Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Commissioner issues statement on March 31 – Day of Azerbaijanis’ Genocide

Azerbaijan’s Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsperson) Elmira Suleymanova made a statement due to upcoming March 31 – Day of Azerbaijanis’ Genocide, press service of the Commissioner’s office reported.

The statement says that Azerbaijani people faced with sufferings and troubles as a result of genocide, ethnic cleansing and deportation policy of Armenian nationalists and their supporters against the Azerbaijanis in the past two centuries.

Since the beginning of the 19th century, Armenians have settled down in the historic Azerbaijani lands and tens of thousands of Armenian families moved from Iran and Turkey to Karabakh, Zangazur, Iravan, Nakhchivan and other provinces. In 1828-1830, the ethnic composition of the Azerbaijani population was intentionally changed in favor of Armenians.

The human rights of the Azerbaijanis deported from their homelands in the territory of the Republic of Armenia in 1905-1907, 1918-1920, 1948-1953, 1988-1993 were violated and they suffered from the ethnic cleansing accompanied by inhuman and offensive actions. As a result of Armenian aggression against Azerbaijan since 1988, 20 percent of the Azerbaijan’s territory has been occupied, tens of thousands of people have been killed and hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis have become refugees and internally displaced persons. Armenia’s genocide and deportation policy against Azerbaijanis was particularly intensified in 1918-1920.

The facts described in the historic documents about the ethnic massacres committed in Azerbaijan by the Armenians prove that Azerbaijanis in Shamakhi, Guba, Mughan, Zangazur, Karabakh and Iravan provinces were brutally killed, towns and villages were plundered and destroyed. The most terrible bloody tragedy committed by Armenians is the genocide against Azerbaijanis on March 31, 1918. Hundreds of Azerbaijani cities, villages, over 150 villages of Karabakh, where Azerbaijanis lived, were destroyed, terrible slaughters were committed in Shusha.

About 700,000 Azerbaijanis, including 30,000 people in Baku and surrounding villages were killed, mosques, school buildings were destroyed and burnt.

The world community aiming to combat international terrorism, at last, must give objective political assessment to the violence against the Azerbaijani people continued today as well and the criminals must be punished, said the Ombudsperson in her statement.

"I am calling on the influential international organizations to support fair position of Azerbaijan. I believe that the justice will be restored, the international organizations will impose sanctions against Armenia which made genocide as a part of its national policy, the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan and rights of refugees and internally displaced persons will be restored and prisoners and hostages will be released".

The statement was sent to the UN Secretary General, Under Secretary General, Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflicts, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, OSCE, Council of Europe, International and European Institute of Human Rights Commissioners, Asian Association of Human Rights Commissioners, International Peace Bureau, Universal Peace Federation, human rights commissioners of different countries, foreign embassies in Azerbaijan and Azerbaijani Diaspora organizations.


/APA/