Western Azerbaijan Community: US ignores expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia

The Western Azerbaijan Community has said that the US embassy in Baku did not respond to Azerbaijani media inquiries regarding possible steps Washington might take to preserve the cultural heritage of the Azerbaijani people in Armenia.

“The embassy only mentioned some proposed projects in the liberated territories and attempted to mislead the public with its response,” Caliber.Az reports, citing the Western Azerbaijan Community.

"We believe that with this response, the embassy has demonstrated how it truly 'respects' the principles of free speech and opinion that the US often champions. Unfortunately, the US continues ignoring the issue of the expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia. The letter we sent to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in April 2023, requesting support for our right to return, has not received a reply yet. In contrast, the US government has repeatedly raised a series of fabricated issues under the guise of 'human rights.' It is well-known that the current US administration only brings up topics like 'human rights' and 'cultural heritage' when making false accusations against Azerbaijan," the Western Azerbaijan Community said. 

"We strongly condemn the discrimination displayed by the current US administration against Azerbaijanis and call for an end to its biased policy, as well as a response to the letter we sent to Secretary of State Antony Blinken. We also hope that in future hearings of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, the US Commission on International Religious Freedom, and other relevant bodies, the participation of representatives of the Western Azerbaijan Community will be ensured," the statement reads.

Earlier, the Western Azerbaijan Community condemned the attempts by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other officials to interfere in Azerbaijan's internal affairs.

The statement from the community reads: "Unfortunately, for many years, we have not seen the US condemn Armenia's occupation of Azerbaijani lands, its policy of ethnic cleansing, or the deportation of Western Azerbaijanis.

The letter addressed to Antony Blinken by the Western Azerbaijan Community, which has chosen a peaceful path to return to the land of their ancestors, went unanswered. Meanwhile, the US opened its doors to separatists involved in ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis, who threaten Azerbaijan's sovereignty, granting them visas and allowing them to speak in their institutions.

By Naila Huseynova