One of the world’s most famous Armenians, Kim Kardashian, has been called on to use her social media influence to intervene in the situation around Arsenal midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan, who is set to miss his team’s Europa League final against Chelsea in Baku on 29 May.
Having considered all the current options, we had to take the tough decision for me not to travel with the squad to the #UEL Final against #Chelsea […] pic.twitter.com/3CPrTvLquy
— Henrikh Mkhitaryan (@HenrikhMkh) May 21, 2019
[…] It‘s the kind of game that doesn’t come along very often for us players and I must admit, it hurts me a lot to miss it.I will be cheering my teammates on! Let’s bring it home @Arsenal 🏆💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼 #uel #final #arsenal #chelsea #AFC #COYG pic.twitter.com/gnDA6oyolw
— Henrikh Mkhitaryan (@HenrikhMkh) May 21, 2019
The English club recently announced that its key player would not travel to Azerbaijan, which has been involved in decades-long tensions with Armenia over the unrecognised Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. Since the region, with a predominantly Armenian population, declared independence from Azerbaijan in the 1990s, the Baku and Yerevan have fought a war and had a series of confrontations, while diplomatic ties between them remain severed.
The club expressed their “deep concerns” about the situation with Mkhitaryan to the UEFA, which responded that it had “received assurances regarding the player's safety in Azerbaijan from the highest authorities in the country” and referred them to the club.
In this situation, some netizens turned to the reality TV star, who has previously used her popularity to address political issues, and reminded her about her Armenian roots. One Twitter user reposted a three-year-old tweet of hers about visiting Armenia and learning more about her family history, slamming Kim Kardashian for being “Armenian when it’s convenient”.
Armenian when it’s convenient, yet silent on the issue of Mkhitaryan playing in the Europa League final?
— Walid Arsenal (@1Walid1) May 21, 2019
You’re a disgrace to your federation. https://t.co/TdAej1Bbbt
If Kim Kardashian weighs in on the Mkhitaryan situation she’ll have made my summer
— Luke Rafter (@Luke_Rafter) May 22, 2019
Some took a more light-hearted approach, joking about Trump’s possible involvement and Kim Kardashian’s protest, or suggesting that the star does not even know who this Armenian person is.
Kim Kardashian involved in the Mkhitaryan row with Azerbaijan = Kanye involved = Trump involved
— Sam Street (@samstreetwrites) May 22, 2019
Make Armenia Great Again!https://t.co/xWhhqSfhq6
Lmfao I'm sure Kim Kardashian is very attentive to all things involving Henrikh Mkhitaryan and his fight to play in a competition she's probably never heard of in a sport she probably doesn't care about 9,000 miles away
— Pelusa (@LaReinaMerengue) May 22, 2019
Signs of the apocalypse: Kim Kardashian getting taken apart on Twitter for not backing Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
— 1.76 acres (@1point76acres) May 22, 2019
We are doomed.
There were also those trashing fellow users for dragging the star into the matter.
Guy went and dug up a two year old Kim Kardashian tweet to slander her. She probably doesn't know who mkhitaryan is. Arsenal fans are plain wierd https://t.co/jornYMGZIN
— KAVI (@blurt2kc) May 22, 2019
After storming social media with her glamorous photo-ops, the curvy diva has previously dabbled in political activism, even visiting Donald Trump in the White House to discuss the weighty issue of prison reform last May. She made a plea for 63-years-old Alice Marie Johnson, serving a life sentence for a first-time non-violent drug offense. Eventually, US President Donald Trump changed it to an ordinary sentence. An official statement said that Johnson "has accepted responsibility for her past behaviour" and is working hard on her rehabilitation. Kardashian met the news as the "best ever".
The conflict in the ethnic Armenian-dominated Nagorno-Karabakh started in 1988, with the autonomous region announcing its secession from the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1991, the region declared independence from Azerbaijan and the creation of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic. This move triggered a military conflict, which led to Baku losing control over the region.
READ MORE: Azerbaijani, Armenian Foreign Ministers to Discuss Nagorno-Karabakh — Aliyev
The warring sides agreed to a cessation of hostilities in 1994. However, the area is still subject to tensions, with a skirmish briefly taking place taking place in early April 2016. Reacting to the hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan, countries and organisations across the globe, including the OSCE Minsk Group, the UN, Russia, and a number of European states, worked hard to persuade both parties to stop fighting immediately and agree to truce.
