Blood soaked laundry scattered outside Union Station in Toronto
If you were anywhere near Toronto's Union Station on Tuesday afternoon, you may have noticed some blood-stained laundry scattered in front of the building.
The bloodied clothes were part of an art installation organized by Armenian youth in the city to bring attention and awareness to war crimes committed by Turkey and Azerbaijan in Artsakh, a state in the South Caucasus that is internationally recognized as a part of Azerbaijan.
Art installation in #Toronto in Union station: Loundry-Right now in #Artsakh
— Coalition to Stop Violence against Women (@CSVWArmenia) October 21, 2020
Thank you @MariamMughdusya @UN_Women @UNOCHA @UN @UNICEF @unicefarmenia @amnesty @hrw @coe#StopAzerbaijainiAggression #StopTurkishAggression #nagornokarabakh #NKpeace #Armenia #ArtsakhStrong #StopWar pic.twitter.com/WEZGarsTZM
Those who were part of the installation stood among the blood-soaked clothes in silence holding signs and images that depicted the violence occurring in Artsakh.
"Hospitals are being bombed," one sign read, while others dubbed the current conflict the Armenian genocide of 2020. Some simply asked for recognition for Artsakh.
#Toronto downtown. An art installation of doing bloodsoaked laundry aimed at raising awareness, urging to #RecognizeArtsakh and prevent another #ArmenianGenocide.#StopAzerbaijainiAggression #Canada #UnionStation pic.twitter.com/8EO35LxYyA
— Diana Melkumyan (@MelkDiana) October 20, 2020
The art installation comes as, over the past three weeks, numerous villages were destroyed and casualties were reported on both sides.
Art installation in Toronto in Union station: Loundry-Right now in Armenia, Artsakh#azerbaijanaggression#turkeyterrorism #turkeystateofterror#erdoganwarcriminal#ArtsakhStrong#RecognizeArtsakh pic.twitter.com/ken0yINBDM
— Mariam Mughdusyan (@MariamMughdusya) October 21, 2020
While a ceasefire was announced on Saturday, both Armenian and Azerbaijani forces blamed one another for repeated violations.
Earlier this month, Canada suspended the export of military drone technology to Turkey — which has backed Azerbaijan in the conflict — after allegations that Canadian-made drones were being used surfaced.
