Impunity, Lack of Humanitarian Intervention, and International Apathy: The Blockade of the Lachin Corridor in Historical Perspective

Abstract:This article will analyze the existential threat facing by the Armenians of the beleaguered Republic of Artsakh in the context of three phases of mass violence inflicted on Armenians in the modern period: the Hamidian Massacres of 1894–1896, the Adana Massacres of 1909, and the Armenian Genocide (1915–1923). Despite the teleological differences of these phases, there seems to be three key common denominators connecting all of them together: impunity, lack of humanitarian intervention, and international apathy. After dwelling on the history of impunity, the absence of humanitarian intervention, and international apathy, this article will concentrate on the disastrous repercussions of the closing of the Lachin Corridor and the ensuing humanitarian crisis in the fragile Republic of Artsakh. This article will argue that the three important factors that led to disastrous repercussions for the Armenians in the past are present today, thereby raising the red flag for potential ethnic cleansing.