous Armenian-populated regions of Karabakh occur only with the consent of two-thirds of the Council.

Embarking now on the path of peaceful coexistence, I find it timely and beneficial for the establishment of trust to announce that disarmament in Karabakh is temporarily suspended until the issue of Karabakh is resolved at the Peace Conference. No one shall be persecuted for political beliefs; individuals who were forced to leave Karabakh for political reasons are permitted to return; no one shall be prosecuted for participation in past interethnic clashes. The restoration of devastated villages and aid to refugees shall be among the immediate concerns of government bodies.

Freedom of association, speech, press, and assembly is guaranteed, insofar as it does not contradict the resolution of the Committee of State Defense of the Azerbaijan Republic dated June 11, 1919.

For the final settlement of national relations, I find it appropriate to hold periodic Armenian-Muslim congresses. I am deeply convinced that with the establishment of strict legality in Karabakh, peace and order will also be established, enabling the population of Karabakh to build its life on the firm foundations of mutual trust and solidarity.

Acting Governor-General Sultanov Central State Historical Archive of Armenia, f. 57, op. 5, d. 202, pp. 1–2. Certified copy. Typescript. Published in: Nagorno-Karabakh in 1918–1923, Yerevan, 1992, doc. no. 215. (As in the original.)

🇬🇧 ASSESSMENT BY THE MILITARY REPRESENTATIVE

OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE IN YEREVAN, JOHN C. PLOWDEN, ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF KARABAKH FOR THE ARMENIAN PEOPLE August 28, 1919

The transfer of Karabakh to Azerbaijan was, in my opinion, a severe blow to all. Karabakh means more to the Armenians than even their religion; it is the cradle of their race, their traditional last refuge in times of invasion. It is Armenian in every respect and represents the strongest part of Armenia—financially, militarily, and socially.

Source: G.H.Q., General Staff, Army of the Black Sea, Constantinople, “Intelligence” No. 2737 I, “Weekly Report No. 36; for the week ending 2nd October 1919,” Appendix D: “An appreciation of the situation in ARMENIA at the time of the departure of the British Mission from ERIVAN, 28th August, 1919,” by Lieutenant-Colonel J. C. Plowden, F.O. 371/4159. 145863/521/19. Published in: Artin H. Arslanian, “Middle Eastern Studies,” Vol. 16, No. 1, January 1980, Frank Cass & Co. Ltd., London, pp. 92–104.

🇬🇧 MESSAGE FROM THE REPRESENTATIVE

OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA ON THE POSSIBILITY OF ESTABLISHING AN AMERICAN GOVERNORSHIP IN KARABAKH August 28, 1919

Inform the Karabakh delegates Vartapetian and Ohanesian that, in conversation, Haskell expressed the possibility of establishing an American governorship in Karabakh. The Karabakh delegates should present themselves together with you. Inform Haskell that the agreement was forced under threat of mass slaughter and does not guarantee order. A memorandum to this effect has been submitted to Haskell.

Arzumanov, Melik-Osipov Source: Central State Historical Archive of Armenia, f. 276, op. 1, d. 42, p. 234. Typescript. Copy. Published in: “Nagorno-Karabakh in 1918–1923,” Yerevan, 1992, doc. no. 218.

🇬🇧 STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA

AT THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE, CONDEMNING THE AGREEMENT FORCIBLY IMPOSED ON THE ARMENIANS OF KARABAKH AND DEMANDING A JUST RESOLUTION OF A MATTER OF VITAL IMPORTANCE TO ARMENIA August 28, 1919*

In connection with the agreement published by the recent Karabakh Congress on August 23, whereby the Congress temporarily recognizes the authority of the Azerbaijani government over Karabakh, the Government of the Republic of Armenia respectfully submits the following to the high attention of the Peace Congress.

In 1918, during the invasion of Transcaucasia by German-Turkish forces, all attempts by Azerbaijani military units—who exploited the movements of Turkish and German troops—to seize Karabakh were thwarted by the heroic resistance of the Karabakh Armenians, who, by the natural logic of events, fought on the side of the Allies. When the great victory forced the Germans and Turks to withdraw from Transcaucasia, the population of Karabakh (essentially entirely Armenian) became the full master of its region.

When the Allied powers assumed de facto control over Transcaucasia, dispatching a British military contingent under General Thomson, the commander of the Karabakh forces, General Andranik, continued his victorious advance toward the capital of Karabakh—Shusha. In view of the Conference’s directive to immediately cease all hostilities and await its decisions, General Andranik was compelled to halt his advance. Upon repeated insistence from General Thomson, he withdrew his army from the Karabakh theater of operations, in full compliance with the expressed wishes of the Allied powers, as communicated to the Government of Armenia by General Forestier-Walker in his note dated February 19.

(The Conference had declared that any state attempting to conquer territory by force would harm its own interests and undermine its claims.)

However, in defiance of this declaration, the Azerbaijani government in early February suddenly deployed its forces into the Karabakh region—where, as noted above, General Andranik had vacated military positions—and occupied various Armenian strategic points that had been left without defense due to the aforementioned directive from General Walker. It then appointed a Tatar, Dr. Sultanov, as governor of Karabakh.

