Western Azerbaijanis expelled from ancestral lands, official says

Western Azerbaijanis were expelled from their ancestral lands throughout the 20th century, from 1905 until 1991, Abbas Abbasov, Executive Director of the Baku Initiative Group, has stated.

Speaking at an international conference titled The Right to Return and Self-Determination: Double Standards and Selective Approaches held at the US Congress building in Washington, Abbasov said certain forces continue to prevent the issue from being brought to the attention of the international community, Caliber.Az reports, citing local media.

“The Baku Initiative Group calls on other civil society institutions, international organisations, and international bodies to ensure that the relevant forces and organisations are held accountable before international institutions for the policy of ethnic cleansing that continued until 1991,” he noted.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov