Pasadena’s Armenian-American Community On Edge as Violence Renews in Homeland

As Russia continues to pound cities in Ukraine with artillery and missile strikes, Pasadena’s Armenian-American community has called on elected officials in Southern California not to overlook renewed violence over recent weeks in Armenia.

Azerbaijani armed forces have reportedly entered territories in disputed areas in eastern Armenia and unleashed drone strikes that have killed three people and wounded 15. 

The Azerbaijani forces also reportedly sabotaged a gas pipeline that serves most of the disputed region, leaving the entire civilian population of about 150,000 ethnic Armenians without heat in the midst of freezing temperatures. 

Former Pasadena Mayor William Paparian noted that much of the attention from the international community is currently focused on the plight of the civilian population in Ukraine, while Azerbaijan’s renewed “invasion” of their Armenian homeland has gone unnoticed. 

“As the former Mayor of Pasadena I’m issuing a call to action to elected public officials not only in Pasadena but throughout Southern California to stand up, be heard, and denounce the Azerbaijani military assault upon the civilian population of Artsakh,” Paparian said. 

Paparian said the action on the gas pipeline in Artsakh was followed by an attack by Azerbaijani forces on the village of Parukh and drone strikes by Azerbaijan on Armenian self-defense forces. The village was captured, and all of its residents have been evacuated.

Alison Ghafari, Chair of the Gaidz Youth Organization based in Pasadena, said the invasion by Azerbaijan into the disputed territories is a “huge concern,” pointing to an Azeri “dictatorship” that she said continues to hold a policy of ethnic cleansing towards Armenians in the region. 

“We are not surprised by this turn of events as it has become standard practice for the Azeri dictatorship,” Ghafari said. “The latest news shows the Azeris have withdrawn from the villages that they forcefully occupied this past week. Yet the Azeris continue to harass peaceful villagers and are currently holding the natural gas pipeline hostage, along with POWs of the recent war, as leverage over Armenia.”

Ghafari said many Armenian-Americans are wary of Russia’s intentions at the moment. 

“As it stands right now, Russia is Azerbaijan’s number one arms source, and a day prior to the Ukraine war, Russia and Azerbaijan signed their ‘Allied Cooperation’ agreement, solidifying their allegiance to one another,” she continued. 

The latest Russia-Azerbaijan agreement was signed in Moscow on Feb. 22 as Russian tanks and infantry forces were preparing to cross into Ukraine.

Wire reports from Moscow said the Russian foreign and defense ministries have called on Azerbaijan to withdraw their troops in the disputed areas on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border, and to allow Russian peacekeepers to continue to monitor events in the area, as they have been doing for about two years. 

“The command of the Russian peacekeeping contingent is taking measures to resolve the situation,” the Russian defense ministry said. “An appeal has been sent to the Azerbaijani side to withdraw its troops.” 

Russia’s peacekeepers have been in the area since a tripartite ceasefire agreement was signed in November 2020 by the presidents of Armenia and Azerbaijan, and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Two other related agreements have been signed since then.