MOURNFUL DATE
Alexander Azarian

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
June 13 2007

It has been fifteen years since an ancient Armenian region – Shahumian
– has been occupied.

Shahumian region – Nagorno-Karabagh’s integral part – was artificially
seized in 1923. Let’s again recall: in the course of a plenum of the
Caucasian Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist
Party it was decided to include Nagorno-Karabagh in the territory
of Azerbaijan. It referred to the whole Nagorno-Karabagh, not only
to the five regions making Nagorno-Karabagh Autonomous Region, but
at the least fourteen more regions, including Shahumian. However, in
1923 Azerbaijani SSR limited the territory of the Nagorno-Karabagh’s
Armenian autonomy, hypocritically calling them "inhabited by
Armenians". For all this the regions inhabited solely by Armenian were
separated from the autonomy: Shahumian, Khanlar, Dashkesan (Karkhat),
Shamkhor, etc.

All these regions were put to pressure by the Azerbaijani leadership.

Their goal was to destroy Armenian villages or evict their population.

There is no necessity to write much about Azerbaijan’s political
urban development, which may serve as visual aids of misanthropy.

Shahumian region, situated next to Martakert and Khanlar regions,
had no automobile road connecting it with these regions.

Since the beginning of the Karabagh movement Azerbaijan blockaded
all the Armenian regions of Nagorno-Karabagh. Estranged from the
Armenian autonomy and Armenia, the Armenian regions fell, unable
to withstand the onslaught of the enemy’s superior forces. However,
Shahumian opposed.

The inhabitants of the Shahumian region unanimously decided to
require the reunification of Artsakh’s separated parts. September 2,
1991 Shahumian region became the Nagorno-Karabagh Republic’s integral
part by the will of its population and the decision of the deputies
of all levels, according to international law and the laws of USSR.

Infuriated with the failures of the plans of Armenians’ deportation,
Azerbaijan sent 23d division of the USSR aerial-landing troops against
the Shahumian region. The Soviet army dislodged the region’s defenders
from three villages and returned to Kirovabad, while the detachments
of pillagers from Azerbaijan People’s Front began playing the master
in the captured Armenian villages. However, the region’s defenders
organized lightning attack, making the enemy leave the battlefield.

However, Azerbaijan again turned to the 23d division and its mercenary
commander, colonel Budejkin. This time tens units of tanks and fighting
aviation was used against the region’s defenders, armed with machine
carbines. It became impossible to oppose, and the Armenian detachment
were drawing off, sheltering the population’s retirement.

Shahumian region fell. However, the spirit of a Shahumian man, who
has lived and created under the canopy of sublime Mrav for ages,
has not been broken. The enemy should know: we’ll be back. Wait a
little, Motherland!