Despite the strongest protests from the Armenian Congress of Karabakh, the Allied command confirmed this appointment and informed the Government of Armenia.

The Armenian government protested these changes to the status quo both to the Azerbaijani government and to the Allied command, as they violated the arrangement established and guaranteed by the Allied powers.

The resistance of the Karabakh population to Azerbaijan’s incursion was so fierce that, despite the region’s lack of regular armed forces, Dr. Sultanov was forced to leave Karabakh and return to Azerbaijan. At that time, in April, the British commander in Baku, Colonel Shuttleworth, issued an official statement urging the population of Karabakh to submit without resistance to the orders and directives of Dr. Sultanov. Simultaneously, Colonel Shuttleworth attempted to persuade the Armenian National Assembly of the region to recognize the Azerbaijani administration.

The Government of Armenia protested these measures to the Allied command in the Caucasus, as they contradicted the initial decision of the Peace Conference and the undeniable rights of the Armenian population of Karabakh. The Fifth Congress of Karabakh Armenians, in its session on April 24, refused to accept any changes to the existing administration, even on a temporary basis.

At that moment, the Azerbaijani government unleashed regular and irregular Kurdish-Tatar units upon Karabakh, attacking Armenian villages, destroying buildings, and massacring defenseless civilians. Six villages were razed to the ground, and hundreds of Armenians were killed, many of them women and children.

At the same time, the British command withdrew its forces from Karabakh, and the American mission also departed. Famine began to spread, and the region was subjected to an economic blockade by the Muslim population, making communication with the Republic of Armenia impossible. It was under these conditions that the Karabakh Congress was forced to sign the aforementioned agreement.

The Government of the Republic of Armenia, presenting this situation to the Peace Conference, categorically protests against this agreement, which was imposed upon the population of Karabakh—a region that has always been an inseparable part of Armenia and currently comprises 355,000 Armenians compared to 133,600 Muslims of various tribes.**

Geographically linked to the Armenian Highlands, Karabakh constitutes a natural fortress of Armenia, without which its northeastern border remains exposed. To impose any administration on Karabakh other than Armenian would be to violate the principle of national self-determination.

The Azerbaijani government’s program of conquest in Karabakh aims to realize pan-Turkic ambitions—seeking to connect Azerbaijan, via Karabakh and Nakhichevan, with Turkey and Persia, thereby creating a compact Muslim bloc and severing Russian Armenia from Turkish Armenia, preventing the formation of a united Armenian state.

To achieve this goal, while Kurdish-Tatar hordes were ravaging Armenian villages in Karabakh, the Azerbaijani government was secretly preparing a Tatar uprising against the Armenian government, which erupted in August in the districts of Nakhichevan and Sharur.

The Government of Armenia, in presenting the above, once again affirms its unwavering faith in the supreme justice and arbitration of the Peace Conference and is fully confident that the Conference will take under its special and benevolent consideration the Karabakh issue, which is of vital importance to Armenia.

Please accept, Mr. Chairman, the assurances of my highest esteem.

Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Al. Khatisian Secretary for General Affairs S. Ter-Akopian

Central State Historical Archive of Armenia, f. 200, op. 1, d. 50, pp. 121–124, 153–155. Certified copy. Manuscript and typescript. Translated from Armenian. Published in: Nagorno-Karabakh in 1918–1923, Yerevan, 1992, doc. no. 217. Date refers to the accompanying document. **Refers to the population of all Karabakh, not just the mountainous region.

🇬🇧 MEMORANDUM OF THE GOVERNMENT OF ARMENIA

TO THE COUNCIL OF THE PARIS PEACE CONFERENCE ON THE URGENT NECESSITY OF IMMEDIATE INCLUSION OF KARABAKH AND ZANGEZUR INTO THE TERRITORY OF THE ARMENIAN REPUBLIC Late August 1919

The Government of the Republic of Armenia, concerned with the salvation of the only Armenian regions that survived the devastation wrought by the Turks—Karabakh and Zangezur—and seeking to restore peace and order in the Caucasus, finds it imperative to once again urge the Peace Conference to immediately incorporate these historically Armenian and currently Armenian-populated regions into the territory of the Republic.

The Government continues to regard Karabakh and Zangezur as inseparable parts of the Republic of Armenia, and this firm conviction cannot be shaken by the so-called agreement concluded on August 22 of this year between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the commission elected by the VII Congress of representatives of the Armenian population of Karabakh. This agreement is not the result of the free will of the Armenian people of Karabakh, but was coerced under the threat of total annihilation of the population and destruction of all its property.

The circumstances under which this agreement was accepted by the Armenian population are as follows: beginning May 28 of this year, by order of Azerbaijani Governor-General Sultanov, Azerbaijani troops and irregular bands began encircling the city of Shusha. The Armenians, adhering to the Peace Conference’s appeal to refrain from resolving border disputes by force and complying with similar directives from the British command and mission, undertook no military preparations and limited themselves to public petitions to the Mission requesting protection of their lives and property—guarantees which the Mission provided.

