BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 14. The VMedia YouTube channel released a new video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cM-fbm6PQrU, commenting on a recently spread recording on social media from a meeting in 1993 between first President of Armenia, Levon Ter-Petrosyan, and the "Yerkrapa" Armenian militants. During the meeting, Ter-Petrosyan, as the head of state, declared that the expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia was a "centuries-old dream of the Armenian people", and later congratulated the group on the occupation of Azerbaijan's Aghdam.
The video on VMedia methodically argues that this "centuries-old dream of the Armenian people" is clearly and strictly defined in international law as genocide — the genocide of the Azerbaijani people. The video asserts that this is why Armenia is currently the only monoethnic state in the Caucasus. In other words, Armenia's monoethnicity is a direct result of the ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis.
The VMedia film explains that this process began during the time when the South Caucasus was under the rule of the Russian Empire, when, starting in 1828, Tsarist Russia began settling Armenians in the Caucasus. It continued in the early 20th century and peaked during Armenia's independence from 1918 to 1920 under the Armenian Dashnak rule. During the Soviet period, Azerbaijanis were deported from Armenia to Azerbaijan by decrees from Stalin in 1947–1948. Ultimately, in November 1988, more than 200,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled in the next phase of genocide. This is how Armenia became monoethnic, and this is what Ter-Petrosyan meant during his meeting with the "Yerkrapa" militants.
Importantly, the facts presented in the video are explained in such a way that they are accessible even to viewers who may not have a broad understanding of the history and current realities of the South Caucasus. Therefore, the film can be shared widely on social media. The video is also available in English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQV5oWZDPT0.
Note that the "Yerkrapa" organization is a terrorist entity formed in 1993, including volunteer Armenian soldiers who fought in the First Karabakh War. This organization engaged in multiple war crimes, including the robbery of Azerbaijani property, the torture of prisoners of war, mass murders, and the hostage-taking, tortures, and murdering of civilians during the occupation of the Fuzuli and Jabrayil districts.
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