Community of Western Azerbaijanis forwards demands to Yerevan And appeals to international organizations

The 'Community of Western Azerbaijan' has published a statement addressed to international organizations and the government of Armenia regarding the expulsion of Azerbaijanis from their historic homelands, those territories that are today regarded as modern-day Armenia.

As reported by APA, the statement reads as follows: 

"Our organization, founded in 1989 as the 'Azerbaijan Refugee Society' and was renamed in 2022 to 'Community of Western Azerbaijan', is currently engaged in protecting the rights of Azerbaijanis who were expelled from the territories which have been their historical homeland for centuries that are now called Armenia.

The expulsion of Azerbaijanis from the territory of modern Armenia is an injustice of unprecedented political, legal and humanitarian proportions.

The ethnic cleansing committed against the Azerbaijanis was, in most cases, the result of systemic activities of the State authorities and was carried out through violence, massacres and other crimes against humanity, as well as gross violations of human rights. This process was particularly violent and merciless in 1905-06, 1918-21, 1948-53 and 1988-91. The consequences of these acts are still tangible, as well as those that were taken by the entities called 'Republic of Armenia', 'Republic of Mountain Armenia' in 1918-21, the Soviet Union, in particular, that of the infamous leader of the USSR, Joseph Stalin, who handed over Zangezur and many other regions where Azerbaijanis were predominantly residing to Armenia, and signed a decision to deport hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, as well as that of the Armenian SSR in 1988-91. As a result of the ethnic cleansing carried out since 1991, the territory is inhabited exclusively by Armenians.

The historical and cultural heritage of Azerbaijanis, including mosques and cemeteries, had been destroyed everywhere in the territory of Armenia, geographical names have been changed and racial discrimination against Azerbaijanis had been systematic. People involved in ethnic cleansing and other crimes against Azerbaijanis and their actions are being glorified in Armenia at the state level.

This unprecedented injustice has created a sense of impunity in the ruling circles of Armenia and has prompted them to make territorial claims to the internationally recognized territories of the Republic of Azerbaijan, to use force, conduct military occupation and additional ethnic cleansing on a massive scale and other crimes against humanity.

The victory that ended the Azerbaijani Republic’s self-defence operation against the military attacks and occupation of Armenia in 2020 was an important step towards the restoration of justice and expanded the possibilities for peace between the two countries. On the other hand, it is a great injustice that the Azerbaijanis expelled from the territory of present-day Armenia cannot return to their homes, and that country continues to pursue a policy of mono-ethnic statehood, ethnic cleansing and systematic racial discrimination, which poses a serious threat to lasting peace.

Our organization, which for decades has been an authoritative representative of the Azerbaijani community expelled from present-day Armenia, is determined to continue its activities to restore the violated rights of the community. On the basis of the right to return enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and other important international instruments, the community seeks the safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis to their homes, from which they have been expelled from present-day Armenia, as well as the return of their individual and collective rights.

The growing importance attached by the international community to human rights and the desire of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to return to their homeland inspires the community to intensify these activities.

Taking all this into account, the 'Community of Western Azerbaijan':

- demands that the Government of Armenia create conditions for the safe and dignified return of the Azerbaijanis, expelled from geographical areas that are now considered its territory, to their homes through an international process and to ensure their individual and collective rights upon return;

- thanks the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan for providing asylum and taking care of the Azerbaijanis expelled from the territory of present Armenia and creating conditions for their peaceful development and requests further assistance for the safe and dignified return of the Azerbaijanis, uprooted from their places of origin, to their homes through an international process, as well as ensure their individual and collective rights upon return;

- asks the member states of the United Nations (UN), the United Nations and other relevant international organizations to assist in the safe and dignified return of the Azerbaijanis, expelled from the territory of present Armenia, to their homes as part of an international process and to ensure their individual and collective rights upon return there".