Republic of Western Armenia

The **Republic of Western Armenia**, is a so-called state claiming sovereignty over parts of the Armenian highlands including sections of Western Armenia as well as Nagorno-Karabakh, and Nakhchivan. Also, the self-declared country says it has its own presidency, government, parliament, constitution, national anthem and coat of arms.

The individuals of the Republic of Western Armenia claim to be the legal successor of the Armenian state recognised by international law in 1920, and therefore internationally recognised.

## Background

The presence of Armenians in Anatolia has been documented since the sixth century BCE, about 1,500 years before the arrival of Turkmens under the Seljuk dynasty.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, historical Armenia was divided between the Ottomans taking the West and the Safavids taking the East.

On the eve of World War I in 1914, around two million Armenians lived in Anatolia out of a total population of 15–17.5 million. According to the Armenian Patriarchate's estimates for 1913–1914, there were 2,925 Armenian towns and villages in the Ottoman Empire, of which 2,084 were in the Armenian highlands in the vilayets of Bitlis, Diyarbekir, Erzerum, Harput, and Van. Armenians were a minority in most places where they lived, alongside Turkish and Kurdish Muslim and Greek Orthodox Christian neighbors. According to the Patriarchate's figure, 215,131 Armenians lived in urban areas, especially Constantinople, Smyrna, and Eastern Thrace. Although most Ottoman Armenians were peasant farmers, they were overrepresented in commerce. As middleman minorities, despite the wealth of some Armenians, their overall political power was low, making them especially vulnerable. The ethnic cleansing of Armenians during the final years of the Ottoman Empire is widely considered a genocide, The Ottoman Empire massacred approximately 600,000–1,500,000 Armenians. The first wave of persecution was in the years 1894 to 1896, the second one culminating in the events of the Armenian genocide in 1915 and 1916.

## History

On February 4, 2011 the beginning of the process of formation of the Government-in-Exile of Western Armenia was announced (now – the Government of the State of Western Armenia). In November 2013, through direct elections via Internet, the National Assembly (Parliament) of Western Armenia was formed, whose deputies at the first session of the Parliament on January 20, 2014, in Paris, elected the President of Western Armenia.

## The claimed lands

The "Western Armenia TV" newscaster introduced cities such as Bitlis, Muş, Van, Mardin, Iğdır, Adana, Trabzon and Rize as "Western Armenia" in his news bulletins. Artsakh and Nakhichevan is also claimed lands. The announcer also added that Western Armenia, which was declared an independent and sovereign state in 1920, is now occupied by Turkey. Sooner or later it will return to its true owners, the Armenians," he said. Erzurum, which the Armenians call "Karin", is claimed as the capital.

## Infobox (country)

- **conventional long name**: Republic of Western Armenia
- **native name**: Արեւմտեան Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն

- **image flag**: File:Flag of Western Armenia.png
- **image coat**: File:Coat of Arms of Western Armenia.png
- **anthem**: Zartnir Lao
_Զարթի՛ր, լաօ_
 "Awake my son"
- **capital**: Karin (Erzurum)
- **leader title1**: President
- **leader name1**: Lydia Margossian
- **leader title2**: Prime Minister
- **leader name2**: Seda Melikyan
- **leader title3**: President of the National Assembly
- **leader name3**: Nelly Harutyunyan
- **legislature**: National Assembly
- **established event1**: Kingdom of Urartu
- **established date1**: 860 BC–590 BC
- **established event2**: Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)
- **established date2**: 321 BC–428 AD
- **established event3**: Kingdom of Armenia (medieval)
- **established date3**: 880s–1045
- **established event4**: Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia
- **established date4**: 1080–1375
- **established event5**: Six Armenian vilayets
- **established date5**: 1878
- **established event6**: Armenian Genocide
- **established date6**: 1915–1917
- **established event7**: Occupation of Western Armenia
- **established date7**: 1915–1918
- **established event8**: First Republic of Armenia
- **established date8**: 1918
- **established event9**: Treaty of Sèvres
- **established date9**: 1920
- **established event10**: Turkish–Armenian war
- **established date10**: 1920
- **established event11**: Beginning of the establishment process
- **established date11**: 2011
- **official website**: https://gov-wa.nt.am?lang=en