At a hearing held Monday at the Baku Military Court, a video was presented featuring a speech by former Armenian President Levon Ter-Petrosyan during a meeting with members of the “Yerkrapah” terrorist organization on July 23, 1993, APA reports.
In one segment, Ter-Petrosyan discusses the motivations, objectives, and underlying reasons behind the occupation of Azerbaijani sovereign territories by Armenian armed forces.
Praising what he referred to as historic “victories,” Ter-Petrosyan recalled that prior to 1988, some 170,000 Azerbaijanis lived across Armenia. “What was the point of starting the ‘Karabakh’ movement? In those five years, much blood was shed, many people died, yet no progress was made,” some militants reportedly protested. They also claimed that the Armenian leadership at the time—as well as certain current opposition members who had not participated in combat operations—were undermining their cause.
Furthermore, the militants noted that some members of the Armenian opposition had expressed doubts about the "miatsum" (unification) movement, arguing that the Soviet Union would collapse anyway in 1991. “However, if we had not started the movement in 1988, we wouldn’t have gained the necessary experience, and as a result, there would be no Karabakh,” they added.
According to Ter-Petrosyan, Armenia had resolved what he called the 600-year-old “Nagorno-Karabakh problem” thanks to the movement. He stated that both Armenia and Karabakh had been completely cleared of other nationalities.
He went on to recall that Azerbaijanis had once constituted the majority population in Vardenis (Basarkechar), Masis (Zangibasar), Amasiya, and the Zangezur region. The former Armenian President emphasized that through the movement, Armenians had resolved this issue, asserting that the entire Karabakh region was under Armenian control.
“In conclusion, I must highlight one more thing. As a crowning achievement of all our victories, our troops entered the city of Aghdam last night and this morning,” Ter-Petrosyan added.
The trial continues for Armenian nationals charged with crimes against peace and humanity, including war crimes, acts of terrorism, preparation and waging of aggressive war, genocide, violations of the laws and customs of war, the forcible seizure and retention of power, and financing of terrorism—among other offenses linked to Armenia’s military aggression.
