Karabakh Committee

Karabakh Committee (Armenian: Ղարաբաղ կոմիտե) was a group of Armenian intellectuals recognized by many Armenians as their de facto leaders in the late 1980s. The Committee was formed in 1988 with the stated objective of the reunification of Nagorno-Karabakh with Armenia. Arrested by Soviet authorities on December 11, 1988 on charges of obstructing humanitarian aid from Azerbaijan after the December 7 1988 Armenian earthquake, the leaders of Karabakh Committee were released on May 31, 1989 to form the Pan-Armenian National Movement. In 1990 The New York Times described the committee as "the most influential nationalist group in Armenia."