Western Azerbaijan Community strongly condemns Armenian Speaker's racist remarks

The Western Azerbaijan Community has sharply criticised Armenian Parliament Speaker Alen Simonyan for distorting the statements of the Azerbaijani side and for his racist views regarding the right of expelled Western Azerbaijanis to return to their historical lands.

“The right of return, as mentioned by the Azerbaijani side, is an inalienable part of international law and fundamental human rights. Simonyan portrays this right as territorial claims, likely because his country has consistently used human rights as a cover for its aggressive policies,” Caliber.Az quotes the community as saying in a statement.

The statement reads, "Simonyan’s remark about sending Azerbaijanis to the Altai mountains to ‘find their historical homeland’ once again demonstrates that the ruling circles in Armenia are dominated by an ideology of racism and ethnic exclusivity."

The community also recalled a similar instance during the war on September 27, 2020, when the Chief of the General Staff of the Armenian army made a comparable racist remark, stating that the goal of Armenia’s offensive was to "send Azerbaijanis to the Altai mountains." “Everyone knows how that ended for Armenia,” the statement noted.

“These comments by Simonyan are an attempt to undermine the peace process and trample on the right of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to return. We demand that Yerevan refrain from such racist rhetoric and respect our right of return,” the community concluded.

By Khagan Isayev