Western Azerbaijan community urges Armenia to negotiate on return of Azerbaijanis

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has issued a statement on the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the February 20, 1988 demonstrations in the Azerbaijani city of Khankendi, claiming the action was allegedly spontaneous and attempting to present it as a human rights issue.

These demonstrations had actually been prepared in advance and were part of a systematic plot to serve plans for territorial claims against Azerbaijan and racial discrimination against Azerbaijanis, APA reports, citing the Western Azerbaijan Community’s press service.

“Before these demonstrations, the Armenian side had already made territorial claims against Azerbaijan and launched a total ethnic cleansing through violence against Azerbaijanis living in the Armenian SSR. These processes, initiated by the Armenian side, serve to create a mono-ethnic space and territorial expansion in defiance of human rights and international law. With such a racist and aggressive approach, Armenia expelled Azerbaijanis from its territory, occupied internationally recognised territories of Azerbaijan and expelled all Azerbaijanis from there.

The successful completion of the self-defence operation of the Republic of Azerbaijan against military attack and occupation by Armenia in 2020 is an important step towards the restoration of justice and increases the chances for peace between the two countries. It is regrettable that instead of seizing this unique opportunity to ensure the peaceful, dignified and safe return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenian territory, the Armenian leadership is making a statement on the anniversary of a notorious event embodying territorial claims and ethnic cleansing.

It is hypocritical of the Armenian government, which does not allow Azerbaijanis to return and live in their homes, to speculate on the rights of Azeri citizens of Armenian nationality living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

The fact that Azerbaijanis expelled from the territory of present-day Armenia are still unable to return to their homes, and that a state of mono-ethnic statehood, ethnic cleansing and systematic racial discrimination continues in that country, is a great injustice and a great obstacle to the establishment of lasting peace.
 
The Western Azerbaijan Community calls on the Armenian government to immediately begin negotiations with the Community through an appropriate international process so that Azerbaijanis expelled from its territory can return home peacefully, safely and with dignity," the community said in a statement.