Western Azerbaijan Community condemns Deutsche Welle’s report that distorts Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict history

The Western Azerbaijan Community has strongly condemned the broadcast of a report titled "Armenia's Struggle for Land and Identity in the Caucasus," aired on March 30 by Germany’s public broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

The Community expressed serious concern over what it described as a blatant violation of journalistic standards through the dissemination of disinformation, racial discrimination, and incitement of hatred between peoples, Caliber.Az reports.

According to the statement issued by the Community, the report completely disregards the suffering of the Azerbaijani people and distorts historical facts.

"The history of the past conflict is presented entirely in line with the narrative of radical Armenian nationalists. The report ignores the full-scale ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis in Armenia, the occupation of Azerbaijani lands by Armenia, the expulsion of more than 800,000 Azerbaijanis from their native lands, the destruction of nearly 1,000 Azerbaijani towns and villages, the contamination of vast territories of our country with landmines, and the damages exceeding $150 billion," the Community says.

Moreover, the Community stated that the report "omits crucial aspects such as the killing of over 20,000 Azerbaijanis during the former conflict, the disappearance of 4,000 people, and Armenia’s refusal to allow the safe and dignified return of hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis forcibly displaced from its territory. This is a blatant violation of the principles of objectivity and fact-checking."

It further notes that the tone of the report is based on religious bias and demonstrates a prejudiced approach towards Azerbaijanis.

"Particularly repugnant is the deliberate deception of viewers by portraying Azerbaijani refugees in photos as Armenians. Such manipulation not only spreads disinformation but also serves as an obstacle to peace between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. We believe that such instances, which are repeatedly observed in some European media outlets, are deliberately intended to offend the dignity of the Azerbaijani people. Notably, the Franco-German public broadcaster Arte previously misrepresented Azerbaijani refugees in its footage as Armenians as well,” the statement reads.

The Community stressed that “this Deutsche Welle broadcast not only violates journalistic ethics but also undermines efforts to achieve peace and reconciliation in the region, deliberately obstructing the peace process. It is unacceptable for an internationally operating media organization to display such a one-sided and distorted approach instead of upholding the expected objectivity and responsibility.”

In conclusion, the Community urged Deutsche Welle to remove this report, “which promotes hatred and racial discrimination, and issue an apology to the Azerbaijani people.”

By Khagan Isayev