An appeal to the authorities of the Republic of Poland for aid for Artsakh to rescue human lives, and Christian cultural artefacts and monuments destroyed in the barbaric attacks of the Azerbaijani army supported by Turkey and by Muslim mercenaries, was made by representatives of the Polish academic and cultural world, diplomats, clergymen, columnists, activists of the Polish diaspora, and representatives of social life. The appeal was also supported by Andrzej Pisowicz, Fr. Józef Naumowicz, Krzysztof Stopka, Andrzej A. Zięba and Jakub Osiecki, who are all scholars associated with the Research Centre for Armenian Culture. The text of the appeal appears below.

Pictured: Gandzasar Monastery in Artsakh, formerly the seat of the Catholicos of Aghwan, the heads of the Church of Caucasian Albania

We appeal to the authorities of the Republic of Poland to take immediate action to help Artsakh (this is what Armenians call Nagorno-Karabakh).

We also appeal to the authorities of the Republic of Poland to raise the issue in the international forum and to take action to develop a lasting and just political solution to the conflict in Artsakh, which will guarantee the protection of civilians and cultural property (with particular emphasis on Christian heritage).

During the recently concluded hostilities, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights drew attention to the possibility of Azerbaijan committing war crimes due to indiscriminate attacks on Armenian civilians. Particular anxiety is aroused by memories of the year 1915, when the Turks initiated genocide against Armenians (approximately 1.5 million murdered) as well as Greeks and Assyrians (together, approximately 1.5 million victims), and also by memories of the turn of the 1990s, when pogroms against Armenians (including in Baku and Sumgait) were committed by Azerbaijanis. Also noteworthy is the rhetoric of leading Azerbaijani politicians, who have referred to Armenians as ‘Christian dogs.’ In 2005, on the ninetieth anniversary of the genocide committed against the Armenian population in Turkey during World War I, the Sejm of the Republic of Poland passed a resolution in which it is written, inter alia, that, ‘remembrance of the victims of this crime and its condemnation is a moral obligation of all humanity, all states and all people of good will.’

Media reports of Turkish support for Azerbaijan bring back memories of tragic events for Armenians. In a situation where the status of Artsakh is not regulated, as mentioned in the Madrid Principles developed by the Minsk Group of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, among others, fears of another genocide (in the form known as ethnic cleansing) would be justified. Correspondents also confirm the presence in Azerbaijan of terrorists and mercenaries from Syria, Libya, Afghanistan and Pakistan, among others.

We strongly emphasise that we are united by our deep opposition to the settlement of the conflict by armed means and to the actions of Azerbaijan (supported by Turkey and the militants of the so-called Islamic State), which violate human rights.

The death of innocent victims, the pain and suffering of the civilian population, the large number of seriously wounded, the thousands of refugees leaving their native land (including terrified women and children), and the churches, hospitals, schools and houses turned to rubble: these are images of war that – with tears in their eyes – only the oldest Poles recall. However, not quite three thousand kilometres from Poland, this is the current reality of the drama of a war that has played out in recent weeks before the eyes of the entire civilised world.

In the face of a serious humanitarian crisis, it is necessary to take action to mobilise all of the aid within the power of our state (especially humanitarian aid) for the victims of the hostilities taking place in Artsakh.

Recently, information has been circulating the world about the aggression of Azerbaijan, about the escalation of the conflict between Azerbaijanis and Armenians and about further victims of the war, but for Polish Armenians ‒ citizens of the Republic of Poland ‒ these were not just ordinary media reports, after all, they were often about the suffering of their relatives, compatriots, friends and acquaintances.

Let us remember that the Armenians, during the seven centuries of their presence in their new homeland, never forgot their roots and became the most faithful minority in the Polish state. It was even said (not without reason) that ‘an Armenian is twice a Pole’. Major Walerian Tumanowicz (participant in the Polish-Bolshevik War, the Defensive War of 1939 and an officer of the Home Army, an unbreakable soldier, victim of judicial murder in a communist court in 1947) proudly said during his trial: ‘by blood I am an Armenian, by soul and conviction a Pole’. This hero’s words were and are shared by thousands of Poles with Armenian roots.

It is worth noting that Armenia ‒ the first country in the world to adopt Christianity (in 301) ‒ is also home to Poles (some of our compatriots are active in the ‘Polonia’ Union of Poles in Armenia).

World leaders are not only making important statements about these events, they are also taking appropriate action, as exemplified by the reactions of the President of the United States and of the President of the French Republic, among others.

Edmund Burke’s timeless aphorism, ‘All that is needed for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,’ should also guide us in the case of Artsakh. An agreement that does not define the status of Artsakh, threatens the progressive destabilisation of the region and the spread of the conflict to the so-called Transcaucasus, which may lead to serious and unpredictable consequences, as well as threaten international security. For these reasons, it is necessary to take decisive action that will lead to international security guarantees.

We trust that the authorities of the Republic of Poland will explore all possible avenues, and take all possible measures, to ensure an appropriate response from the international community and assistance for the victims of warfare.

Dr. hab. Michael Abdalla, professor of the Adam Mickiewicz University
Fr. Prof. Dr. hab. Paweł Bortkiewicz
Prof. Marek Jan Chodakiewicz
Dr. Marta Cywińska, writer
Prof. Dr. hab. Antoni Dudek, lecturer at the Cardinal Wyszyński University in Warsaw
Dr. Bartłomiej Grysa, orientalist, journalist
Liana Harutyunyan, President of the ‘Polonia’ Union of Poles in Armenia
Fr. Tadeusz Isakowicz-Zaleski
Dr. hab. Renata Król-Mazur, Jagiellonian University, Secretary of the Institute of Armenian Studies
Prof. Dr. hab. Grzegorz Kucharczyk
Michał Listkiewicz, former president of the Polish Football League, referee at the World Cup finals, chairman of the Armenian Referees Committee, philologist, translator, columnist
Dr. Dominika Maria Macios, Polish Institute for Research on World Art
Prof. Dr. hab. Stanisław Mikołajczak, President of the Civic Academic Club in Poznań
Prof. Dr. hab. Witold Modzelewski
Prof. Dr. hab. Aleksander Nalaskowski, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń
Fr. Prof. Dr. hab. Józef Naumowicz
Jadwiga Nowakowska, director of the film ‘Land of War and Dreams’
Jerzy Marek Nowakowski, former ambassador of Poland to Armenia
Dr. Jakub Osiecki, secretary of the Armenian Cultural Society
Prof. Dr. hab. Andrzej Pisowicz
Witold Repetowicz
Marek Reszuta, former chargé d’affaires a.i. and Head of the Political and Economic Section of the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Yerevan
Prof. Dr. hab. Krzysztof Stopka
Łukasz Warzecha, columnist
Dr. hab. Andrzej A. Zięba, director of the Research Centre for Armenian Culture in Poland (within PAU)
Prof. Dr. hab. Jan Żaryn, Institute of History, Cardinal Wyszyński University in Warsaw

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