Western Azerbaijan Community deems unacceptable Armenian PM’s justification of ethnic cleansing

Western Azerbaijan Community has firmly condemned Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan's July 25 press statement justifying Armenia's ethnic cleansing of Azerbaijanis.

"First of all, we note that ensuring the right of return of the Azerbaijanis, expelled from Armenia, is an obligation of Armenian leadership. The Armenian leadership's defence of the rights of Armenians living in Azerbaijan, while Armenia has expelled all Azerbaijanis living in the territory of that country, is a manifestation of hypocrisy and an ineptly disguised territorial claim,” the Community responded to Pashinyan’s assertions, Caliber.Az reports.

“Just as Azerbaijan is ready to contact Armenians living in the Karabakh region and protect their rights, the Armenian leadership should start a dialogue with the Western Azerbaijan Community, to ensure our right to return, rights and security upon return.

Prime Minister Pashinyan's differentiation of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia and Armenians living in Azerbaijan on the issue of human rights is an illegal and dangerous approach. Everyone knows that the only difference here is that Azerbaijanis are deprived of the opportunity to live in their own homes, which does not do honour to Armenia. The fact that the Armenian prime minister cites the consequences of a crime against humanity committed by his country, such as ethnic cleansing, as a strong argument proves his insincerity in matters of human rights and democracy and the continuation of a mono-ethnic policy.

The Western Azerbaijan Community strongly condemns this approach of Prime Minister Pashinyan, and demands that he unconditionally respect the absolute value of human rights and ensure the return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia in safety and dignity," the statement said.

To recall, at a press conference on July 25, Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan spoke about considering the return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia as part of the Brussels peace process. He demonstrated an approach to the human rights issue based on ethnic discrimination and therefore violated Azerbaijan's territorial integrity. Pashinyan stated that the issue of the rights of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia cannot be equated with the issue of the rights of Armenians living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.