Western Azerbaijan Community

At his press conference of today, referring to the right to return of Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia Prime Minister Pashinyan of Armenia displayed a stance, which is not constructive and inconsistent with basic human rights.

It is especially regretful that the Prime Minister attempted to deny the fact of expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia. The Prime Minister knows very well that the Government of Armenia expelled in 1988 hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis on the basis of ethnic discrimination, by using physical violence and depriving them of education, medical and social services. The fact that the vast majority of those people fled within a very short timeframe (24 November – 5 December 1988) reveals the extent to which that crime was systematically organised.

Expelling Azerbaijanis from Armenia is the crime against humanity. We would like to emphasise to Prime Minister that denying a crime against humanity is continuation of that crime.

Moreover, the fact that the Prime Minister sees our right to return immediately in the context of territory reveals much. According to the head of government of Armenia compactly living of an ethnic group means only territory. It is this mindset that explains why Armenia has transformed itself into a monoethnic area. This also explains Armenia’s territorial claims and occupation policy against Azerbaijan.

We would like to stress once again that returning to our homes under international guarantee and verification mechanisms is our inherent and fundamental right. Our right to return is not for discussion. As the Community, we would like to realise our right to return peacefully and through dialogue. Once more, we call on the Prime Minister to respect the supremacy of human rights and stop obstructing our return.