Kim Kardashian has issued a "plea" to President Joe Biden to help prevent another Armenian Genocide. Azerbaijani troops currently occupy at least 19 square miles of internationally recognized Armenian territory. This came after crossing the Armenian border in May 2021. Furthermore, Azerbaijani forces have blockaded the Lachin Corridor, cutting off the Christian Armenians of Artsakh (also known as Nagorno-Karabakh). Kardashian stated her case in a lengthy article co-written for Rolling Stone. As part of this, she has outlined the numerous tactics that the Azerbaijani government has used in order to "make the republic so uninhabitable that people would either die or agree to leave. Meanwhile, supporters of this starvation use coordinated social media campaigns to pretend that a blockade is not taking place."
Furthermore, Kardashian noted that "Numerous genocide watchdog groups and the United Nations’ own independent Special Rapporteurs — including the first UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, Professor Juan Mendez — have been trying to alert the world about these impending atrocities for months. Last month, Luis Moreno Ocampo, the first chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, published his independent report. He concluded that a genocide is already underway because under Article II, (c) of the Genocide Convention, Azerbaijan is “Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction.”
Kardashian Lobbies Biden
The United States has officially condemned the actions of the Azerbaijani government. However, they have taken very little action beyond that. "The people in Artsakh want to live in peace. Now is the time for true leadership. We need for those who have a meaningful role in these affairs to immediately demand that the Lachin Corridor is opened to stop another genocide. We want to draw more attention to the crisis and appeal to those in our own government who truly care about humanity to intervene. The United States has the ability to mobilize a response. Leaders who are effective and help our people will be remembered for their heroism. Even if well-meaning, the ones who are inert and ineffective will be remembered for allowing a genocide to take place under their watch. The choice is theirs," Kardashian wrote.
The term "Armenian Genocide" refers to the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and their culture in the midst of WW1. The Ottoman Empire is believed to have killed between 800,000 and 1.5 million Armenians between 1915 and 1917. However, the issue remains contentious - just 34 countries officially recognise the Armenian Genocide. Meanwhile, Turkey has long defended its actions. Hopefully, a celebrity voice like Kardashian can help compel the United States government into taking further action.
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