The National Interest (22 October 2022)

Maxime GAUIN(*)

Recent clashes between Armenia and Azerbaijan have served as an impetus for a new wave of violence that could worsen the closer Yerevan and Baku come to making peace.

Notably, ARF rage has lashed out at targets other than the Azerbaijanis. Consider that the ARF deploys a bitter and abusive tone on its Facebook pages against many media outlets—particularly Le Monde, which has become much more impartial on the topic of Armenia-Azerbaijani after the Armenian defeat of November 2020.

It’s clear that the ARF, and a number of its sympathizers, are quite angry and stewing in resentment, and feel that they have nothing left to lose. The sense that acts of intimidation and public pressure are not bearing fruit as they once used to opens the door for further radicalism and violence. For example, consider a comment with many “likes” from an ARF member on the Facebook page of the ARF’s youth branch: “I think it is time to stop the demonstrations and to act…” She did not specify what kind of “actions” she had in mind, but considering the ARF’s history, including its recent actions, one can assume it won’t be legal.

To read the rest of the article, please click: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/armenian-extremists-are-blocking-peace-nagorno-karabakh-205421

*Dr. Maxime Gauin is a Research Fellow at the Institute for Development and Diplomacy of ADA University located in Baku, Azerbaijan. He previously served as Scholar-in-Residence at the Center for Eurasian Studies (AVİM) in Ankara.

*Image: Armenian extremists attacking Azerbaijan’s Paris embassy building on 19 September 2022 - Source: AzerNews