OWA and other civil society organizations of Azerbaijan appealed to the international community

The Community of West Azerbaijan (WCA) and other civil society organizations of the Republic of Azerbaijan appealed to the international community.

According to Report, the appeal says:

“In the 20th century, engulfed by unrest, ethnic Azerbaijanis were subjected to merciless and unimaginable atrocities, deportations and various persecutions by Armenia, which left deep and incurable marks in the memory of Azerbaijanis.

The brutal expulsion of Azerbaijanis from Armenia in 1987-1991 marked the end of a century-long campaign to wipe out their traces on their ancestral lands. Azerbaijani settlements on the territory of present-day Armenia, once a flourishing cradle of Azerbaijani culture, were left abandoned.

It is emphasized that having occupied the Azerbaijani territories in 1991-1994, Armenia subjected the Azerbaijanis to even greater suffering. About 800 thousand people were brutally expelled from their homeland, they had to endure the bitter fate of a forced migrant. Cemeteries, sacred places of Azerbaijanis were defiantly destroyed, cultural heritage was desecrated.

"Armenia has committed numerous massacres of Azerbaijani civilians, killing more than 20,000 innocent people. The fate of 4,000 missing people is still unknown. Hundreds of thousands of Azerbaijani refugees and internally displaced persons were doomed to live in unimaginable conditions without any amenities in tent camps.

Armenia has grossly violated the norms of international law for years, did not stop the occupation and prevented the safe return of Azerbaijani internally displaced persons to their homes. However, after Azerbaijan repulsed another heinous attack by the Armenian side and liberated the occupied territories in the autumn of 2020, a ray of hope finally lit up in the hearts of the internally displaced people who lived in the day when they could return to their homes.

At the same time, unprecedented challenges and difficulties remain on the path to recovery and reintegration. Armenia has polluted the lands it once occupied with a large number of mines, turning them into uninhabitable territories.

Against this background, the reaction of the world community to the unprecedented injustice against Azerbaijanis is extremely disappointing. The selective approach of those who call themselves "the international community" is a clear manifestation of bias and indifference, as evidenced by their blatant disregard for the suffering of the Azerbaijani people.

Apparently, they prefer to forget about the sad fate of the Azerbaijanis, who faced forced resettlement, persecution and massacres, they are trying to focus on the non-existent and fictitious "potential" problems of the Armenians living in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan.

One of the disturbing falsifications is an attempt to create the appearance that the territory of Azerbaijan, where Russian peacekeepers are temporarily deployed, belongs exclusively to Armenians, deliberately hushing up the bitter truth of the past. The fact is that Azerbaijanis were brutally expelled from many settlements, including from Khankendi, Karkidzhahan, Malybeyli, Garadaghly and Khojaly. Bitter memories of the 1992 Khojaly genocide, when the Armenian armed forces massacred Azerbaijani civilians, left an indelible mark. The forcedly displaced Azerbaijanis still cannot return to these settlements. Such misleading statements that attempt to create a perception of Armenian exceptionalism only perpetuate injustice and division.

This one-sided stance reveals the true face of those who claim to defend justice and human rights, as they brazenly ignore the rights and hardships of Azerbaijanis on ethnic and religious grounds. Such a position encourages the war and crimes of Armenia against humanity, racial discrimination, creates conditions for rampant injustice and continued oppression of the Azerbaijani people.

The Armenian side, encouraged by such a privileged attitude, continues to deny the exiled Azerbaijanis the right to return to their homeland. Calling the forced deportation "voluntary", they are shamelessly trying to deprive Azerbaijani refugees of their fundamental right to return to Armenia. The persistent refusal of this country to dialogue with the Community of Western Azerbaijan regarding the safe and dignified return of the Azerbaijanis expelled from Armenia, regarding the legitimate struggle of the community as a "territorial claim" by it, is another disturbing proof that this state does not abandon the mono-ethnic policy and Azerbaijani phobia, deeply rooted in Armenia.

In addition, Armenia's statements about the "exclusivity of the Karabakh Armenians" sound in unison with a problematic and deeply disturbing ideology. This dangerous approach demonstrates a belief in racial superiority and the exclusion of others along ethnic lines.

The lack of condemnation of Armenia's war crimes by the international community once again demonstrates its pro-Armenian orientation and deprives the Azerbaijanis of the support they deserve, forcing them to bear the brunt of this injustice.

It is high time for the international community to reflect on its actions, to abandon selectivity and truly stand up for justice and human rights, regardless of ethnicity or religion. Only then can we hope for a just and inclusive world that rejects discrimination and welcomes true peace and reconciliation.

The document was signed by the heads of 28 civil society organizations.

source: report.az