Western Azerbaijan Community condemns Dutch foreign minister’s statement on Karabakh

The Western Azerbaijan Community has strongly criticized the recent statement by the Dutch foreign minister, who claimed that Armenians were forced to leave the Karabakh region.

In response, the community issued a statement asserting that the departure of Armenians was voluntary, following their refusal of the Azerbaijani government's offer of reintegration and citizenship, Caliber.Az reports.

“Everyone knows that Armenians refused the Azerbaijani government's offer of reintegration and citizenship and voluntarily left the Karabakh region,” the community emphasized, calling the Dutch minister’s claim baseless.

The statement went on to accuse the Dutch government of discrimination, saying, “Mentioning only ethnic Armenians in this context and completely ignoring the forced expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Western Azerbaijan speaks of discrimination on ethnic and religious grounds.”

The community further condemned the Netherlands for what they described as a pattern of unfounded accusations against Azerbaijan. They urged the Dutch government to focus on its own responsibilities, particularly regarding decolonization.

“Instead of slandering Azerbaijan, the Netherlands would do better to fulfill its obligations to decolonize territories such as Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten and put an end to the violation of the rights of the indigenous population there,” the statement read.

The community concluded with a demand: “We demand that the Netherlands stop slandering Azerbaijan and show respect for the right of Western Azerbaijanis to return safely.”

By Khagan Isayev