Yamit and Lachin: 25 days instead of three When humanism is not an empty shell

For three decades, Azerbaijani lands have been illegally settled, first by natives of Armenia, and then by ethnic Armenians from Lebanon and Syria. It's not that Azerbaijan didn't pay attention to this issue. On the contrary, this topic was raised both in the press and the expert community, as well as at the official level, in particular, at international platforms and meetings with foreign politicians.

However, in light of the interview of Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev on August 12, in which he touched upon the topic of illegal settlement of the Lachin region by Armenians from the Middle East, this issue is again on the agenda.

"The occupying country cannot conduct illegal settlement on the seized lands. This is a war crime. Perhaps the Armenians living there, who came from Syria and Lebanon, do not know this, but the Armenian leadership is well aware of this. This is why there are some messages from there: one says I won't leave here, the other says I won't. They know better. They are war criminals. Let them not test us again, our patience. Let them leave voluntarily," said President Aliyev.

It should be noted that the words of the Azerbaijani President are based solely on international legal acts and documents. Thus, for example, the policy of illegal settlements is a gross violation of international humanitarian law, including the Geneva Conventions of 1949 (to which Armenia acceded in June 1993 and to which it is unconditionally bound). According to the Fourth Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, in particular its paragraph 49, the occupying State shall not transfer its own civilian population into the territories it occupies.

In 2020, Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev pointed out: "In 1946, at the trial of major war criminals, the Nuremberg International Military Tribunal found two defendants guilty of changing the ethnic composition of the occupied territories." According to Hajiyev, under international law, the policy of establishing settlements in the occupied territories carried out by the occupying state should be classified as a war crime. From this point of view, the illegal settlement of Armenia in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is a war crime.

By the way, paradoxically, these actions are a criminal offence under the laws of Armenia itself. "Thus, article 390 of the Criminal Code of Armenia considers the eviction of the population of the occupied territories and their resettlement by the occupying State as a serious violation of international humanitarian law and provides for a penalty of 8 to 12 years," Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev said at the time.

However, despite the fact that in this matter international law is completely on the side of Azerbaijan, nevertheless, official Baku shows restraint and humanism, as stated also by President Aliyev in his speech on August 12.

"The Armenians living in Karabakh approached us and asked, repeatedly, to give them time until the end of August. We agreed because now it won't be August 5, but August 25, or September 1, it doesn't make much difference," the head of state said.

As the President said in the interview, some of the Armenians, who were illegally resettled to Karabakh from Syria and Lebanon, may not have known that they were breaking the law, but the Armenian leadership knew about it. Of course, ignorance of the law does not exempt from responsibility, but nevertheless, official Yerevan made the Armenians relocated to Karabakh the accomplices of this crime. And the humanity of Azerbaijan in this case is precisely in the fact that it gave these families enough time to leave these territories. Although, alternatively, it could have sent troops, set posts, and detained them as war criminals.

By the way, the world practice knows examples of illegal settlements on the occupied territories and further evacuations. Offhand we can recall how on April 23, 1982, the Israeli army carried out the evacuation of Yamit, the largest Jewish settlement in Sinai (Egypt), within three days. The last to be evacuated were a group of students who had fortified themselves on the observation platform of the Plada armored division's memorial obelisk. A day later, Egyptian troops entered the area. According to the peace treaty (Camp David, 1979), Israel undertook to return the entire Sinai Peninsula to Egypt. Please note that Israel carried out the evacuation of 2,500 Jews in just three days, while Azerbaijan gave Armenians in Lachin and Zabukh almost a month... Is this not an expression of humanism?

In conclusion, we note once again that Azerbaijan does not plan to deport the ethnic Armenian population from the Karabakh region. On the contrary, Baku has repeatedly stated that it considers the local Armenian population as its citizens and is ready to grant them equal rights with other ethnic groups in the country. This is another manifestation of humanism on the part of Azerbaijan.