Battle of Old Fort Wayne

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The Republic of Western Armenia, is a government in exile claiming sovereignty over parts of the Armenian highlands including sections of Western Armenia as well as Nagorno–Karabakh, and Nakhichevan.[1][2] Also, the self-declared country says it has its own presidency, government, parliament, constitution, national anthem and coat of arms.[3]

The individuals of the Republic of Western Armenia claim to be the legal successor of the Armenian state recognised by international law in 1920, and therefore internationally recognised.[9]

Background

The presence of Armenians in Anatolia has been documented since the sixth century BCE, about 1,500 years before the arrival of Turkmens under the Seljuk dynasty.[10][11]

In the 16th and 17th centuries, historical Armenia was divided between the Ottomans taking the West and the Safavids taking the East.

On the eve of World War I in 1914, around two million Armenians lived in Anatolia out of a total population of 15–17.5 million.[12] According to the Armenian Patriarchate's estimates for 1913–1914, there were 2,925 Armenian towns and villages in the Ottoman Empire, of which 2,084 were in the Armenian highlands in the vilayets of Bitlis, Diyarbekir, Erzerum, Harput, and Van.[13] Armenians were a minority in most places where they lived, alongside Turkish and Kurdish Muslim and Greek Orthodox Christian neighbors.[12][13] According to the Patriarchate's figure, 215,131 Armenians lived in urban areas, especially Constantinople, Smyrna, and Eastern Thrace.[13] Although most Ottoman Armenians were peasant farmers, they were overrepresented in commerce. As middleman minorities, despite the wealth of some Armenians, their overall political power was low, making them especially vulnerable.[14] The ethnic cleansing of Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire is widely considered a genocide, The Ottoman Empire massacred approximately 600,000–1,500,000 Armenians. The first wave of persecution was in the years 1894 to 1896, the second one culminating in the events of the Armenian genocide in 1915 and 1916.

History

On February 4, 2011, the beginning of the process of formation of the Government-in-Exile of Western Armenia was announced (now – the Government of the State of Western Armenia). In November 2013, through direct elections via Internet, the National Assembly (Parliament) of Western Armenia was formed, whose deputies at the first session of the Parliament on January 20, 2014, in Paris, elected the President of Western Armenia.[15]

The claimed lands

The "Western Armenia TV" newscaster introduced cities such as Bitlis, Muş, Van, Mardin, Iğdır, Adana, Trabzon and Rize as "Western Armenia" in his news bulletins.[16] Artsakh and Nakhichevan is also claimed lands.[17] The announcer also added that Western Armenia, which was declared an independent and sovereign state in 1920, is now occupied by Turkey. Sooner or later it will return to its true owners, the Armenians," he said.[18] Erzurum, which the Armenians call "Karin", is claimed as the capital.[19]

References

  1. ^ "Batı Ermenistan'a Hoş Geldiniz". Western Armenia TV. (in Turkish). "Artsakh ve Nahiçevan’ın Batı Ermenistan Cumhuriyeti’nin bir parçası olduğunu biliyor musunuz?"
  2. ^ "Batı Ermenistan'a Hoş Geldiniz". Western Armenia TV. (in Turkish). "Artsakh ve Nahiçevan’ın Batı Ermenistan Cumhuriyeti’nin bir parçası olduğunu biliyor musunuz?"
  3. ^ "Batı Ermenistan'a Hoş Geldiniz". Western Armenia TV. (in Turkish). "Bugün Batı Ermenistan’ın devletin tüm kurumsal yapılarına sahip olduğunu biliyor muydunuz: Cumhurbaşkanlığı, hükümet, parlamento, anayasa, milli marşı ve arması?"
  4. ^ "Return to the anthem of Western Armenia “Zartnir Lao”". "Western Armenia TV. "In May 2011, President Armenag Aprahamian sent a letter to the team manager Hakan Yavuz, thanking him for using the anthem of Western Armenia “Zarnir Lao” as the anthem of his team."
  5. ^ "Deputies of Western Armenia - led by President A. Aprahamian visited Karin - Western Armenia TV". Western Armenia TV. "Karin is of key importance because it is the capital of Western Armenia."
  6. ^ "Provinces and regions of Western Armenia - Western Armenia TV". Western Armenia TV. "The capital of Western Armenia, Karin, with an area of 25066 square kilometers, is the largest city in the region. Karin is the largest city in occupied Western Armenia."
  7. ^ "Interview with President of Western Armenia Armenak Aprahamian". Western Armenia TV.
  8. ^ "Batı Ermenistan Ulusal Meclisi 26. oturumu gerçekleşti". Western Armenia TV.
  9. ^ "Welcome to Western Armenia". Western Armenia TV. "Therefore, today there are two internationally recognized Armenian states: (...) The Republic of Western Armenia, the legal successor of the Armenian state recognized by international law in 1920."
  10. ^ Ahmed 2006, p. 1576.
  11. ^ Suny 2015, p. xiv.
  12. ^ a b Suny 2015, p. xviii.
  13. ^ a b c Kévorkian 2011, p. 279.
  14. ^ Bloxham 2005, p. 8–9.
  15. ^ "About Government" Archived 2023-04-15 at the Wayback Machine. The Government of the Republic of Western Armenia (Armenia).
  16. ^ "Ermeni spikerden Türk siyasetçiye çok sert 'Batı Ermenistan' yanıtı!". Rudaw. "Haber bültenlerinde Bitlis, Muş, Van, Mardin, Iğdır, Adana, Trabzon ve Rize gibi kentleri “Batı Ermenistan” olarak tanıtan "Western Armenia" adlı televizyon kanalı spikeri (...)"
  17. ^ "Batı Ermenistan'a Hoş Geldiniz". Western Armenia TV. (in Turkish). "Artsakh ve Nahiçevan’ın Batı Ermenistan Cumhuriyeti’nin bir parçası olduğunu biliyor musunuz?"
  18. ^ "Ermeni spikerden Türk siyasetçiye çok sert 'Batı Ermenistan' yanıtı!". Rudaw. "Ermenistan'da yayın yapan "Western Armenia" adlı televizyonun spikeri, “1920’de bağımsız ve egemen bir devlet olarak ilan edilen Batı Ermenistan, şimdi Türkiye tarafından işgal edilmiş durumdadır. Er ya da geç gerçek sahiplerine Ermenilere dönecek” dedi."
  19. ^ "Deputies of Western Armenia - led by President A. Aprahamian visited Karin - Western Armenia TV". Western ArmeniaTV. "Karin is of key importance because it is the capital of Western Armenia."

Sources

  • Suny, Ronald Grigor (2015). They Can Live in the Desert but Nowhere Else: A History of the Armenian Genocide. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-4008-6558-1.
  • Kévorkian, Raymond (2011). The Armenian Genocide: A Complete History. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-0-85771-930-0.
  • Bloxham, Donald (2005). The Great Game of Genocide: Imperialism, Nationalism, and the Destruction of the Ottoman Armenians. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-927356-0.
  • Ahmed, Ali (2006). "Turkey". Encyclopedia of the Developing World. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-57958-388-0.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_Armenia_Government_in_Exile&action=edit&redlink=1