BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 24. The policy against
Azerbaijanis who historically lived in the territory of Armenia was
not only ethnic discrimination, but also an integral part of
systematically implemented colonial thinking, racial discrimination
policy, and a course toward mono-ethnicization, the Baku Initiative
Group (BIG) said, Trend reports.
"The only ‘fault’ of Azerbaijanis was their ethnic identity. In
1905–1906, in 1918, and during subsequent stages of the 20th
century, they were subjected to mass killings, ethnic cleansing,
and gross violations of political, economic, social, and cultural
rights.
The gross violations of law committed against Azerbaijanis were
a repetition of the atrocities historically committed by colonial
powers against peoples under their rule. The deliberate
colonial-style policy pursued by the Armenian SSR served the
gradual displacement of Azerbaijanis from their historical places
of residence, the erasure of their cultural and religious heritage,
and, as a result, the transformation of Armenia into a mono-ethnic
republic.
In this regard, the operations of mass deportation of
Azerbaijanis covered the years 1948–1953, when more than 150,000
Azerbaijanis were expelled from their native lands. These acts
resulted in deep tragedies in people’s lives, separated thousands
of families from their native lands, and the harsh resettlement
conditions dealt a serious blow to people’s lives, health, and
social well-being. At the same time, the historical and cultural
heritage belonging to Azerbaijanis was deliberately erased,
toponyms of Azerbaijani origin were massively changed, and
settlements, cemeteries, religious and cultural monuments were
destroyed or appropriated. This policy was not limited only to the
physical expulsion of people from their lands, but was also aimed
at erasing their historical memory and cultural traces.
Since the end of 1987, the Armenian authorities once again
revived territorial claims against Azerbaijan, after which more
than 250,000 Azerbaijanis still living in Armenia were forcibly
expelled from their native homes. Armed attacks on Azerbaijani
villages were organized, and people were forced to leave their
homes — thus, the policy of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis
was completed on the territory of Armenia. This process was not
directed only against Azerbaijanis. As a result of the policy of
turning Armenia into a mono-ethnic state, other ethnic and
religious minorities were also subjected to oppression, and their
numbers sharply decreased. This fact shows that Armenia pursued
this policy deliberately for many years. Armenia did not stop there
and occupied 20 percent of the sovereign territories of
Azerbaijan.
Today, when the peace agenda between Armenia and Azerbaijan is
advancing, it is of serious concern that rhetoric of hatred toward
Azerbaijanis and Turks, revanchist calls, and racist approaches are
still preserved in Armenian society. Sustainable peace is possible
only on the basis of recognizing historical injustice, respecting
human rights, abandoning discriminatory policies, and restoring the
rights of forcibly displaced people.
The Baku Initiative Group calls on the international community,
human rights institutions, relevant UN mechanisms, and other
international organizations to give an objective assessment of the
policy of colonial thinking, as well as ethnic discrimination and
intolerance pursued by the Armenian state against Azerbaijanis,"
the statement said.
