Western Azerbaijan Community

The Chairman of the Western Azerbaijan Community (WAC), Aziz Alekberli, sent a letter to the current OSCE Chairman, Foreign Minister of Malta Ian Borg, calling on the OSCE to support the return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to their homes.

The letter speaks of the expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia, the destruction of their cultural heritage, cemeteries, mosques and other places of worship. Aziz Alekberli emphasized that the main goal of the activities of the West Azerbaijan Community is to ensure the peaceful, safe and dignified return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia to their homes within the framework of international law. The letter notes that the Community respects international law, including the territorial integrity of states, is ready for dialogue with Armenia on the issue of return and notes with regret that Armenia is avoiding dialogue.

A. Alekperli also drew attention to the fact that Armenia is trying to prevent the participation of the West Azerbaijani community in OSCE events, and called on the OSCE to condemn these attempts by Armenia against freedom of speech and the activities of civil society.

The original letter was presented to Jan Borg by a correspondent for the community-based Western Azerbaijan Television at a joint press conference held in Baku by the OSCE Chairman-in-Office and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan.