New Book Presents US Press Coverage of Azerbaijani Aggression against Armenians 1905-1921

The articles also bring to light the Turkish advance and their deadly menace in the Caucasus, British presence in Baku and their subsequent evacuation, the deportation by Turks of 8000 Armenians from Alexandropol and Transcaucasia, the disarming of Armenians in Gandzak. Meanwhile, Russia was playing both ends against the middle. Thus, it will not come as a surprise to learn that the articles under study underscore the helpless state of Armenians, in great need of speedy relief. As a result of all this ill-treatment, thousands of asylum seeker and assistance-beseeching Armenians were dying from famine, starvation and cholera. In the midst of which a brave couple, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel E. Newman salvaged twenty thousand orphans.

On the other side of the coin, the back copies included in the second and expanded edition showcase not only the massacres committed against Armenians from 1905 to 1921, but they also indicate Armenian’s heroic fighting in withstanding the siege. Albeit the numerous attacks and escalated tensions of unprecedented scale, being on the brink of extinction Armenians displayed incredible bravery against the volatile and uncontrollable backdrop.

Among all the compiled back copies of US periodicals, The Christian Science Monitor best sheds light on Armenian’s heroism in an article titled “Armenia’s Daring General,” issued on March 30, 1920. The article highlights the bravery of Armenia’s General Andranik Ozanyan, introducing him as a general who “stands upon the highest pinnacle of Armenian heroism.” The article reveals instances of being outnumbered by Turks, but defeating them totally. In 1901 in a monastery near Mush, Andranik’s forces of 39 men were surrounded by an army of 5000 Turks. Joined by 40 men from Sassoun, General Andranik utterly defeated Turks. Next, “Two years later Abdul Hamid sent 60,000 men against Andranik, who had about 200. European representatives intervened, but the Turks attacked Sassun. Andranik and his 200 reinforced by the 1000 in Sassun, descended into the plain and defeated the Turks,” the Christian Science Monitor reports. Moreover, as the article progresses, the Christian Science Monitor narrates about the message received from General Thomson of the British Army, requesting General Andranik to cease fighting: “But for this request, the Armenians say that the general would have utterly defeated the Tartars and pacified the country. General Andranik sheathed his sword reluctantly.”

The first edition of the book was compiled during 2020’s Azerbaijani-initiated 44-day Artsakh war. The current expanded edition was compiled during Artsakh blockade by Azerbaijan in 2022. “As this book goes to print, the entire population of Artsakh, numbering 120,000, including 30,000 children, are facing death by starvation – a direct and intended consequence of Azerbaijan’s illegal closure of the Lachin corridor,” writes Ketibian in the preface of the book.

With hindsight, the author also alludes to the 44-day war in 2020, military aggression of Azerbaijan and the general indifference displayed by the international community. Ketibian highlights in the Preface that after signing the trilateral ceasefire agreement in November 2020, Azerbaijan has refused to return the Armenian POWs, approved for its military’s illegal crossing into Armenian sovereign territory, condoned the mistreatment of Armenian military and civilian captives, continuously harassed the Armenian civilian population living in border villages, carried out its policy of Armenophobia, continued with its practice of destroying Armenian religious and cultural assets under the guise of “restoration” (p. VII).

Ketibian is a renowned Australian-Armenian researcher, specializing in the study of international newspaper archives, in particular the American press. He graduated from Mekhitarist Congregation College in Venice, majoring in Armenian studies. Ketibian has delivered lectures on the Armenian language and history at the Melkonyan Educational Institute in Nicosia, Cyprus. He has also been a member of the editorial team of the Ararat Daily newspaper in Beirut, Lebanon. He has published 14 volumes on the theme of the Genocide of the Christian minorities (Armenians, Greeks and Assyrians), perpetrated by the Ottoman and later the Turkish nationalist authorities. Thus, the huge collection of works comprises volumes on the Armenian Genocide, prelude and aftermath, forced conversions in Ottoman Turkey, the Genocide of the Ottoman Greeks, orphans of Genocide, the Assyrian Genocide, the Adana massacres, as reported in the U.S. Press, and other monumental volumes.