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