Western Azerbaijan Community issues statement on Day of Genocide of Azerbaijanis

The Western Azerbaijan Community has issued a statement on March 31 - Day of the Genocide of Azerbaijanis, Azernews reports.

The statement reads as follows:

"Today is a day of sadness, taken with the history of mass massacre of Azerbaijanis by Armenian-Bolshevik armed groups in Baku on March 31, 1918, which is one of the numerous acts of genocide committed by Armenia and Armenian armed groups against Azerbaijanis, but also the perpetrators of these crimes are still it is a reminder to humanity of impunity.

As stated in the Decree of National Leader Heydar Aliyev "On the Genocide of Azerbaijanis" signed on March 26, 1998, the genocide against Azerbaijanis was carried out for centuries and the main goal was to capture the historical territories of Azerbaijan.

Genocide against the Azerbaijani people was systematically carried out on the basis of racist ideology instilling ethnic hatred and was committed in almost all parts of the historical lands of Azerbaijan. This genocide, which began to intensify and take an open form since 1905, was especially cruel in the western part of Azerbaijan. In 1918-1920, the Armenian army committed mass massacres and ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijanis in Yerevan, Zangazur, Goycha, Darelayaz, Surmeli, Sharur and other districts.

As a result of the acts of genocide in which hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijanis were killed, the Azerbaijanis, who once made up more than 80 percent of the population in Iravan province, began to form an ethnic minority in that area in 1921. As a result of the ethnic cleansing carried out in 1948-52 and 1987-91, Azerbaijanis were completely expelled from there. At present, not a single Azerbaijani has remained in the territory now called Armenia, and the cultural heritage belonging to Azerbaijanis has been completely destroyed.

On March 31, 1918, the mass massacre committed by the armed unit of the extreme nationalist Dashnaksutyun party in Baku is a terrible event that embodies the large-scale genocide carried out against our people in the historical lands of Azerbaijan in the previous and subsequent periods.

Despite its international obligations, Armenia continues its racist policy. This country prevents Azerbaijanis from returning to their homes safely and with dignity, glorifies elements such as Garegin Njde, Andranik Ozanyan, Drastamat Kanayan, Monte Melkonyan, who committed crimes against humanity and terrorist acts against Azerbaijanis, and promotes racist ideology such as Njdeism at the state level.

We demand that Armenia acknowledge its responsibility for the crimes of genocide and take the necessary steps for reconciliation. Armenia should create conditions for the safe and dignified return of the expelled Azerbaijanis and restore the destroyed Azerbaijani cultural heritage.

Also, Armenia should stop its policy and practice that instills hatred and discrimination against Azerbaijanis, hand over those who have committed war crimes and crimes against humanity to the court of justice, stop glorifying them immediately, dismantle and remove monuments to military and political figures who participated in crimes against Azerbaijanis, and terrorists. should cancel the changes of place names".