Nevertheless, on June 4, Azerbaijani forces launched a sudden attack on Shusha, killing over 50 Armenians. Upon occupying the city at dawn on June 5, Azerbaijani troops and bands ravaged the villages of Kaibalikend, Pahlul, and Jamilya, with the population of the first—women and children—entirely massacred. Subsequent attacks were carried out on the Armenian villages of Dashkend, Khanatsakh, and Khtsaberd, which were repelled by Armenian defenders.

Regrouping with new forces, Azerbaijani troops and bands then destroyed the villages of Dollanlar and Binyatlu. In addition to these mass assaults, Azerbaijani bands fired upon Armenian harvesters and prevented them from gathering and transporting grain. In less than two weeks, 47 Armenians were killed.

These military operations were directed by Turkish emissaries, including Kyazim Bey and Enver Pasha, who were hiding in Hadji-Samly. Their names and whereabouts were known to the British high command (General Beach, Colonel Sanders, and others).

The aforementioned circumstances—particularly the culpability of the Azerbaijani government in the bloodshed and the deliberate nature of its actions—were established by an investigation conducted by Colonel Clattenburg, Chief of the British General Staff, which led to the dismissal of Governor-General Sultanov.

Naturally, Armenian Karabakh expected further measures to ensure its survival. Instead, all British forces were withdrawn from Armenian Karabakh a full month before the British General Staff received orders for a general evacuation of Transcaucasia. Troops were first relocated to Muslim areas and then to Baku. This was interpreted by the Azerbaijani government as the removal of Allied protection from the Armenians of Karabakh, and by the Armenians as granting Azerbaijan full freedom of action. At the same time, Sultanov—the architect of the bloodshed—was reinstated, and Turkish emissaries continued their violent campaign in concert with Azerbaijan.

Under these conditions, the VII Congress of Karabakh Armenians convened on August 12. Despite the dire situation, the horrors endured, and the abandonment by the British, the Congress once again rejected even temporary recognition of Azerbaijani authority. In response, Governor-General Sultanov vacated the Armenian part of Shusha, where he had been quartered, relocated to the Muslim sector, began military preparations, and aimed artillery at the defenseless Armenians. He issued an ultimatum demanding that the Congress recognize, within 48 hours, the temporary authority of Azerbaijan over Karabakh pending the decision of the Peace Conference—threatening annihilation otherwise.

Only under the threat of destruction did the Congress nominally recognize Azerbaijani authority, and even then not unconditionally, but under terms resembling a truce until the Peace Conference resolves the Karabakh question. Notably, this agreement has not been recognized by large parts of Karabakh, including Jrabert and parts of Khachen. The question of Zangezur was not even considered, as its heroic population continues to resist with arms in defense of their homeland. Of the 255 villages in Karabakh and Zangezur, 130 refused to accept even temporary Azerbaijani authority, despite threats of death.

Only through violence—after the destruction of villages, the killing and rape of hundreds of women and children, and under the barrels of cannons—did the unprotected Armenians of Karabakh agree to a temporary truce, solely to preserve their physical existence, in accordance with the Peace Conference’s directive prohibiting the use of force to defend one’s rights.

During periods when Karabakh was not under threat of annihilation and its people could freely express their will, six successive congresses rejected even temporary recognition of Azerbaijan, confirming their decisions through written secular verdicts signed by tens of thousands of Armenians from all village communities.

The Government of Armenia is convinced that the Conference will not allow violence to prevail, and that the agreement signed under threat of death—clearly and explicitly a truce—will not be considered an expression of the will of the Armenians of Karabakh. Moreover, as the text of the agreement itself shows, the population looks to the Conference for salvation—a resolution method accepted by the other party, Azerbaijan, as well.

In this conviction, the Government once again appeals to the Peace Conference for the immediate inclusion of Karabakh and Zangezur into the territory of the Republic of Armenia. Their physical survival is not guaranteed by the aforementioned agreement and remains under threat. The Government does not dwell on the already well-known economic, strategic, ethnographic, and historical grounds—recognized by the Conference—which dictate the imperative necessity of incorporating these regions into Armenia without delay.

Central State Historical Archive of Armenia, f. 200, op. 1, d. 309, pp. 244–245. Draft. Manuscript. Published in: Nagorno-Karabakh in 1918–1923, Yerevan, 1992, doc. no. 219. 357

Yuri Barsegov “Nagorno-Karabakh in International Law and Global Politics”

Artatsolum

Read Also:

You might also like:

TESTIMONY OF USSR MVD OFFICER V. KRIVOPUSKOV

TESTIMONY OF USSR MVD OFFICER V. KRIVOPUSKOV

RESOLUTION OF THE SUPREME SOVIET OF THE USSR On the Enactment of the Law of the USSR

RESOLUTION OF THE SUPREME SOVIET OF THE USSR On the Enactment of the Law of the USSR

LAW OF THE USSR

LAW OF THE USSR

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *